I'm aware that my awareness of the state of the world impacts my mental health, but the past few years have really exacerbated things.

It's hard to have any hope or faith, though I fight as hard as I can to keep some semblance of faith in our species as a whole... it just seems, with our history kept in consideration, that the more of us there end up being in a given place (population density) the more awry things become, and now it's something that can feasibly be applied the world over.

One love

Yeah, i think i know that feeling. Like we've all been holding on too long, to something that was already lost.

Yeah... sense of nihilism is stronger than usual...

One love

Probably no surprise that I share your pessimism - not about China specifically, but about the rise of authoritarianism across the globe. It is shocking how much it has escalated within the past decade (and even since the beginning of COVID) and yes, Putin has separated himself as the Hitler of our time, but I fear that much of the entire world is tipping toward the hard right.

What astounds me is that there are SO many people out there who actually hunger for Authoritarian rule. Hell, there are people right here who do as well, and that I will never understand. But my contempt is boundless. Human beings, generally speaking, are are stupid fucking savages.

And so, empires rise and fall. It always happens eventually - and yes, I completely agree that we are on the cusp of an awful sea change. Democracy in the U.S. is on its way out. White Supremacy is the order of the day, both here and throughout much of Europe, and North Korea and China are now emboldened by Russia, which is also scary as shit. If nuclear annihilation doesn't kill us, global warming will - and if by some impossible chance neither one of these things occur, we'll be left to endure an Orwellian hellscape which makes extinction look appealing.

Good times.

But...if putins regime would at some point collapse, that would also be the end of a whole lot of autoritarian leaders worldwide.

A lot of white supremacists and autocratic leaders, both in europe and in america, worship this man. But what they worship most of all is his supposed strength.

If the strong man though, will turn out not to be actually that strong, especially a "strong man" who has always preached:"might makes right"....

I think a lot of people now, are just watching and waiting for who's going to win this war. And then they'll be saying that they've always been firmly on the side of the winner.

No, i think that if he falls, he'll be taking a lot of people down with him.

Every type of organization that is given to a society is based on choosing what to deprive oneself of. It is never something that adds to the human experience, as we were born on this planet with everything we needed already. Those who want to live in an authoritarian state simply do not want to deprive themselves of certainties, which are carried away by the continuous change of progressive societies. They are afraid that social rules will change, that what was important before will no longer be, that they have to reinvent themselves.

Since progress is a natural element of the universe itself, it is natural for societies to move forward, and therefore authoritarian societies will have to take strong measures, such as the suppression of all those forces of change that can reform it.

It is bad to say, since it is an argument used differently by supporters of similar ideas, but in fact the right, the authoritarian and conservative societies, are against nature. Because the nature of things is that of change.

Do not judge too much, please, people who go towards this kind of vision, because they are simply afraid. I know it's easier to think of things like "these pieces of shit, they're lousy racists, you can't feel sorry for them etc ..." but we're all the same, aren't we? In the same family situation, living in that environment, having the same experiences, you and I too would think a certain way.

It is never the fault of the individual, or of the people, but of the system. We need to create a system where there must not be the slightest possibility of giving rise to thoughts of this type. And the answer is: education, education, education.

There is something that I always say in a very provocative way: "there is an antidote to populism and to the right: to have those people read at least one book in their lives".

Magma, I believe you have highlighted the crux of the matter. The people of Earth are afraid. By design. Everything is geared towards keeping people living in fear. Fear of neighbours, fear of material loss, fear of violence and hunger and hardship. Without the fear we would make a change but a change is the worst nightmare of those who benefit the most from things remaining the same.

This is no revelation. Standard human practice for every civilisation that has ever been recorded. The end result is always akin to a child throwing toys out of the pram. When the real change becomes a possibility civilisation collapses instead. The total reset has so far been the only real change that can happen.

And then the new is built in the same manner as the old through ignorance or failed memory of important lessons.

Perhaps there is only one natural outcome when a civilisation is born and we are witnessing just another cycle in the dramatic human saga.

We cannot even believe that a revolution would change everything for the better. Every revolution defaults back to the same position only with new key players at the helm.

Nihilism indeed. Apathetic self defence. Because anything else feels like a bad investment.