HOWARD F. DIDSBURY, JR

The hedonistic society seems to be a society devoid of any serious interest in posterity.

With the advent of the “information” or “high tech” society, we have quickly grown accustomed to fantastic feats of technological wizardry, medical marvels, and spectacular scientific breakthroughs. The range of technological innovations and applications bewilder us.

Although there may be some misgivings about the rapidity and nature of the resulting changes, there seems to be a quiet acquiescence to the seeming inevitable course of events. The transformations being brought about by the high-tech society and its dynamo of free market capitalism have given rise to a hedonistic society.

Just as privation and day-to-day concern with mere survival tend to inhibit any genuine interest in the future—beyond the immediate demands of tomorrow—so likewise the advent of the hedonistic society, with its emphasis upon ease, comfort, immediate personal gratification, and a life routine of continuous consumer distractions, tends to preclude any serious, sustained, long-range interest in the future. In both cases, any thought of positive action in the present to mold the future is discouraged, unrecognized, or ignored!

The hedonistic society is captivated by the siren call of instantaneous gratification. While there is no iron-heeled repression, no thought police in such a society, as time passes very likely there is no serious or novel social thought to police. In this society, there is no call of personal service for the general good; rather there is established an unassailable tyranny of the here and now—the concentration of interest on and the pursuit of everything for the present moment.

In this society there is little or no concern for the past and little thought of the future beyond what new commodity or excitement tomorrow may bring. Every now and then, almost by accident, there may be a sense of unease or disquiet when one thinks seriously, though fleetingly, of the future and what it may hold. But the moment soon passes, and the enchantment with the present quickly returns. In the sensate way of life, the present is the watchword and yardstick of all importance and value.

In place of citizens of a community or a nation, the model high-tech society is peopled with constant, dedicated “consumers.” In the hedonistic society, the good citizen is the tireless, voracious consumer whose constant consumption keeps the economic growth wheels turning and the society humming with activity. The declared objectives of increasing material prosperity and expanding industrial output can be maintained only by the vigilant cultivation of virtually insatiable appetites. A monastery in Kyoto, Japan, has this inscription: “I know I am wise for I know when enough is enough.” This is an idea foreign to a sensate society.

The dynamism of the sensate society is the mechanism to create endless wants. The seven capital sins (greed, avarice, envy, gluttony, sloth, lust, and pride) are all reevaluated to accommodate this way of life. Six of the seven are transformed into virtues in the hedonistic society. However, sloth remains a cardinal sin, possibly because the slothful in the hedonistic society may not have the wherewithal to be consumers.

The main technique employed to create catalogues of endless wants is applied psychology as exemplified in modern advertising. Overtime it serves as a form of operant conditioning in the arousal and perpetuation of insatiable desires. In such a society, everything can be made into a consumer item. In fact, even religion is “sold” as a personal consumer item. “I found faith, and I feel good.”

Commercial advertising appears to have succeeded in making people discontented with what they already own. Indeed, it is hard to imagine anything that would throw the economy into greater disarray than a religious conversion that made most people perfectly content with their material lot.

In addition to this quest for the acquisition of things and for immediate gratification, there appears to be a desire to simplify everything. The cultural ideal could be stated as “Great rewards with little effort.” Nowhere is this more evident than in the hedonistic society's attitude toward education. The ever- growing lack of hardship in the education of teenagers and young adults tends to make them less productive members of society. Nobel laureate Dennis Gabor observed that a permissive education is a prescription for carelessness, if not incompetence. Most problems people face today are largely the result of human ignorance, a lack of concern, or greed. The futurist as a tempered optimist believes that with knowledge, wisdom, and determination, such problems can be solved or greatly alleviated. In contrast, in the sensate society, the easy and effortless solution to whatever the challenges may be, is the one sought.

An editorial in The Washington Post notes: “After a decade of school reforms, rising budgets for education, reorganization, and exhortation, the academic performance of American school children shows no improvement. Typical American students don't get much out of high school because they don't put much into it. Most parents, teachers and politicians support the idea that it's alright for kids to drift through adolescence.” The course of least effort seems to be the one chosen by all concerned.

The ideas of challenge or performance are shunned everywhere but in the sports arena, because in sports, it is not aspirations, intentions, or expectations that count—only results do!

Thanks to the spirit of the Counter Culture, we now see that if something bugs you, bug out! If the idea of persistence, dedication, and devotion to the attainment of a desirable goal or ideal cannot be achieved quickly, forget it.

The hedonistic society seems to be devoid of any serious interest in posterity. With its focus on the present and on the most efficient way of obtaining immediate results, any thought of the generations to come is ephemeral. This frame of mind makes the threat of environmental degradation so frightening and makes diminished biological diversity on the planet a virtual certainty.

In keeping with the major concern of the “citizen” of the sensate society, the political agenda concentrates on personal “rights” with vague passing reference to concomitant responsibilities. On a superficial level, there is considerable interest elicited with respect to personal perils and risks associated with environmental degradation. Frequently much clamor arises with demands for a pollution-free, wholesome environment; however, there is tenacious resistance to any programs that necessitate increased taxes or involve inconvenience. It is not a question of getting something for nothing—it is everything for nothing. The technological utopia in which every human whim and fancy finds complete and instant gratification is outside the realm of feasibility.

A hedonistic society inhibits any serious concern about the future because it is oriented toward individual ego satisfaction here and now. Its sense of the future easily becomes a vision of an exciting cornucopia of endless novel consumer items and remarkable scientific and technological innovations. Missing in such a society is a genuine interest in how present action or inaction may affect future generations. Since the focus is on the present, there is scant regard for speculations about a better society or world. Decades ago, Alfred North Whitehead stressed that there can be no great age without a great idea to inspire it. What will be the great idea to inspire us in the 21stcentury? EE

Howard F. Didsbury, Jr. is the director of Special Projects and coordinator of the Prep 21 Project: Future-Oriented Studies Worldwide: Preparing for the 21st Century, of the World Future Society. 212-332-5578, email: didsbury@wfs.org.

Excellence in Action: What will you do to combat hedonistic culture and create a future for your organization?