Cynicism

I've been thinking for a while about the feeling or sentiment of the moment that we're living in. The zeitgeist or "spirit of the age" seems easier to define when looking backwards in time. We can mark a decade or a century as "the roaring twenties" or "the Great Depression" and feel comfortable that a simple phrase holds to account the majority feeling of the time. I want to explore whether these moments in time are in some way deliberate consequences of planned intent or if they are undirected amalgamations of what has come before. Did the people responsible for Art Deco create their world from clearly defined utopian ideals? Rather than being passengers on a journey through time, is it possible to have a shared sense of direction and the future we'd like to create?

Every individual will have a unique sense of what's important to them and how their life is best lived but I think to some extent we all enjoy sharing our lives together as part of society. I sometimes doubt if my own suggestions for a better world would be welcomed and if those ideas could possibly affect positive change. I question specifically why mine and not another opinion is worth hearing and am wary of contributing to the noise. If I have hope and believe that change can be brought about then I can start to think differently about what is possible, leading to a more optimistic outlook. However if it appears that the culture in which I participate has difficulty accepting new or uncomfortable ideas about the status quo, then it can produce a stifling atmosphere and one which doesn't lend itself to open discourse, leading to a lack of intentionality and procrastination.

To chart a course through my own hesitancy, I came across Cynicism as put forward by Antisthenes, a pupil of Socrates. I think it's important to begin by pointing out that we aren't concerned here with the general disbelief in the sincerity or goodness of people. The idea in it's more abstract sense can be characterised as an indifference to convention and the products of good fortune. If the dominant structures of the time are embodied in the government, the culture, the arts and social norms then it is these that we should be concerned with challenging or rejecting. In doing so it is argued that we find moral freedom and liberation from desire. How this is to be achieved is by returning to a state of nature whereby our mindsets are no longer governed by consensus and we can each begin to consider new ways to live. After long periods of time a society can become inward-facing and engaged only with itself. Values become muddled and there is no longer a clear path or reason for action, creating a state of inertia.

How will our current moment be described by future generations? I mentioned earlier that I believe each individual has their own sense of what future they want to be a part of. If we possess the luxury of being able to consider these possible worlds without distraction then perhaps cynicism teaches us that we should exercise this freedom. Otherwise are we not at risk of becoming another civilisation who's people missed the chance to reframe their outlook, costing them the chance to have a future of their own design and not that of the perpetual motion machine?

So as not to miss the point, here's an idea. It's 2021, our society agrees to take a five-year "pause". The pause would allow freedom from competition for resources (time & energy), and structured debates would take place on all pertinent subjects that relate to the existence and future of the human race. As we reach the "great resumption" we legislate for a new set of agreed principles and provide ourselves a chance for a refreshed outlook on life. The individual should always be able to decide that the world in which they participate is not for them and it's reasonable to be independent of it but the society has at least succeeded in furnishing their citizens with direction and a sense of hope.