What is metamodern, and why will it destroy Ukraine and Russia

Immediately reassure readers: this is not a ten-page philosophical treatise on metamodern. This is a survival guide so that you personally survive the next years without tears and tragedies. Right now, the way of human life is changing all over the world, and someone always drowns on the crossing.

 Let it be someone else.

Denis Skorbylin

How "isms" kill

Metamodernism (postmodernism, modernism) is perceived in society only as some kind of incomprehensible cultural phenomenon. Culture, on the other hand, is perceived as a "thing in itself", not very necessary for a "simple locksmith". Our average citizen reasons as follows: now, under postmodernism, some artists nail eggs to the cobblestones and show their tits at demonstrations. Ugh. And with metamodernism, eggs will probably be shown and tits nailed. Well, what does this have to do with a simple locksmith?!

But the same old moldy postmodernism is not only "current art", but also its derivatives. It is possible not to be interested in advanced literature and new artists, okay. But do you watch movies and TV series? And their screenwriters are even very interested and broadcast the same thoughts, only more simply. You can even not watch series, you can even never turn on YouTube, but if you live, for example, in Crimea, then the annexation of your region was prepared by people who are well versed in modern cultural trends. And stones from the sky do not fall on them, unlike "simple locksmiths".

Postmodernism is world crises from bursting market "bubbles". A simple locksmith suddenly flies out of work. Postmodernism is the war in Syria and the war in Donbas, because the current cultural system has replaced direct wars with such "strange" ones. Boom! Our hypothetical locksmith is dead. After all, projectiles are quite material and, by the way, do not understand culture at all.

Postmodernism is dead. The world is crawling into the era of metamodernism, in which everything will be different. Except for one thing: people will still kill, go bankrupt and watch the parade of flags outside the window with astonishment.

Only the rules of the game will change.

I repeat, I wrote this text because it is very important for us (among the readers there are no random people, I collected you on this page for a long time) to understand the new rules of the game. And understand how to play further.

How we lived the last hundred years

Let's take a look at what modernism, postmodernism, and metamodernism are.

As simple and short as possible.

Modernism. Appeared in the 19th century. He carried in himself a new idea of ​​man as a building material for large constructions. At first, national states were actively created out of people, then they cheerfully and en masse fought in the First World War. Then, of course, they began to build communism, national socialism, fascism, liberalism... It is fundamentally important that people were considered only as building material. In principle, no one cared what people thought about construction.

As a result of the Second World War, the remnants of Humanity were so fed up with the successful results of the "builds of the century" that they unanimously abandoned modernism in all its manifestations (the USSR tried to tremble, but not for long, at most - until the end of the 70s).

This is how postmodernism appeared. This is a philosophy when all ideals are ridiculed, humanity goes for a smoke break, does not want to build anything, rejects the idea of ​​self-sacrifice. There are no "stories of the century", only a total banter, a society of consumption, quotations, borrowings, endless reflection and creative throwing. Humanity changed its mind about flying into space, instead they created the Internet, and computing technologies made a colossal leap. Instead of mass executions, there is a cynical but relatively harmless imitation.

In the era of postmodernism, the European Union was created, the insufficiently flexible USSR collapsed, giving us 15 new states, including Ukraine and the Russian Federation, which are of particular interest to us. In general, our days until recently.

But a break is good because it has not only a beginning, but also an end. And Humanity has returned from a smoke break. Postmodernism has exhausted itself. Objective prerequisites for a lifestyle change were formed. It is difficult to say in which year postmodernism died, but the first bells rang already in the 70s of the XX century, and in the 90s the agony of the old order was already noticeable. Now all possible deadlines have been met, metamodern came to every country and every supranational association.

Whether we want it or not.

What is good and what is dangerous metamodernism

Metamodernism is such a cunning mixture of modernism and postmodernism. From modernism, the new reality took a burning desire to do something very big, to know the world, to solve all problems... In general, they will start a big construction.

But, as in postmodernism, a person still remains a person. The importance of horizontal human connections is growing, primitive vertical states are weakening. On this construction site, people are no longer perceived as cogs. In the metamodern, people are full-fledged creators. The state not only cannot influence the new type of "construction", it often does not even know that such a construction is underway. This is not always good, for example, the drug trade is endlessly detached from the capabilities of law enforcement agencies, it will be stopped. But metamodernism is not about "good" and "bad". He is what he is, outside of moral categories - like a hammer or an awl.

In addition, metamodernism received a good cooling system so that during major construction works, the engine would not be destroyed by another Hitler. This mechanism is called oscillation, and it represents endless oscillations between total irony and transcendent sincerity. That is, if, in the course of some big construction, things gradually begin to move towards a new Stalin and collectivization, society responds with harsh irony and persecution of the fools who got carried away. And if everyone relaxes and starts picking their noses, a group of politicians/intellectuals/activists appear with the most serious faces, after which the workers take out their shovels and go to work.

In this structure, moreover, it is still very raw, there are several vulnerable points on which we will all hit the cones. The first flaw was formulated by Robin Van Den Akker, a Dutch philosopher. "The postmodern sense of stability and permanent progress ends in metamodernism." That's it. Stability ends, people begin to ask questions about "how", "why", "why". People have to THINK, make decisions and then accept the consequences. Horror!

A lot of questions broke out from the basements of postmodernism into the public space, which is why all the previously erected structures collapsed. Please note that there is no stability anywhere today. In the USA, Trump destroys the postmodernist achievements of his predecessors, the North and the South are again trying to clarify their relations. Great Britain is leaving the EU, and now the British need to come up with a new identity. The remaining members of the European Union are also forced to seek new meanings within themselves, and if it does not work out, other countries will also think about leaving the EU. Plus, issues of migration, basic values, economy are raised... It will definitely not be easy for Europe in the coming years. No one will.

The Islamic world is also rethinking itself, choosing between a careful transition to postmodernism ("oh, it seems like a woman is also a person, and killing infidels is not cool") and the "Islamic State" - the first metamodernist terrorist formation. It is high time for China to choose between socialism and capitalism, the current postmodernist model of sitting on two chairs has developed a resource.

The second difficult point lies in the "horizontal" nature of metamodernism. When big transformations are made not by the state vertical, but by a network of people, it is difficult to avoid strategic development mistakes. It is difficult to predict.

In general, it will not be easy for anyone.

Ukraine in the metamodern or a blanket over the head

The wind of change is blowing in the post-Soviet space. Ukraine and Russia, which are absolutely postmodern by design, have finally faced systemic crises and are forced to evolve or die. Today, both countries are good at imitating values ​​and changing everything so as not to change anything. However, in recent years, citizens wanted more. They wanted real meanings of existence that would simply satisfy no one. At the same time, it will not work to ignore this request either, Yanukovych asked.

In Ukraine, there is an unambiguously formed demand for qualitative real changes in the economy and sociology. Over the past five years, society has developed to such an extent that it not only learned the word "populist", but also forced its politicians to call each other populists. At the same time, there are still no reasonable and detailed concepts of the country's development, and there is also no unified vision of this process. And, frankly speaking, there have not been fewer populists in power yet.

Left to its own devices, a fractured and neurotic Ukraine habitually descends into chaos, as has happened before. People united by the Maidan are gradually dividing into ethno-nationalists and Euro-optimists, and are preparing for a future conflict. At the same time, neither that nor the others understand the real needs of society and are not recognized as quantitatively significant forces. We don't know what the real Ukrainian society wants, it sleeps under the media ice, but it is already spinning restlessly, which is why dangerous cracks are running through the regions...

Ukrainian authorities and leaders of public opinion are not able to propose a unifying ideology for the country, limiting themselves to general phrases about the "European path" of development. The fact that Europe itself has temporarily (permanently?) lost itself, and the prospects for the survival of the European Union as a single entity are unclear, does not concern either the President or the Council. They simply use these beautiful words as a simulation of foreign policy.

The internal policy of the leadership of Ukraine is so far reduced to the policy of "return to the roots" while completely ignoring the loss of control of the regions. That is, citizens of Ukraine are being pushed towards ethno-nationalism in the narrowest possible interpretation. It is beneficial for the ruling class, since, in case of success, you can leave everything as it is, just put on the embroidery. Reforming the court, the police, revising taxes and creating a strong domestic market is difficult. Therefore, let's just drink Lviv coffee and pretend that everything is so good.

It is like a child who pulls a blanket over his head when he sees a monster — ignoring real problems, the state fights imaginary difficulties, and assures citizens that this is its key task. Postmodernism as it is. Fiction. But the monster in the room is real, and the blanket will not protect it. For Ukrainian ethno-nationalists and Euro-optimists, these games may end very sadly.

Russia turns into metamodern or art in three days

If you look closely at Russia, you will see economic problems, a crisis of governance in local elections, a drop in Putin's rating, and Russian rap as the new music of the revolution. The latter is especially remarkable, since musicians who were singing about drugs and sex a couple of years ago suddenly became concerned with the destruction of the ruling system. And that's right - no revolution is possible without a good song.

So far, the strategy of the Russian leadership is reduced to the preservation of the current postmodern construction. This is when ordinary citizens are offered a number of ancient, extremely disgusting modernist vectors: Russian National Socialism, totally inhuman liberalism and Stalinist-style communism. Of course, the common man runs in terror from the maddened modernists into the arms of the "arbitrator", the conditional Putin. While he is still running, the leader's rating drops, and with him the margin of safety of this entire postmodern construction is lost. The history of the Russian Empire and the USSR teaches us that the systems built by Russia have a huge safety margin, but when it runs out, the state, according to Rozanov, "withers in three days."

In foreign policy, Russia is completely identical to Ukraine, because it constantly sells postmodernist illusions instead of real actions. Lacking a real military infrastructure of the economy and external allies, Russia flings its rockets and begs for a new "cold war". At the same time, everyone seems to understand that this is not serious, this is such an interesting game, so why don't you put the knife away. An excellent strategy for the postmodern era, when everything was "just as it should be". It is a bad strategy for the metamodern, when developed countries already want to play other games, and the postmodernist, who is unbridled, can be shortened simply so that he does not get confused under his feet.

It cannot be said that the conventional Putin does not realize the scale of the problems at all. Work is going on. However, it is not yet possible to find the right solution. In foreign policy, the Syrian campaign is being conducted, which is not very successful and clear, but, at least, it creates another game board for large-scale geopolitical negotiations.

At first, the irredentist of the "Russian Spring" was also quite drawn to the Russian metamodernist idea and made a serious impression due to its reliance on grassroots structures and horizontal initiatives of ordinary people. However, already in the summer of 2014, "Russian Spring" was emasculated, transferred to postmodernist rails, and now it is just another unsightly "ism" that scares the Russian citizen. At the moment, there are no real ideas why the sun rises and sets over the Russian Federation. And there is a request for these ideas. The process is irreversible.

Who is stronger: tyrannosaurus or ankylosaurus? The crocodile answers!

The war between Ukraine and Russia is tragic, because it is a clash of two dinosaurs at the end of the Cretaceous period. Of course, everyone is interested in who will eat who, but in the new era of metamodernity, both will die out. Or they evolve - how crocodiles turned out from archosaurs and survived safely to the present day. I had to, of course, reduce in size and moderate my appetite, but the survival of the species was definitely worth it.

It is absolutely certain that Ukraine, as we know it now, will soon be gone. Either the territory or the nature of relations within the country will change. Similarly with Russia. Or-or. It will not work to sit on the sidelines, yes will not give.

The world has become a single and interconnected space, so individual countries resisting change have turned from a local problem into a global problem. In contrast to postmodern postmodernism, in metamodernity all problems must be solved (or transformed into other problems). Of course, these new public construction sites will not be without "accidents". Ukraine and Russia are among the problem countries, and they can easily become an "accident". If we ourselves do not come up with a working model of existence, others will come up with it for us, and it is not a fact that we will like it.

Some queens of troubled states, by the way, are already trying on crocodile skin. The best friend of American basketball players, Kim Jong-un, is already showing his full readiness to play by the new rules. This is rational: the conditional West will be happy to finance the North Korean "Perestroika" and leave the cunning Korean dynasty alone.

The Belarusian "last European dictator" successfully sold the image of Belarus as an adequate and problem-free mediator in relations with troubled Russia. Five more years of such flexibility, a little geopolitical luck, and Belarus will enter the European Union even before troubled Ukraine. If, of course, there will be a European Union.

Two ways of salvation

New times will shake everyone and it is impossible to predict in advance which country will be prosperous in ten years, and which will become the new Syria. It is quite possible that Ukraine is in for an unprecedented economic boom. There are all conditions for this, except for a new way of thinking and new rules of the game. You and I are quite capable of this task. But we can also expect the strengthening of Russia, the reform of the European Union, or the formation of a gigantic continental Belarusian empire with the immortal genetically modified Alexander Lukashenko on the throne. In the coming storms, anything is possible, and I see two ways of salvation. Collective and personal.

The collective method is simple and complicated: you just need to prepare your country for a qualitative transition to a new system. Need:

• They constantly raise the topic of strategic state goals, impose this agenda on their opinion leaders and politicians
• Participate in horizontal associations, charitable organizations, volunteer groups, intellectual circles. If you are not going to emigrate, your main capital is connections with other people, built on a voluntary basis and common ideals. These are the same "horizontal connections", and you need them,
• Any action aimed at strengthening the internal stability of the collective/society/country should be encouraged and supported by you. Any attempts to make a difference, to discriminate against certain groups, or to create the appearance of a solution to a problem instead of a real solution — mercilessly apply oscillation, alternately ridiculing and pretending to be sincere.

The personal method is complicated and simple. Accept in advance as a given that your place of residence can change at any time, and more than once. Either because your country will lose in some complex metamodernist game, or because the prospects will be better in another country. Or all at once. Therefore, do not even bother with the internal agenda of the future former family. Instead:

• Be as mobile as possible, don't get cluttered with things and connections,
• Invest all your free money in yourself. Every new language, skill, talent is a new opportunity in other countries,
• Lead a healthy lifestyle, you will need health when moving,
• Be as open as possible to the new, do not cling to the old, be interested in the art and politics of the leading countries,
• Travel.

Millions of Ukrainians have already successfully implemented an individual scenario, and millions more will follow their example. Thousands of madmen are laboriously pulling a collective scenario upon themselves, and, in my opinion, their efforts are hopeless. In many ways, Ukraine still exists only thanks to these, already very tired, people. Personally, I am in no hurry to move. It is quite possible for us to jump on the metamodernist train not as a canned food on the way, but as an independent passenger.

But there is little time left, we need to act.

Long live the metamodern.