Hope versus fear – that is what Jack Layton had beseeched us to look to as a society. Yet, it would seem fear is more intrinsic to our world than we would think. According to some philosophers, it is fear that has brought us together as a society; we have given up our individuality for protection by those stronger members of society, otherwise we would live a precarious life in the state of nature. Fear does play a fundamental role, therefore, in building social cohesion.
Lately, however, it is easy to see another role that fear has assumed within our civilization, and that is that it has become an industry: it is at the heart of much of our economy. Through the hysteria – anxiety even – created by our media, we see other elements of society push to improve their import and control over us, all under the auspice of protection.
After the recent shooting of a soldier in Ottawa, the police and security services both sought to increase their powers, as if these increases will offer us more protection. In the U.K., a similar pitch was made, but it turned out the police and security services had adequate powers, but those powers were rarely needed. But such senseless acts, such as the killing of a soldier, stir up emotional responses such as fear and anger, but are our responses truly rational?
Health care, too, seeks to benefit from our fears. The World Health Organization (WHO) has raised the clarion call over Ebola in three western African states, and, in turn, panic and hysteria has graced our portion of the globe. This is not the first time that the WHO has spread alarm. Swine and Avian flu scares were raised by it, which our governments reacted to by purchasing vaccines from pharmaceutical companies to allay our fears.
Education also predates upon our economic fears, as we wish for our children to do better than ourselves. They sell us new techniques, ideals, and degrees in order that we may further prosper as a society. Ironically, all of these packages are not meeting the future needs of our economy, but we continue to burden ourselves with debt in the hope we might prosper in the future. But the economic stress increases our fears and anxieties more than alleviating them.
In all of these examples, we note the undertone of fear that circulates through our society, and our political “masters” understand this. They know that if they make promises to us, spend our money, they too will prosper from these fears, whether they are irrational or not. This is because fear has become a business, profitable for some, but not for most of us. They have become Chicken Littles (though we emulate them too) because they benefit from it. The question that arises then is whether there is any room for hope, or would this too just be a marketing ploy?
John Kennair is an international consultant and doctor of laws who lives in St. Albert.
