Both individuals and societies tell themselves stories to simplify and make sense of the messy chaos of reality.
Interpretation
We construct narratives to understand the complexities of life.
This quote by Adam Curtis highlights the human tendency to create stories or narratives, both individually and collectively, as a means to navigate and make sense of the complexities and chaos present in reality. These narratives serve to simplify our understanding, providing structure and clarity to what may otherwise be overwhelming or disordered experiences.
In practice
In a speech about the importance of storytelling in education.
Ever since the economic crisis in 2008, millions of people have accepted cuts in all sorts of things - from real wages and living standards to benefits and hospital care - without any real opposition. The cuts may be right, or they may be stupid - but the astonishing thing is how no-one really challenges them.
In our age of individualism, we see computers as ways through which we can express our individuality. But the truth is that the computers are really good at spotting the very opposite. The computers can see how similar we are, and they then have the ability to agglomerate us together into groups that have the same behaviours.
One of the guiding beliefs of our consuming age is that we are all free and independent individuals. That we can choose to do pretty much what we want, and if we can't, then it's bad. But at the same time, co-existing alongside this, there is a completely different, parallel universe where we all seem meekly to do what those in power tell us to do.
So much of the language that surrounds us - from things like economics, management theory, and the algorithms built into computer systems - appears to be objective and neutral. But in fact, it is loaded with powerful, and very debatable, political assumptions about how society should work and what human beings are really like.
Throughout the western world, new systems have risen up whose job is to constantly record and monitor the present - and then compare that to the recorded past. The aim is to discover patterns, coincidences and correlations, and from that, find ways of stopping change. Keeping things the same.
Therefore, a prudent ruler ought not to keep faith when by so doing it would be against his interest, and when the reasons which made him bind himself no longer exist. If men were all good, this precept would not be a good one; but as they are bad, and would not observe their faith with you, so you are not bound to keep faith with them.
The history of Rome presents various men of greater genius than Scipio Aemilianus, but none equalling him in moral purity, in the utter absence of political selfishness, in generous love of his country, and none, perhaps, to whom destiny has assigned a more tragic part.
When you start to think of revenge, you start to think of hate. I don't believe in hating people. It's a retrogressive thing.
Even Castles made of sand, fall into the sea, eventually.
These pages are not my confession; theyβre my definition. And I feel, as I begin to write it, that I can write it with some semblance of truth.
The whole history of civilization is strewn with creeds and institutions which were invaluable at first, and deadly afterwards
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