Creative Maladjustment II.V: A Brief Digression

It has been pointed out to me that I have not adequately addressed the enantiodromic theory that the more hopeless things are, the better, because the system has to fall apart completely if we're ever going to see meaningful change. According to this school of thought, all our small victories and incremental improvements are merely delaying the inevitable, essential revolution. It's an extension of Derrick Jensen's claim that until we give up hope we won't be willing to do "whatever it takes" to fix the world's problems.

The idea certainly has a distinguished pedigree, though a somewhat checkered past. It's been a while since I read Lenin and Mao, but I seem to recall a certain disdain for Liberal reforms that may ease the suffering of the masses, but that ultimately weaken their determination to cast off their chains and overthrow the running dogs of capitalism. And we all know how that turned out... Or wait, do we?

It's true that the process of creating something new often involves destruction, frustration, and despair. Giacometti was once asked how a particular painting was going and replied, "It's going so badly that it's not even going badly enough for there to be some hope." Some problems can't be solved until you've exhausted all your ideas, thrown up your hands, and opened your mind to the previously unthinkable.

But there are some serious flaws in this theory when it is applied on a societal level. One is that any corrupt, inept, morally bankrupt system worth its salt is capable of staggering along in a state of utter collapse for an astonishingly long time before it finally crumbles. And all the while, it continues to inflict horrific damage upon the people and places in its path.

Another is that the ultimate collapse often hurts the most vulnerable people and places even more. My friend Paul used this metaphor: we're all huddled in this leaky boat, bailing like mad and plugging holes with scraps of our own clothing, trying to keep the thing afloat. We really ought to haul our vessel out of the water and rebuild it stem to stern, but we can't because right now it's the only thing keeping us from drowning. It may be true that we need a revolution, but I'm not willing to throw all the non-swimmers to the sharks just yet.

But my real problem with the whole worse-it-gets-the-better line is that I just can’t get excited about rooting for the apocalypse. I realize I’ve been talking a pretty dismal line here so far, but I know that there’s lots of great stuff going on in the world, along with all the crap. It seems like we’ve got to give ourselves permission to notice those things, celebrate them, and build on them. At least I do.

Okay, got that off my chest. Part III is coming soon, I promise.

(If you're just joining us, you might want to start with Part I and Part II.)

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