Back to Fundamentals

In a world-historical sense, a dominant trend we are seeing globally can be described as fundamentalism. Whether in religious terms, such as the rise of Islamist, Hindu, Buddhist and Christian nationalist chauvinism or strictly cultural reaction, such as historical revisionism or support for "traditional" values, it is a turn away from complexity and pluralism towards simplicity and dogma. The rise of religious fundamentalism is truly terrifying if you are not a straight cis-gendered male. From Israel to Pakistan to Afghanistan to Bangladesh to America to India to Myanmar to North Africa doctrinal authority and the religious leaders who interpret various scriptures is on the rise. They are done with nuanced, secular, liberal rights that require balancing different interests or creating a social compact. They prefer tribes with strict, easy to follow rules. This is an obvious reaction to feminism in particular, where male power is challenged and threatened. Take the anti-LGBTQ backlash. In some places, like Russia or parts of Africa, it can mean death. “People were looking for explanations, and InfoWars offered simple, if outlandish, answers to complex problems.” According to the new tech-masters of the universe: "democracy is outdated “legacy code” that can’t keep up with modern complexity. The future, he and others argue, will belong to those who design and implement a superior system—one that runs more like a corporation." Simple hierarchies for simple minds.