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Madly, in All Directions Madly, in All Directions
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Dreams and Visions

Madly, in All Directions

Ivan Krastev
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Ivan Krastev:

is a political scientist, the chairman of the Centre for Liberal Strategies in Sofia, permanent fellow at the Institute of Human Sciences in Vienna. He is also a founding board member of the European Council on Foreign Relations and a member of the board of trustees of the International Crisis Group.

When Mike Campbell is asked in Ernest Hemingway’s The Sun Also Rises about his money troubles, he vividly describes how one becomes bankrupt: “Two ways. Gradually, and then suddenly.” The same is true in banking and in politics. Both are in mortal fear of a run on themselves.

While the Eurosceptic parties did not prevail, their strong showing in the 2019 European Parliament elections is a signal that the risk of the EU’s run on itself is not over. As I watched the lead-up to the elections, I couldn’t help but think about a humorous line from a nonsense story that I recall from my childhood: “Lord Ronald said nothing; he flung himself from the room, flung himself upon his horse and rode madly off in all directions.”

Lord Ronald is the average European voter. He wants change, but that desire can manifest itself in very different ways. In the Netherlands, for example, voters in provincial elections in March came out to support an anti-migration, right-wing party. The same month, Slovaks elected a liberal woman as president after many years of their country being regarded as an unbreakable populist stronghold. In Spain, after a year of never-ending political crisis, the winner was the centrist Socialist party.

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It is not that the mainstream is moving to the fringes. Rather, voters are moving in all directions – from left to right, from anti-establishment to mainstream. The ideological borders are the least guarded borders in Europe today.

European voters are angry, confused and nostalgic. Many believe that the world was better yesterday than it is today, but they are unsure when that glorious yesterday was. They fear that their children will be worse off than they are, but they do not know how to prevent it.

The epidemic of nostalgia in the last decade has been one of Europe’s most dramatic changes. Founded on the ruins of World War II, the EU was initially a project of societies that feared the past and longed for the future. At present, Europe is populated by societies nostalgic for the past and fearful of the future.

Economic crisis, ageing populations, demographic fears and a sense that the old continent is not the centre of the world any more may all provide some explanation for the fever of nostalgia.

So, the biggest challenge for Europe today is to learn again how to court the future.

 

Ivan Krastev:

is a political scientist, the chairman of the Centre for Liberal Strategies in Sofia, permanent fellow at the Institute of Human Sciences in Vienna. He is also a founding board member of the European Council on Foreign Relations and a member of the board of trustees of the International Crisis Group.

Publish date: 27.05.2019

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Positive reinforcement is the best way to combat self-doubt, negative thinking, and excessive criticism. 

A Time of Transformation 

  1. Old things sometimes must decompose, decay, ferment, or rot. Try to think about these natural processes in a positive way. Think about delicious pickles; fermented grape juice; dried mushrooms. 
  2. Now think about what you want to change in your life. Maybe it’s a relationship that’s worth ending. Maybe you want to change a job that doesn’t suit you or get rid of bad habits. Or maybe you just feel that you need to clean out the basement. Choose one issue that is most relevant to you. 
  3. Once you’ve chosen one area to tackle, ask yourself what substance you’re lacking that would help carry out your plans. It could be water, yeast, air, potatoes, musk, rosemary, soda, etc. Let your imagination run wild. What are you missing right now? What form does the missing thing take? The hint is sometimes hidden in the language—we are talking about a lack of financial liquidity or a need for stability. 
  4. Which type of matter did your imagination suggest to you—liquid, gas, or solid? What does it symbolize? What does this symbol mean to you? Meditate on introducing this substance into your situation and think about the change it will cause. Maybe it will make you go with the flow? Or maybe it will allow you to put down roots?

Positive Reinforcement 

  1. What gets stronger within you when you think badly of yourself or see only the negative side of your life? Try to answer this question. 
  2. If you are already aware of what you are reinforcing with such thoughts, think about whether this is what you want. 
  3. Now think about what qualities you would like to develop within yourself. These can be independence, empathy, creativity, etc. For this activity, choose one of the traits that comes to mind, and then think about what behaviors you can adapt that will reinforce it. These can be small actions. 
  4. Positive reinforcement is the best way to combat self-doubt, negative thinking, and excessive criticism. However, remember a very important rule: only strengthen the qualities that you actually have, not the ones that others would like to see in you. By trying to develop unrealistic qualities, you could harm yourself. So first think about who you really are and what you want to nurture within yourself. This is necessary for positive reinforcement to have a chance to work.

Defense Mechanisms 

  1. Our brains produce a plethora of defense mechanisms that help us get through life’s difficulties. The challenge in this case is to leave the mechanism behind when we no longer need it. The problem is that we are usually not aware of the defense mechanisms that are forming—and the ones we created in the past sometimes make us overreact. 
  2. Think about a time when you have behaved poorly to a situation and your reaction was exaggerated. I know it might not be easy—after all, we are often not aware of these mechanisms. 
  3. If you have already recalled such an event, think about what was really behind your behavior. What did you try to hide from yourself? Maybe you were ashamed of something? Maybe you actually felt angry with a completely different person? 
  4. Observe your reactions to different situations. If you find them inadequate, this is the first step to positive change and leaving behind the old defense mechanisms that are no longer needed.
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