Just as 15th-century Florence summoned the flames of Savonarola, 21st-century modern society—despite reaching a technological and material zenith—suffers from unprecedented levels of hatred, division, and mental anguish. This phenomenon occurs because we have grasped too much freedom and information before we could develop the “philosophical muscle” to govern such abundance.
“Choice Overload” and Confirmation Bias
In the past, humans simply lived according to their given environments—family, religion, or class. Today, however, modern individuals have been sentenced to the “punishment of subjectivity,” where they must define themselves at every moment. Within this boundless freedom, humans feel a profound anxiety.
To alleviate this anxiety, people seek “oppression” once again. However, the modern Savonarola appears not as a religion, but in the form of “Algorithms” and “Extreme Communities.” By entrusting themselves to extreme logic that simplifies a complex world, they escape the pain of having to think for themselves. This is an “intellectual lethargy” created by abundance and a new form of subjugation.
A Society Manufacturing Virtual Deficiency
As material abundance reached a high plateau for many, humans began to create a virtual deficiency known as “relative deprivation.” By showing only the most glamorous, edited moments of others, social media injects a fake desire into even the most affluent: “You are still not enough.”
As we discussed earlier, deficiency creates desire, and desire creates bias. The chaos of modern society does not arise from actual hunger; it is the noise generated when these “manipulated deficiencies” collide with one another. People no longer fight for bread; they fight over “who is more miserable” or “who is more morally superior.”
The Inflation of Meaning and the Eruption of Hatred
In an abundant society, everything becomes common. Information, goods, and even human relationships lose their scarcity. In a world where value has depreciated (inflation), humans feel alive only through provocative stimuli.
Just as Savonarola provided the people of Florence with the sensational event of “burning sins,” the modern masses gain a cathartic pleasure through “public executions (Cancel Culture)” or hate speech directed at others. This is the lowest form of play, enacted by humans who cannot endure the boredom that abundance has bestowed.
The Only Way to Endure Abundance—Subjective Discipline
Ultimately, the turmoil of modern society is massive evidence that we are not yet ready to enjoy abundance. Abundance gave us freedom, but it did not give us the “inner order” to fill that freedom.
To avoid becoming slaves to demagogues like Savonarola or the mercy of algorithms, we must impose “Self-Discipline” upon ourselves. This means regulating one’s life not by lines drawn by others, but by logic and morality designed by oneself. That is the only navigation skill that allows us to move forward without succumbing to the motion sickness of this era of excess.
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