Suppose the future were a soccer match. The teams compete: old freedoms against new freedoms. We would probably quickly realize that some of our old freedoms are performing rather questionably, e.g. throwing every third item of food in the bin, regular short trips to the ends of the earth, overflowing old clothes bags full of almost unworn fast fashion, etc.
Metaphorically speaking, this would mean that due to many of our old habits, the ball constantly misses the goal, thunders into the upper spectator stands or even disappears somewhere in the blue sky far from the edge of the stadium. The fact that every player plays on their own would probably also make us suspicious. Passing? Not a thing. Team spirit? There is none.
How does the opposing team counter? Our future freedoms? They play cooperatively, by no means boringly, but correctly. They accept that there is only one playing field (this one planet). You stick to a few simple rules. Focuses on team play. Play creatively and enjoy the game.
Of course, it may be that our hearts are attached to one or two "old" players for reasons of nostalgia. Especially because we don't really know the newcomers to the new team yet. That's why we're introducing some of the new team's 'top players' here: Freedoms we can look forward to in the future:
1. freedom from useless work (bullshit jobs)
In his book "Bullshit Jobs", the recently deceased American cultural anthropologist and publicist D. Graeber describes the phenomenon of how our current financial and economic system is creating more and more wage labor that is perceived as completely useless by those performing it. He goes on to make an all-round attack that also calls into question currently respected and well-paid jobs in the worlds of business, finance and IT.
In order to escape the 'bullshitization' of the world of work, we could shift the focus back to meaningful, useful work in the future: Work that satisfies people's (real) needs or improves people's lives overall.
Graeber considers the condemnation to uselessness to be an attack not only on a person's self-esteem, but on the fundamental feeling that one is 'I' at all.
"A person who cannot achieve meaningful effects in the world ceases to exist." (D. Graeber)
According to Graeber, remaining, less popular, but certainly important and useful tasks must be upgraded and redistributed. Care work would move to the center of the new work culture. This would increasingly blur the boundaries between work and leisure, paid and unpaid work.
2. freedom to follow your own pace
The Covid-19 pandemic may have taught us, albeit unintentionally but somehow usefully, that our lives could also tick more slowly. And that a certain deceleration would do us good. Which could add the facet of "time prosperity" to our old image of prosperity.
Time prosperity describes the sovereign feeling of having time to answer the call of curiosity, exchange, idleness or the urge to move. And to break with the higher-faster-further logic of 'shop-until-you-drop' lifestyles or burnout rates.
Where the material overload of consuming too much and the mental overload of working too much diminish, there is room for new 'luxuries': we may have massages or other soothing treatments more often, take music lessons, support others, get professional guidance in sports, discover undiscovered talents (...cooking, singing, dancing, DIY etc.) or enjoy a much more colorful cultural life.
Do we have enough imagination for a world without stress and hectic? In many cultures, there are not even words to describe it. If you try to explain to people who live in close contact with nature, such as indigenous peoples in the Amazon region, what stress feels like, you get astonished looks. So it doesn't seem impossible that freedom from stress could be a desirable side effect if the boundary between work and leisure becomes increasingly blurred in favor of decelerated, meaningful activity.
3. digital self-determination
Admittedly, in times of working from home, homeschooling and the like, it really does take a good dose of mental gymnastics and imagination to imagine the following new freedom: but how would it be if, after years in which being available 24/7 - ideally also online - was the norm, we reclaimed our digital self-determination?
To go online in a targeted and focused way when we consciously decide to do so. And not because the low-threshold, permanent temptations of digital distraction tempt us to do so. Consciously and regularly being unavailable.
After all, continuous digital consumption demonstrably drains our focus and depth, makes us work with less concentration and sleep less well. Nevertheless, neurologist Volker Busch doesn't think much of the booming global trend of the "digital detox" (a time-out lasting several weeks in some cases for digital "detoxification").
His plea is to create everyday moments of calm. He uses an almost forgotten word: daydreaming. Which, from a neurological point of view, could be incredibly relaxing. Provided we create a routine. Because our brains prefer to relax more often and for shorter periods than less often and for longer.
The pandemic has undoubtedly played into the hands of increasing digital dependency. However, the digital oversaturation caused by working from home, homeschooling and digital relationship management may also bring us more quickly to the point where we emancipatedly stand up and say: "Hey, digitalization. Are you dancing with me or am I dancing with you? But one thing is clear: from now on, it's up to me to decide where the journey takes us and how fast and how often we travel."
4. clean blood without environmental toxins, microplastics & co
Some things we don't consciously choose. That's why the players on the old team look at the results of their blood tests in disbelief: preservatives, heavy metals. Even glyphosate, which has even been shown to cross the blood-placenta barrier in pregnant women?
But the stool sample is not without its microplastics either. According to a WWF study, we ingest so much of it every week (!) that it would be enough for an entire credit card.
So let's scrape together every available crumb of imagination and imagine our bodies (or food / agriculture / industry) without these 'additives' in the future. Simply clean. In a state that was taken for granted a blink of an eye ago in human history.
Future talent on the bench
The team of new freedoms still has a few trump cards up its sleeve. Future talents that are (still) sitting on the bench: freedom from violence, prejudice and racism. Freedom from power monopolies and corporate greed. Freedom from having to build a good life on imported black gold. And hopefully one day: freedom from major environmental crises.
So let's look forward to the new season.
About the author
Dr. Sybille Chiari is part of the editorial team of "Nachhaltigkeit. Neu denken" and has been working on the topics of sustainability and climate communication for many years - both as a researcher and writer. She is part of the Scientists for Future movement and chairwoman of the Bele Co-Housing association (community housing project with organic, regenerative agriculture www.belehof.at).
