How radical ideas poison society

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Four years ago, I posted a missing person report: “Losing the Middle” was the title of an article in Sunday Bleek magazine in which I described how the middle of society was gradually disappearing sociologically and economically. In 2021, there was still a CVP in Switzerland, which after the merger with BDP was called Die Mitte, but this is nothing more than cosmetic. Because many years ago the American sociologist Saskia Sassen (76) predicted: “The center is disappearing. And that’s bad (…)”.

And now we know where she’s going. “How the middle falls prey to extremists” is the subtitle of a recently published book by Austrian investigative journalist and political adviser Julia Ebner (31). In it, she vividly describes how the coronavirus pandemic, in particular, has acted as a centrifugal force, pushing the center to the sidelines. Since then, many have come to believe in disinformation and conspiracy theories that originate in “marginal subcultures,” says Abner.

A doctoral student at St John’s College, Oxford University in England, explores what makes liberal societies so vulnerable, what human factors contribute to radicalization and polarization, and what we can do to prevent the collapse of democracy. “I am a science-loving anti-racist feminist,” writes Abner. “But for this book, I met with anti-feminists, racists, climate deniers and conspiracy theorists.”

“Mass radicalization” is not remote observation from an ivory tower, but close contact with people. Abner does not shy away from meetings and usually meets undercover. The book thrives on transcripts of conversations. At a demonstration, she talks to a man holding a sign that reads “Leave our children alone!” holds. “What exactly about babies?” I ask him. “They kill babies to pump out adrenochrome.” “What is adrenochrome?” “It’s much stronger than adrenaline and can become a drug.”

The most abstruse ideas find a mass audience today. If you wanted to reach a million people ten years ago, you had to get a daily newspaper interested or buy advertising space—all of which is being carried over the Internet today under the scrutiny of the public. Therefore, Abner calls, among other things, for the speedy exposure of disinformation and the return of language. Because: “Mislabeling things or moving them into a completely different context have become powerful tools for driving wedges in communities.”

In 2016, the EU referendum in the UK and the US presidential election were seen as political accidents. But, according to Abner: “Looking back, Brexit and Trump’s election were only the beginning of a new era.” With far-reaching consequences, such as the storming of the Capitol in Washington in 2021. “The events of January 6 show how radical ideas are already widespread in mainstream society,” the political scientist writes.

Source: Blick