Unfortunately we seem to be trapped in a dialectic of on the one hand:
Progress: High tech advanced global capitalism, increased complexity and inability to distinguish marketing from values. Ever increasing interdependence constantly redefining individuality. Continual, incremental technological improvements define the progress, humanist propaganda markets it as otherwise. Led by the technological solutionists in cooperation with humanist marketers. Continual replacement of individual personality with systemic rules.
On the other:
Regress: Mythology of ‘freedom’ and other religious constructs, maybe couched as Libertarianism but always greed backed by violence. Power resides in resource control and ability to project violence. Freedom means the freedom for the powerful to do what they want to the weak and the weak to do what they need, to become powerful. Individual power is the primary value. Systemic interdependence is the problem. Led by the violent in cooperation with religious ideologues. Individual personality defines the flavor of Regress and becomes myth.
Regress is compelling the more Progress appears hypocritical and serving an elite. Progress ends up taking ever cynical measures as forces of Regress sabotage and confront it.
It becomes an interesting exercise to try and understand why anyone is compelled to one or the other. Most of the time I think it is the complexity that scares people from Progress, rather than the hate which locks people into Regress.
It’s probably old fashion to think in dialectics and it may be a illusionary duality the system itself projects to keep its parts dynamic.
I am apathetic,