read this before its too late

a case against doomerism

There is a trend right now when discussing just about everything: “we are cooked.” From the climate crisis, to world politics, and down to our everyday life, people have taken to writing things off as predetermined and doomed. This is not only pessimism – this is a surrender of our very agency.

Doomerism – the belief that all is lost – is especially prevalent when discussing the climate crisis. Individuals or groups, from experienced scientists to everyday people, approach climate change with an extreme sense of pessimism, a belief that the catastrophic outcomes of the climate crisis are inevitable. The point of no return has been crossed, and so there is no point in attempting to reverse or even delay what’s to come.

However, this belief, which stems from dire and honestly terrifying scientific reports and a general sense of hopelessness, renders people immobile and places real change out of reach. Many climate scientists and researchers have a lot of criticism towards this approach – it leads to inaction, to paralysis, and in its own way, it brings us closer to the point where there really will be nothing to be done. They preach against it, showing evidence of ways that actually, we still have time and actions to be taken. The situation, they claim, is not as dire, apocalyptic, and irreversible as it at times appears.

This same approach has seeped into everything. There is nothing to do about our very awful leaders because they hold the power, because they do not care about protests or demonstrations, they can just keep on doing what they have determined to do. Losing hope when you feel unheard and disregarded by those supposed to lead you to a better future – that is natural, even expected. But this very belief of “we are all doomed” is forwarding us towards the end we do not want to reach, by ridding us of our very ability to act against it.

“We are cooked,” “we are doomed,” or, my personal favorite, “we are all going to die” – these are all ways in which we voluntarily give up our control, our agency, and our ability to act and do something. It is easier than taking action, of course. Shifting the power and the blame to outside sources lets us view ourselves as helpless victims, allowing us to feel less bad about not trying – and failing – to make a change, however big or small it might be.

This approach is somewhat understandable when discussing the “big” things. The climate crisis can truly be averted only when countries and mega corporations take accountability and make significant changes towards reducing their pollution. I mean, I went vegan a few years ago to contribute my own share (I still am), but me not eating meat doesn’t really amount to the global climate crisis. Still, the small actions each of us can take, like reducing meat consumption or recycling when talking about climate change – these are ways to gain a sense of control and agency back. We should not be dismissing them. Not just when it comes to the climate crisis, but in any field in which we are inclined to believe all hope is lost. It isn’t. We just have to try.

This approach is as much of a problem when it is being drilled into our everyday lives. I keep seeing people posting content online with click-baity, doomeristic titles like “watch this before it is too late,” and then the video is about how to become an entrepreneur or start a side hustle or anything else that feels a bit too close to toxic productivity. Not to say that those things are bad. If it works for you, it works for you. But it’s not that we only have one chance in life, and it is not as if there is only one way to live them. It is never “too late” to start again, to try something new.

I don’t need productivity hacks or a life plan determined by a stranger online in order to live my life to the fullest. Life is not a lesson to be learnt, it is an immersive experience happening while I am writing and you are reading these very lines. While we were on the sidelines, taking notes, things continued moving.

By believing in doomerism towards everything, we allow it to become a part of our personal lives too. We are relinquishing control not just over our planet, our governments, our policies and countries – but over ourselves too. Instead of learning to be agentic, to allow room for error and exploration, we limit ourselves. We say “there is nothing to be done” and so we don’t do anything.

Of course not all of us have the same safety net when it comes to trying and failing. Some of us have less room for error while others can rely on relatives and wealth to propel them up. Regardless, it does not mean we have no option but to follow the path we feel is predestinated. There is always something we can at least try.

It doesn’t have to be something big. We might not be able to change the entire world, but we could change the one we live in, the one closest to us, our very own world. That is just as important. Taking back our belief in ourselves and our ability to do, and not just be subjected to something, trying instead of viewing ourselves as doomed – that is a change worth acting for.

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