CENTRAL NEWS
Historically, revolutionary fights have always been seen in a particularly ambitious or unrealistic light. Each and every revolution in history has had to work with society in a relentless and cohesive way, to convince the deciding power of the world that their idea is worth fighting for. Thus, this support by society has always determined the strength of a revolution.
A more recent non-example of this was the US elections where Trump who had blocked his ears to the peoples’ demands of decent healthcare, economic opportunities – or even a non-racist government- until he lost the elections. After losing the elections, Trump sought to take shelter in the conscience of the people by claiming his votes were stolen and that he was cheated.
It comes as no surprise that the conservative forces of dictating regimes want to maintain their privileges and therefore carry out anti-propaganda against those devoted to changing the current-system. This was made evident in the example of the noble clergy who propagated to the people that the King was God on earth, and so his word was the final and everyone had to accept it, for example. Thus, different, oppressive regimes have come and gone throughout our recent history. One thing that has never changed, though, is the class of oppressed vs the oppressors.
As a society, the peoples of the Mesopotamia have always resisted against domination and the new concept of civilization that had come to be created by the states of the firsts great empires (e.g. Sumerian, Babylonian, Assyrian, Persian). The state-mentality was responsible for the rise of the man-warrior being controlled by the elder man, giving rise to the patriarchal spiral of violence and belittlement. With time, this violence led to the total-surrender and enslavement of the woman.
Utopia according to the dictionary:
“What is in the realm of the unachievable; that tends not to come true; chimera, dream; fantasy.”
It was neither once nor twice that you probably heard from a colleague or family member that believing in utopias is counterproductive. It is generally described as something which removes you from “reality” or leads to fantasizing. This, is unfortunately described as a negative quality. But why do we like to dive into such thoughts? Why, especially in our youth, do we tend to believe in the impossible? Why young people made to believe that these thoughts and feelings are a temporary phase of life, or that time will teach you to be realistic and even-tempered? Is it a coincidence that throughout history, the youth has always been at the heart of revolutions? Marx says that “Revolutions are the locomotive of history.” He could have also added that youthfulness is the fuel of this locomotive! Or is it escapism?
Within the reality of capitalist modernity there are two subconscious paths for youth: Either they accept the cold and ugly life being imposed on them and live an alienated life, wasting away for superficial values; or they decide to feel and question.
Dystopia according to the dictionary:
“Hypothetical place where one lives under oppressive, authoritarian systems of deprivation, loss or despair; anti-utopia.”
Dystopias are well-known in the world of Hollywood which constantly develops fictional narratives of dystopian systems where the absurd is the normal, where people are disposable, tyrants are the owners of the world, technology controls human beings, etc. The renowned “Black Mirror” series is a good example of a dystopian world, as well as the franchise “Hunger Games” or “Matrix”. As the list goes on, and on, we begin to wonder why such movies tend to attract so much attention by young people.
Why are such films generally narrated as critiques of reality, whether or own or of humanity altogether? The truth is that with the advances of the technological revolution and the normalization and acceptance of the capitalist mentality, we have been living in a dystopian world for a long time… The regime of truth no longer exists within capitalist modernity and what we are seeing around the world is people living according to their own truth. The Moral and Ethics of society has been constantly attacked, and worse of all, these attacks are made by those who claim to be acting on behalf of this same morality and ethics.
One example to clearly contextualize the absurdity that life has become under capitalist modernity is the fact that China is trying to create a “moral” society through a system of points and complete social surveillance.
Every citizen in China receives a mandatory e-ID card from the age of 16, in which all important and personal data is stored. This data is then stored in a huge device that is networked with all possible authorities. This technology uses a dot model, to praise “good citizens” according to terms outlined by the Chinese government. While points are added for “good citizens,” points are deducted from “bad citizens.”
Examples of being a “good citizen” include giving blood, collecting garbage, or helping the elderly across the street. Such acts eventually enable a citizen to gain points, which may mean they are rewarded with shorter waiting times at hospitals, priority access to universities or schools, etc. Likewise, points are deducted if you cross the street at a red light, listen to loud music on public transportation, don’t visit your parents often enough, steal, play a lot of computers, etc.
Deliriously, this system appears to be an exact remake of a Black Mirror episode where people are able to live better lives according to their social media statistics. The statistics determined whether a person was likeable, and therefore a “good” person.
Nevertheless, dystopias are not only systematized in China. European countries are quickly closing in, with softer-
assimilation policies, to create a distortion between realities. Living under constant surveillance but having narrower sight than a horse with blinkers, people already normalize the exploitation of those who are not seen – a reality which subjugates women from the most personal to the most sociable levels and assaults them at every moment. In today’s reality in Europe, the haphazard destruction of nature doesn’t really concern people so long as the trees in their garden are still standing. Nor does human life have value, where it is compared to economic profit.
Whether in the hands of a multinational and multimillionaire company, or an ordinary citizen who believes to be living his own humble reality and life, an individualist approach in society will surely break the spine of Europe.
