Lionel Shriver on spotting ‘the next mania’

On April 9, 2024, UnHerd posted an excellent essay from American author and social commentator Lionel Shriver, ‘How to spot the next mania’, in which she runs through the major ones from the past few years.

As we all lived through those and continue to live through others, I’ll jump to her useful conclusion on what to look for when the next one comes along (emphases mine):

We like to think that we’re “modern” (and what peoples in the present have ever fancied themselves otherwise?) and that we base our beliefs on fact. But we’re just as prey to mass delusions as we ever were.

Accordingly, how’s this for mania number five. It isn’t a mania; it’s just the truth: check. It’s suddenly all anyone in the media seems to talk about, and they use all the same language: check. It’s powered by emotion: check. It brooks no dissent, refuses to acknowledge there’s even a debate to be had, and doghouses all sceptics as evil “deniers” who will bring about the end of world: check. It’s malign, getting increasingly extreme, and is driven by the very best of intentions: check, check, check. I’m not about to get into the argument here, but the escalating hysteria over climate change — or the climate “emergency”, climate “crisis”, or climate “collapse” — displays all the markers, does it not?

Shriver’s is a useful checklist upon which to reflect and keep in mind for the future.