Intense present-mindedness makes advanced societies blind to their self-inflicted misfortunes.
Evidence
To many of these desperately poor people, it was as if we in the mainstream West were unable to see that often we were the authors of our own misfortunes. They were diagnosing a weird kind of social senility. It was a diagnosis that in many ways resembled Innis’s conclusion that the West, and particularly the United States, was losing its balance and becoming increasingly blinded by its intense present-mindedness. As a result, it was prone to resort to force to solve its problems. — Harold Innis, The Bias of Communication, 24 (
#expands, via linked claim)
The ideology of the future can serve as a form of “false consciousness,” a deflection away from the substantial problems of the present, problems grounded in conflicts over wealth and status and the appropriate control of technology, toward a future in which these problems, by the very nature of the future, cannot exist. — James W. Carey, Communication as Culture- Essays on…, 691 (
#complicates, via linked claim)
Categorization
- corroborated: 2 independent passages support this claim
- XREF: connects to: Western present-mindedness drives a reliance on force to solve problems — Harold Innis, The Bias of Communication, 24; The future ideology deflects attention from present conflicts over wealth and technology. — James W. Carey, Communication as Culture- Essays on…, 691; Suppressed knowledge allows the myth of American decency to endure. — Nicholson Baker, Baseless- My Search for Secrets in the…, 1087 (+2 more)
Related
- Western present-mindedness drives a reliance on force to solve problems (similarity 0.90)
- Using outmoded thought for present problems makes one a walking anachronism (similarity 0.81)
- The future ideology deflects attention from present conflicts over wealth and technology. (similarity 0.81)
Broader Connections
- Western present-mindedness drives a reliance on force to solve problems
#expands(0.85) — Harold Innis, The Bias of Communication, 24 - The future ideology deflects attention from present conflicts over wealth and technology.
#complicates(0.75) — James W. Carey, Communication as Culture- Essays on…, 691