Thoughts in a time of change

It’s a strange time we’re living in right now. Refugees, zero interest rates, Erdogan, Trump … everything is extremely strange. Globalization has become unpopular. First came the growth of the international trade in goods, now also the huge flows of people. This migration is now going out of fashion even in the United States, in the homeland of immigration.
It is tantamount to an absolute trend reversal. People have been acting and moving since they were alive. Tin was brought to Greece from England as early as the Bronze Age. Today more than half of all goods and services move across international borders. But now this movement has suddenly stalled. The whole thing is a reaction to the effects of world politics, rapid opening and globalization. This rapid change brings fear and insecurity, the rapid opening of all borders destabilizes. Then many would like the old stability back, they are looking for the old limits to which they can orient themselves.

Demagogues take advantage of this uncertainty. They question everything, but mostly questions with no solutions and no real answers. Conspiracy theories are springing up. But there is something paranoid about all conspiracy theories. This paranoia is highly unsuitable for effectively coping with social crises. Rather, conspiracy theories have the effect of creating even more confusion. They bend the space of what can be rationally said, they fuel hatred of strangers or “others”. And you don’t have to go back to the Middle Ages to understand where this can lead.