Chaos and Dirigisme; the decay of the Grand Narrative

 As metaphor, the failure of the Grand Narrative of Western Civilization to comprehend the locomotive led directly to its irrelevance. Triggered by the events causing the Long Depression of 1873 that narrative was, not replaced, but succeeded by, policies of dirigisme in order to maintain way, maintain aggregate demand, and maintain employment. This ad hoc attempt at creating solutions to these problems indicates the profound degree of chaos in the western economy.

This successful succession of dirigisme to the Grand Narrative led to the abandonment of that narrative by 1905 and Einstein's landmark paper. Merlin never dreamed of Relativity. This is not to say that large narratives are obsolete. They just need to be larger and more complex than the old Grand Narrative. We wait patiently for our Homer to take us past ad hoc solutions to systematically ordained humane societies. 

Central to this waiting for a new narrative is the ethical and intellectual discomfort of the rule of the new. That rule cannot hold off the darkness and emptiness of cultural collapse. We need an ordaining myth tagged to reality. We need a Grand Narrative. That vacuum must and will be filled. Hide and watch.

Do Well and Be Well.