A society of fear (2 Viewers)

[Generator]

Just a general thread, inspired by this article.

Society as a whole appears to be driven by fear in all its forms, be it economic, social, political, etc. It's more than obvious that this has to change if we are ever to 'progress' in what I believe to be a positive fashion (become a truly inclusive society, that is), yet is that likely to happen in the near future? Are we ever going to consider the fears alongside the ideas that encourage a sense of optimism?

I don't know how this thread will be read (or discussed), so feel free to wander off on a tangent or two if that seems like a good idea.

 

[chookyn]

yeah it's true, fear is a very powerful (though often unhealthy) motivator. I think fear, in this life, is unavoidable. :edit: well d'uh! If there was no fear, no-one would do anything. Though change from a fear-based to a optimism-driven society is a desirable, it is impossible for many reasons.

For example, I would explain these reasons, but i'm deeply afraid that i'll say something stupid that no-one agrees with. Then people will think i'm an idiot. If they have reason to think that, then maybe it's true! If i'm an idiot, what hope have i for a normal existence? I might say something even more stupid and flawed in future. People won't respect me, so they'll ignore me... etc.

There we have it - the destructive pattern of fear.

Good thread topic idea btw... it's got me thinking.

 

[Slidey]

Just a general thread, inspired by this article.

Society as a whole appears to be driven by fear in all its forms, be it economic, social, political, etc. It's more than obvious that this has to change if we are ever to 'progress' in what I believe to be a positive fashion (become a truly inclusive society, that is), yet is that likely to happen in the near future? Are we ever going to consider the fears alongside the ideas that encourage a sense of optimism?

I don't know how this thread will be read (or discussed), so feel free to wander off on a tangent or two if that seems like a good idea.

I do not believe it is possible to eliminate fear. In fact, I do not believe it is a good idea to. Instead, people should be educated to such a level that they do not have irrational fears.

 

[Slidey]

Dont worry be happy now...doooo do do do dooo do dodood ododoo...dont worry be happy.

Another who likens optimism to blind stupidity, without knowing anything of the psychological mechanisms behind the concept?

 

[jumb]

Just a general thread, inspired by this article.

Society as a whole appears to be driven by fear in all its forms, be it economic, social, political, etc. It's more than obvious that this has to change if we are ever to 'progress' in what I believe to be a positive fashion (become a truly inclusive society, that is), yet is that likely to happen in the near future? Are we ever going to consider the fears alongside the ideas that encourage a sense of optimism?

I don't know how this thread will be read (or discussed), so feel free to wander off on a tangent or two if that seems like a good idea.

I agree with people having those fears, mainly because it reflects my opinion that happiness is created from security, not just of you possesions and physical self.

 

[chookyn]

Another who likens optimism to blind stupidity, without knowing anything of the psychological mechanisms behind the concept?

nah, asqy's just providing some comic relief :uhhuh:

as Slide Rule mentioned, irrational fears are the problem.

 

[Slidey]

It was only a question.

 

[Generator]

My point was that there is a need to ground these fears, not dismiss them (as, for some reason, Slide Rule suggested after quoting my post that quite clearly stated that such fears should be considered alongside those ideas that encourage a sense of optimism). Increasingly, it seems, we are being driven by fear rather than guided by it. I know that in a sense I'm romanticising a mythical past, but I cannot help but think that today's fears are much more overt than in the past, and/or that there is an irrational belief that there is much more to fear in a globalising world.

 

[Slidey]

as Slide Rule suggested after quoting my post that quite clearly stated that such fears should be considered alongside those ideas that encourage a sense of optimism

Did it not occur to you that I might be ponderously agreeing with you? Chill.

You are being quite vague, though. In what sense do you see society today being driven by fear instead of guided by it? What types of fear and in relation to what? Irrational fear is mostly synonymous with ignorant fear. Do you believe ignorant fear is more prevalent then it was in the past?

Edit: Or that in a globalising world there is much more to fear, even though such fears are often irrational.

True. We have access to information about events (more often than not, horrific) which are unlikely to ever personally affect us.

 

[Generator]

Your post wasn't the only one that I thought misread my post, but it was the one that I chose to quote. As for the rest, it was meant to be vague, as the terms 'appears' and 'seems' suggest. As I said, I'm in all likelihood I'm romanticising the past, but you only have to take note of the terrorist 'threat' and the rhetoric surrounding the apparent reality of crime and the actual statistics to see that we are becoming far too fearful given the reality. We appear to be escaping, in a sense, yet this differs to the past in that the global situation is much different (that is, the world at large is much more accessible) and that a greater part of our society has the ability to escape more so than in the past.

This thread wasn't designed to meet the strict requirements of an academic journal, it was meant to explore the idea in an informal matter. I'm sorry if that isn't to your liking.

 

[shady_03]

Dude of course its in society... it was the fundamental basis for bush's whole relelection campaign..

 

[Slidey]

A loose discussion is fine. However, if it is too loose, things go all over the place and the topic becomes diluted with all sorts of tangents. I simply wish to tighten our focus so that 1) we are in fact discussing the same thing and 2) we can dicuss it in some depth.

Anyway, comparing fears in the past and now, the average Western person has a far higher degree of education regarding these fears: racism and homophobia are being dealt with - non-whites are actually considered human now and homosexuality is no longer a disease of the mind; religious and superstitious fears are being tempered by science. One fear which has perhaps become worse (and you have already covered this) is security fear. Based on this assessment I don't think it would be accurate to surmise that society is driven by fear more than it was in the past. However I concede that the fears of today are manifesting themselves in more subtle ways than in the past. Still, to your original point - that these fears need to change if we are to progress - I think that progress towards progress is certainly occuring as demonstrated by the exploration above. What must be realised is that progress by its very nature is not instantaneous and on the scale of human perception it could appear to be immobile.

 

[Not-That-Bright]

Interesting that you guys think we are a society based on fear, I think we're actually a society based on order and submission.

For example, a fearful society would be striving to do their best to deal with the current political/environmental/social threats. However, we seem to be captivated sitting in our arm chairs watching desperate housewives or whatever.

 

[LadyBec]

However, we seem to be captivated sitting in our arm chairs watching desperate housewives or whatever.

hey there's nothing wrong with sitting around watching desperate hpusewives
Meanwhile.... I think in a lot of ways people are more paranoid then they used to be. Like people are so scared that soemthing bad'll happen to their kids if they let them play outside that they keep them in the house all the time.
Or in my case, if you walk to a friends house in the dark your housemate completly freaks out and thinks your gonna get raped/bashed/killed/etc.

 

[Comrade nathan]

I think our economy is run on fear.

I agree with what Marlyn Manson said in one of Moore's movies. "if you dont buy the pimple cream the girls want fuck you" or something like that, you get the point.

 

[Not-That-Bright]

Our economy is run on aspirations.
It's not so much fear that if you don't buy the cream girls won't want to fuck you, it's hope that buying the cream will make girls want to fuck you.

 

[Comrade nathan]

Our economy is run on aspirations.
It's not so much fear that if you don't buy the cream girls won't want to fuck you, it's hope that buying the cream will make girls want to fuck you.

The are very persistant in promoting these "aspirations"

 

[Rorix]

Generator, I believe the concept has some explanation in evolutionary psychology so nothing special to do with the modern world per se.

Humans are animals. Fear is basically the most powerful emotion relating to survival. Only a very small group of people move towards what they want rather than moving away from what they don't want.

 

[phatic]

I do not believe it is possible to eliminate fear. In fact, I do not believe it is a good idea to. Instead, people should be educated to such a level that they do not have irrational fears.

What exactly do you mean by irrational fears? Example?

An increasingly rational understanding of self creates a very fragile identity, in which these irrational fears run rampant. Attempting to rid oneself of irrational fears, emotions, etc, only magnifies the necessity for their release. It's just a matter of pressure and time.

Fear is probably productive in small doses, like stress. It's like the argument for inequality in society - it motivates people to work harder, climb the social ladder, etc. However, with a fragile identity and increasing exposure to global events (predominantly mass-media), this is easily taken out of proportion. Eventually the system must collapse, unless a new way of understanding self comes about. Otherwise we will have a society full of schizophrenics.

 

[beccaxx]

asqy that song is in my head now.... dooo do do do dodo dododododododo..... :S