What I call political metamodernism is a new perspective on politics. It changes not only how we do politics, but also what the role of politics in society is in the first place – and of course, it sets new goals for what we want to achieve in society, and it provides explanations for why. Very basically, political metamodernism tries to bring about the society that comes after, and goes beyond, what we usually think of as “modern society”. Take a modern country today, like Sweden, and consider how different it is today – politically, socially and economically – from a century ago. And how very different its citizens are. Where did all the hackers, yoga people and feminist vegans come from, for one thing?
What I call political metamodernism is a new perspective on politics. It changes not only how we do politics, but also what the role of politics in society is in the first place – and of course, it sets new goals for what we want to achieve in society, and it provides explanations for why. Very basically, political metamodernism tries to bring about the society that comes after, and goes beyond, what we usually think of as “modern society”. Take a modern country today, like Sweden, and consider how different it is today – politically, socially and economically – from a century ago. And how very different its citizens are. Where did all the hackers, yoga people and feminist vegans come from, for one thing?
The Social Democrats of the early 20th century had an ideology – a vision, an idea of what the future welfare society might look like. In large parts, that society has successfully materialized. But for a few decades, we have no such visions or goals – even as the world is changing more rapidly than ever and the technological possibilities are much greater than before. So where are the major political visions?
The aim of political metamodernism is to take us from one “modern” stage of societal development (liberal democracy, party politics, capitalism, welfare state) to the next “metamodern” stage of development. It is aiming to outcompete liberal democracy as a political system, outcompete all of the political parties and their ideologies, outcompete capitalism as an economic system, and outcompete and replace our current welfare system. There. Did I get your attention?
Political metamodernism is built around one central insight. The king’s road to a good future society is personal development and psychological growth. And humans develop much better if you fulfill their innermost psychological needs. We’re looking for a “deeper” society; a civilization more socially apt, emotionally intelligent and existentially mature.
THE KING’S ROAD TO A GOOD FUTURE SOCIETY IS PSYCHOLOGICAL GROWTH.
There are three different parts of political metamodernism: The Listening Society is the welfare of the future, a welfare that includes the emotional needs and supports the psychological growth of all citizens. A society in which everyone is seen and heard (rather than manipulated and subjected to surveillance, which are the degenerate siblings of being seen and heard). Co-Development is a kind of political thinking that works across parties, works to keep ego issues and emotional investments and biased opinions in check, and seeks to improve the general climate of political discourse: “I develop if you develop. Even if we don’t agree, we come closer to the truth if we create better dialogues and raise the standards for how we treat one another.”
The Nordic Ideology is my name for the political structure that would support the long-term creation of the listening society and make room for co-development. It is called the Nordic ideology because its early sprouts are cropping up in and around Scandinavia.
These three things taken together are what I call political metamodernism. I have increasingly come to believe that political metamodernism is exceedingly useful for addressing society’s ailments, such as the multifaceted ecological crisis; the instability of the economy; the excessive global inequalities; the widespread anxiety, or “alienation”, that modern people harbor; the challenges of global migration; the transition to a post-industrial, robotized and digitalized economy; and the challenges of transnational governance. That’s why I believe the listening society is the bridge that can take us, in a few generations, from the modern world to a metamodern society.
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