This interesting looking documentary is being released in Australia in December – Decadence: Decline of the Western World. Based on the trailer – which is certainly not a good way to assess a film! – it is more pessimistic about the prospects of Western Civilisation than I would be, but it seems like a must-see.
Pessimism is as much a strand in Western thought as optimism and progress. No society has been without artists, intellectuals, and thinkers who struck notes about decline – cultural, spiritual, moral. And pessimism is important for optimists too: every change brings challenges, and those challenges cannot be dismissed. Michael Duffy’s presentation at the Genius of Western Civilisation symposium emphasised one change – communications technology – that brings potentially momentous disruption. Even the most implacable optimist about the future would be ill-advised to ignore the challenges of change.
