Jeremy Seabrook

Abstract

It has been common to think that societies which become pathological and extreme are the responsibility of deranged leaders such as Hitler, Pol Pot, Kim Jong-Un or Saddam Hussein. In fact these are usually a reflection and symbol of deeper social disorders. This article considers the mental health of societies, and looks at the loss of equilibrium in what have liked to think of themselves as models for the rest of the world to follow. The advent of Trump has uncovered a profound crisis of faith in what the US represents; a crisis of loss of meaning, in its heartland, of an imperialism which has scattered and laid waste with impunity cultures and societies across the globe.

Keywords

Belief-systems, cult, fundamentalisms, indigenous peoples, loss of meaning, mental health, Donald Trump, western development paradigm

From: Race & Class 2018 59 (4)

Editor: Wang Yi