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Introduction: The Gospel of Progress

Everywhere we turn, we hear the same sacred mantra: “The future is bright! Progress is unstoppable! The world is better than ever!”

But what if it’s all a lie?

Modernity promises liberation, prosperity, and meaning. Yet, as societies march forward under its banner, they seem to grow weaker, more disconnected, and less capable of critical thought. The traditions that once gave people strength—family, culture, philosophy, and self-reliance—have been stripped away, replaced with an existence centered around convenience, distraction, and consumption.

For centuries, thinkers have questioned the dominant ideology of modernity—the belief that democracy, individualism, capitalism, and social progress are pushing humanity toward a better world. But what if, instead of guiding us upward, these forces have untethered us from everything that made civilization strong? What if the supposed march toward enlightenment is, for most, a slow descent into purposelessness?

There is one undeniable gift modernity has given us: innovation. Technology has expanded human potential in ways once unimaginable. But while it could serve as a tool for mastery and independence, for most, it has become just another mechanism of control—something they consume rather than wield. Instead of using technology to strengthen themselves, most are enslaved by it, pacified by endless entertainment, artificial desires, and shallow engagement.

If modernity was truly synonymous with progress, people would be stronger, wiser, and more fulfilled than ever. Instead, we see the opposite. The more society “advances,” the more hollow it becomes.

Let’s step back and reflect with an open mind.

Let’s question the very foundation of what we’ve been told.

The Death of Tradition: A Civilization Without a Soul

Once upon a time, people were rooted—in family, faith, community, and heritage. They belonged to something greater than themselves. But modernity has shattered these pillars of existence, leaving behind a wasteland of disconnected individuals, wandering without purpose.

Religion has been abandoned, along with the philosophies that once gave meaning, direction, and a sense of the divine to humanity. Replaced morally corrupt ideologies and bureaucracy. Nihilism festers in its wake, whispering that nothing truly matters, that existence is void of inherent purpose. Without a higher calling, without sacred foundations, society drifts aimlessly, numbing itself with distraction rather than confronting the abyss.

Communities have been destroyed, with people atomized into isolated consumers and the phasing out of cultural traditions. With no shared myths, no binding purpose, individuals seek meaning in superficial identities and empty pleasures, afraid to acknowledge the gnawing void beneath.

Wisdom passed down through generations is ridiculed, discarded in favor of the latest fleeting trends. In rejecting tradition, modern man has not freed himself—he has unshackled himself from meaning and left himself defenseless against despair.

As Julius Evola warned, modernity has decapitated the sacred, turning humanity into a soulless machine, grinding forward without direction. And in this void, nihilism thrives, whispering that there is nothing left to believe in, nothing worth fighting for—only an empty march toward oblivion.

Democracy and the Tyranny of the Mediocre

We’re told that democracy is the pinnacle of civilization—that rule by the masses leads to freedom, prosperity, and justice. But does it?

Or does democracy, in reality, empower the weak, the cowardly, and the ignorant? Does it reduce leadership to a game of popularity, where the most deceitful manipulators rise to the top?

Oswald Spengler foresaw this decline. He described democracy as a stage in civilizational decay, where the once-great are replaced by bureaucrats, career politicians, and merchants who think only in terms of profits and votes, not vision or strength.

The Great Lie of Freedom

We are told that modernity brings freedom. That liberalism has liberated us from oppression.

But are we truly free?

Or are we simply shackled in new chains—chains that are invisible, yet tighter than ever?

  • Surveillance states watch our every move. Governments collect data on citizens, monitor online activity, and deploy AI-driven facial recognition in public spaces, turning everyday life into a panopticon where privacy no longer exists.
  • Corporations dictate what we can and cannot say. Social media giants act as de facto censors, shadow-banning dissenting voices and demonetizing those who challenge mainstream narratives.
  • Algorithms manipulate what we think, shaping our very perception of reality. From curated news feeds to AI-generated content suggestions, we are spoon-fed information designed to reinforce pre-approved worldviews while dissenting perspectives are buried.
  • Cancel culture and mob justice silence dissent. One wrong opinion, one misstep, and individuals can lose their careers, their reputations, and even their ability to participate in society.
  • Debt slavery keeps millions in economic servitude. The modern economy pushes endless consumer debt, student loans, and unaffordable housing, ensuring that individuals remain bound to the system with no escape.
  • Healthcare and pharmaceutical industries prioritize profit over well-being. Millions are prescribed medications not to heal but to keep them dependent, fueling an industry that thrives on sickness rather than health.
  • The illusion of choice distracts from real control. Whether voting for nearly identical politicians, choosing between corporate monopolies, or consuming carefully curated media, the range of “choices” is designed to maintain the existing power structures.
  • Mental and physical health are in rapid decline. Rates of depression, anxiety, and suicide are skyrocketing, fueled by an overstimulated, disconnected, and purposeless existence. Obesity and chronic disease are rampant, encouraged by the food and pharmaceutical industry.
  • Education no longer teaches critical thinking or self-sufficiency. Modern schooling produces workers, not thinkers. Financial literacy, independent reasoning, and practical survival skills are ignored in favor of obedience, compliance, and ideological programming.
  • People are unable to take agency over their own lives. Dependency on government aid, corporate jobs, and an increasingly fragile economy leaves individuals powerless to escape the systems that bind them.

Carl Schmitt saw through the illusion. Liberalism doesn’t eliminate power—it simply hides it behind a mask of bureaucracy and “human rights.” Power still exists, but it is now diffuse, unaccountable, and more dangerous than ever.

Neo-Capitalism: The Enslavement of Desire

Neo-Capitalism was supposed to liberate us. Instead, it has reduced human beings to mere consumers, driven not by virtue, but by desire.

We live in a world where:

  • Our worth is measured by what we buy, not who we are. Identity is now tied to brands, fashion, and tech products rather than personal character, achievements, or values.
  • We chase endless consumption but feel emptier than ever. Instant gratification has replaced long-term fulfillment, the chase of cheap dopamine highs, leaving people in a cycle of acquiring more but never being satisfied.
  • Everything sacred—art, love, even thought itself—is commodified and sold to the highest bidder. Creativity is hijacked by corporations, reducing art to marketable products and relationships to transactional exchanges.
  • Advertising and media create artificial desires. Corporations manufacture dissatisfaction, convincing people they are incomplete without the latest product, gadget, or trend.
  • Financial markets dictate global priorities. Instead of prioritizing culture, environment, or well-being, modern capitalism ensures that profit is the only measure of success.
  • Even rebellion is monetized. Countercultures, movements, and dissenting voices are commercialized, turned into marketing campaigns that ultimately feed the very system they claim to oppose.

Nicolás Gómez Dávila saw modernity as a great lie—one that tells us that happiness comes from comfort, when in reality, it comes from purpose, struggle, and transcendence.

Identity & Nationalism: The Forgotten Pillars of Strength

We are told that nationalism is a disease. That the world must move toward a borderless, homogeneous, globalist utopia.

But what if identity is the foundation of all strength? What if a world without distinct cultures, traditions, and histories is not a utopia, but a nightmare?

Alain de Benoist and the thinkers of the New Right argue that globalism doesn’t “free” people—it uproots them, leaving them weak, dependent, and lost.

In its place, they argue for a return to identity—not in a crude, racial sense, but in the sense of culture, language, and deep-rooted belonging.

The Modern Man: A Weak, Empty Shell

Look around you.

What do you see? Strong men? Wise leaders? Courageous visionaries?

Or do you see men addicted to porn, video games, online gambling and antidepressants? Do you see people so afraid of conflict that they censor themselves before they even speak?

Today’s mind is overstimulated, and the body is understimulated.

Friedrich Nietzsche warned that modernity would create the “Last Man”—a weak, apathetic, comfort-driven creature who seeks only pleasure and avoids all struggle. A man who fears greatness because greatness demands sacrifice.

The Path Forward:

To reject modernity is to reject the illusion of ease and comfort and embrace the virtues of strength, discipline, and transcendence.

  • Seek wisdom in ancient texts. Read thinkers from before the modernist era—philosophers, warriors, theologians who spoke of virtue, honor, and hierarchy.
  • Develop physical and mental fortitude. Train your body as if preparing for war, and sharpen your mind against the dullness of passive consumption.
  • Reject mass media and algorithmic control. Curate your own sources of knowledge, avoid the digital opiates designed to pacify you.
  • Form intentional communities. Build alliances with those who see through the illusion and are willing to live differently.
  • Engage in creation, not just consumption. Instead of being entertained, produce—write, build, innovate, and restore.
  • Live for something greater than yourself. Whether through faith, family, nation, or philosophy, align your life with a cause that transcends the material.
  • Define success on your own terms, not society’s. Fulfillment matters more than external validation.
  • Take control of your life. Don’t let institutions or norms dictate your path.
  • Reject the illusion of status and material accumulation—it only leads to debt and dissatisfaction.
  • Stand by your choices. True independence means forging your own path, even when it defies expectations.

True rebellion isn’t found in mass movements or political parties; it’s found in a personal commitment to live differently, to resist the currents of modernity, and to build something timeless.

Modernity tells you to be passive. To accept your fate. To believe that history is inevitable.

But nothing is inevitable. Everything is a choice.

The thinkers of the past warned us about the decay of civilization.

Will we listen?

Or will we go down with the ship?