Utopic certainty derives from millenarian traditions of ordained futures.

Evidence

The sense of incontestable certainty that infuses Paradiso’s vision has long been recognized as a key feature of utopianism. In their definitive history of utopian thought, Frank and Fritzie Manuel wrote that “since the end of the eighteenth century the predictive utopia has become a major form of imaginative thought and has preempted certain scientific techniques of forecasting… the contemporary utopia… binds past, present, and future together as though fated. The state they depict appears virtually ordained either by god or by history; there is a carry-over of millenarian certainty.…” — Shoshana Zuboff, The Age of Surveillance Capitalism, 690

Categorization

• XREF: Links tech inevitabilism to the Manuel history of utopian thought — a useful genealogy for the broader surveillance-capitalism argument. — connects to: Hopelessness in the present can liberate leaders for foolhardy millenarian ventures — L. P. Harvey, Muslims in Spain, 1500 to 1614, 556; Future movements resort to incantations to reassure themselves of their cherished illusions. — James W. Carey, Communication as Culture- Essays on…, 725; Foundational myths rewrite predicted futures as descriptions of an already-past beginning. — Stuart Hall, Essential Essays, Volume 2: Identity…, 828 (+1 more)

Broader Connections

• Hopelessness in the present can liberate leaders for foolhardy millenarian ventures #expands (0.82) — L. P. Harvey, Muslims in Spain, 1500 to 1614, 556
• Foundational myths rewrite predicted futures as descriptions of an already-past beginning. #complicates (0.75) — Stuart Hall, Essential Essays, Volume 2, 828
• Future movements resort to incantations to reassure themselves of their cherished illusions. #expands (0.72) — James W. Carey, Communication as Culture- Essays on…, 725