Anti-dystopianism: Musings on the End of the World , part 1
"It is easier to imagine the end of the world than the end of capitalism."
Humans have always liked stories about the end of the world. Through religion or mythology, the apocalypse presents a riveting, linear story. However, it is quite unnerving how many people believe that the end is actually near and inevitable. This makes me think that there is something bigger at play here, a conscious effort through fiction and fact, putting us squarely on the tracks to our inevitable destruction.
While Abrahamic, Nordic and many other religions have consistently regarded the end of the world as the natural conclusion, this narrative was being used politically to justify cruelty and violence. Palestine is a prime example of how the end-of-the-world narrative is utilised by different actors for different objectives. The weirdest of the lot are the Christian Evangelicals, a nutty group that believes once Palestine is fully Jewish, Jesus will come back, kill everyone and just chill with them for a thousand years. This helps the Jewish lobby in the US get unlimited backing and support in their efforts to erase the indigenous people of Palestine. In Israel in 2023, there were news articles about five “Red Heffers”, some sort of weird red cows used in a sacrificial ritual to shepherd in the building of the third temple, an event akin to the return of the messiah. The oppressed Palestinians use the narrative of the end of the world to understand their existential precariousness and as a form of hope because in Islam, the Mehdi will come back and vanquish evil, similar to the second coming of Christ. Each thinks the end of times will serve them. But no one doubts that it is nigh. This kind of thought and philosophy penetrates deep into their psyche, manifesting itself in their political strategies and agendas.
Religion, however, is not the only source of apocalyptic thinking. Our modern collective consciousness is rife with stories of how the world will end. From climate disaster to nuclear war, pandemics or a global technological collapse, you would be stretched to find someone who does not believe we are going towards the inevitable end. Seeing things in such an ultimate framing allows you to bet everything on your own success. Elon Musk thinks the world is doomed, so we should look towards other planets. The conservatives in America believe that the system will undoubtedly collapse, so it is their duty to be in charge of the important facets of government when that happens.
Even fiction and scifi, especially dystopian scifi, which is overrepresented in the genre, assumes that the world as we know it will end and tries to imagine what kind of world that will be. We cannot seem to be able to imagine a different world, or maybe we have succumbed to our inability to change the terrible trajectory humanity has taken. Yet pumping more dystopian fiction out there seems to fuel the system. It is true that Orwell and Huxley were perceptive and could see the dangers of television, surveillance and pacifying drugs. However, it would be naive to think that they have not inspired the police state to innovate in line with their imagination. By imagining the worst, we somehow contribute to the reality that is being built. Dont get me wrong, I am not advocating for Utopian thinking, I myself am nothing but a skeptical cunt, but maybe a bit of reluctant optimism. I imagine a story of empowerment where CEOs are dying in a submarine and shot on their way back from whatever rich people do in their free time (which is all the time), leading to a reversal or a move away from this trajectory. Let's just stop giving them ideas and instead give them some fear. This is the first part of a series exploring the end of the world, fiction and imagination. if this resonated with you, you will enjoy next week’s article that explores how ideas of progress and linear history add to the swamp of inaction we find ourselves in.
[originally posted to Patreon on 16/4/25]
