The Long Memo (TLM)
At the moment, the defining feature of our shared reality is what one could call “narrative warfare.” The world is breaking apart, in large part because old narratives have failed. The stories around which we have organized modern Western civilization—e.g., the purpose and role of government, the desirability of democracy, the immutability of economic laws, notions of equality, and even the very definition of “humanity” (i.e., what it is, and who has it)—are no longer holding.
We’re desperately trying to find new stories that will preserve our humanity in a post-trust, post-truth, post-industrial world that is becoming increasingly less human-centric.
Why right now? Because such radically news ideas need time to take root; grassroots movements take decades to build; and the popular imagination needs time to rethink and reacclimate.
- Degrowth? It’s a controversial idea for the here and now, but could it be a promising concept for a world of declining populations and dwindling resources?
- Middle-out economics? Venture capitalist Nick Hanauer’s idea got walloped at the voting booth in 2024, but does it offer the seeds of a long-term solution?
- A wholesale rethinking of our materialist existence? The research of Dr. Tim Kasser offers fascinating insights into human behavior via the psychological framework of materialism. (Materialistic Values & Goals, Annual Reviews in Psychology, 2016.67:489-514)
