It has been described as the root of all evil. It is that insipid form of cowardice, indifference, and selfishness that allows human suffering, exploitation, and oppression in all its forms to prevail.

It feeds apathy and inaction in the face of war, social injustice, and environmental breakdown, and it enables the turning of a blind eye and a deaf ear to the horrors of state terrorism and genocide. It is complacency.

Conditioning into complacency takes place virtually from birth, through a materialistic value system built on division and selfishness. What ‘I want’ is all that matters — regardless of the impact on others, society, or the natural world.

It lies at the root of the “I’m alright, Jack” culture, so beloved by devotees of neoliberalism.

Meanwhile, the house — our house — is on fire, literally in many places. The planet is being vandalised, the climate disoriented, and societies fragmented by division and extremism. Armed conflicts multiply. And Israel’s genocide of the Palestinian people in Gaza stands as the........

© Eurasia Review