Collective Delusion: The Dark Descent into Shared Madness
“The sight of evil kindles evil in the soul — we must guard against it in ourselves.” — Carl Jung
As a gullible collective, humanity now faces an unprecedented juncture where the potential for self-destruction is not only possible but terrifyingly plausible. A full-scale nuclear warfare awaits some manic Big Brother/s verging on the edge of madness, with a single nuclear explosion capable of obliterating entire cities, turning them into a sudden and terrifying nothingness, an aftermath of the most horrifying of screams. In parallel, imagine a world where a powerful conglomerate, operating through state-of-the-art laboratories, releases a genetically engineered pathogen. Within weeks, hundreds of millions are infected, dying in agony and sheer confusion, collapsing in the streets like cattle led to slaughter. The virus spreads relentlessly, with a blind rage, overwhelming medical systems, and leaving no chance for a cure. Half of humanity is wiped out, as the powerful look on, indifferent to the suffering, driven by the cold logic of control and population reduction. To the powerful, the value of human life is reduced to numbers on a spreadsheet, and in their calculus, fewer people mean fewer problems. Imagine a world where AI-driven cyber warfare strikes with precision: power grids fail, cities plunge into darkness, and water supplies are poisoned. Financial networks collapse, wiping out savings and triggering global economic chaos. The internet fractures, isolating populations, while banks close and essential services grind to a halt. The rich hoard resources as millions face hunger and desperation. This dystopian nightmare isn’t far-fetched; it’s the terrifyingly real potential of AI-powered cyber attacks unraveling civilization in days.
“The mass State has no intention of promoting mutual understanding and the relationship of man to man; it strives, rather, for atomization, for the psychic isolation of the individual.” — Carl Jung
Ultimately, it will boil down to a decision of a few powerful men who, very much like their predecessors of the 20th century, would not mind — and very likely relish in — discarding hundreds of millions, coldly calculated in the pursuit of their twisted agendas. No amount of human tragedy would sway their sick resolve, as they rationalize the loss of lives as collateral damage — acceptable casualties in the grand scheme of their ambitions. These few men, detached from the reality of those they decide over, see people not as individuals with dreams and lives but as expendable resources, easily replaced and removed in the relentless march toward their perverted goals. This should not surprise any reader, for a brief look at history, we see–and continue to see–entire nations turned into dark nothingness.
“If you want a picture of the future, imagine a boot stamping on a human face — forever.” — George Orwell, 1984
Adding to this dystopian reality is the unregulated skyrocketing of AI technology, which, if harnessed under a comprehensive drone surveillance system, could crush any revolution before it even begins. A thought crime, you could say, where the very notion of resistance is detected and extinguished before it can take root, leaving no room for rebellion or defiance in a world ruled by the cold, mechanized hand of AI-driven tyranny. This is merely scratching the surface, but for brevity, remember that intelligence communities likely harness God-like powers that would render movie plots seem the work of a lunatic. Think of GPS systems, cryptography, stealth technology, and even the very thing you’re using to read this — the internet — all of which were available to the public only decades after they were first developed and utilized in secret. With the power of AI harnessing the knowledge of the entire human existence, where hours in AI advancements, whether in cyber warfare or biological warfare, can equate to the power and knowledge garnered since the very advent of time — only a thin veil of time separates us from such a reality. The question then becomes: who will have their hands on this modern-day Mjölnir — a tool of immense power, capable of creation or destruction, like the mythical hammer wielded by the gods?
The absence of palpable panic and alarm stands in stark contrast with the status quo, a status quo we’ve slowly and clandestinely acquiesced to. What we now tolerate — indeed, even embrace — is terrifying enough. Slavery has taken on a new guise, one marked by a false sense of cheerfulness. We have come to not only accept but even enjoy an imposed slave mentality. It’s as if a deathly punishment and sickness have seeped into our souls, but the fear of death and the unknown cements our escapism.
“It is indeed impossible to imagine our own death; and whenever we attempt to do so we can perceive that we are in fact still present as spectators. In the unconscious every one of us is convinced of his own immortality.” — Sigmund Freud
This fear is not just a personal quirk; it’s an evolutionary imperative. If our ancestors had seen the world as it truly is — if they hadn’t harbored some delusion about the inevitability of death and pain, even in the face of conclusive proof — we wouldn’t have survived, let alone propelled our genetic data forward. We instinctually cannot picture our own personal demise, and collectively, we’ve decided to lie to ourselves, to believe in the comforting lies of false optimism. This collective self-deception is easier than facing the harsh reality of our existence.
No wonder collective neurosis, in all its ugly manifestations, exists. Deep down, we know the truth, even if we don’t access it readily, but it’s too cumbersome and daunting to confront. To assuage such pains, governments conveniently hand us a dopamine gold mine in the form of phones, media, and porn (and unsurprisingly deprive us of what nourishes and awakens us). Within the comfort of our four-walled, tiny houses, we now have access to what we formerly had to pursue and experience (actually). The sublime divinity of relationships is now lived only through false idols we call actors, through digital connections devoid of true intimacy.
“Above all, don’t lie to yourself. The man who lies to himself and listens to his own lie comes to a point that he cannot distinguish the truth within him, or around him, and so loses all respect for himself and for others. And having no respect he ceases to love.” — Dostoevsky
We have come to accept, without a second thought, what just decades ago would have horrified us. Our collective neurosis, our delusions, and our acceptance of a hollow existence — these are not random. They are the result of an evolutionary imperative: the avoidance of fear, the avoidance of death, because the thought of non-existence is too daunting and cumbersome to carry. This imperative has driven us to construct the very fabric of our society — a society that thrives on lies, delusion, and the avoidance of truth. And so, we continue to lie to ourselves, for it is easier than seeing things as they truly are. We tell ourselves and others stories and fiction, only to worship and defend them, as our existence has come to rely on them.
“In individuals, insanity is rare; but in groups, parties, nations, and epochs, it is the rule.” — Friedrich Nietzsche
In many ways, we are not so different from the Jungian self-destructive self, where power has blinded us, and we have lied to ourselves, believing those lies as consoling “truths”. We, as a collective, except for the very few who saw these laughs as the joy of their days, are on the brink of our own downfall. Our denial echoes in the laughter of those oblivious to the perils ahead. The time for self-reflection and meaningful action is now — before our collective shadow consumes us, and spits us out into a world unrecognizable, where the remnants of our humanity lie soulless.
“The world is hell, and men are on the one hand the tormented souls and on the other the devils in it.” — Schopenhauer