18/03/2025
Fascinating piece by psychiatrist and philosopher Iain McGilchrist on the current state of the world, drawing on the work of Hannah Arendt to diagnose the rise of a specific kind of totalitarianism (related to censorship and the prevalence of 'an arrogant and mediocre elite'), the collapse of previous institutions and ways of thinking that would have prevented this, and the meaningless of the terms 'left' and 'right' in politics at the moment:
'We now live in a world where, over the last 20-25 years, we have moved into totalitarianism. ‘Soft’ totalitarianism it may be (although some of its manifestations – de-platforming, shouting down, physically attacking, excluding, debanking, suspending, sacking, having your personal messages pored over by the police, criminalising and even imprisoning, don’t look too ‘soft’ to me); but totalitarianism it is. Hannah Arendt believed that whenever there are matters that cannot be questioned, it is already a tyranny. This is where we are now. The reason for it is the usual one: an arrogant and mediocre elite, who believe that if they could control not just deeds, but words, and ultimately thoughts, they, with their superior understanding, will bring about a better society. History, of course, makes it clear that this is a calamitous mistake; but just thinking about what it entails should make that clear without needing to go to history for confirmation.'
It's from his recent newsletter on his new Substance platform: https://iainmcgilchrist.substack.com/p/laughter-in-heaven
