Suicide of the West: How the Rebirth of Tribalism, Populism, Nationalism, and Identity Politics is Destroying American Democracy

Let us begin our journey with a gentle breath, as if we’re waking up in a world that feels natural and eternal, yet is, in truth, a miraculous exception. For most of our species’ story, life was a desperate struggle—poverty, violence, and fear were the air our ancestors breathed. Imagine a world where every day is a battle to survive, where hunger and loss are constants, and where the future is as dim as the firelight in a cave. For nearly 250,000 years, this was the only reality humans knew.

Now, close your eyes and picture a timeline stretching from the dawn of humanity to today. For almost all those years, nothing changed. Then, in a blink—just three centuries ago—everything shifted. The world blossomed. Cities rose, science flourished, and ordinary people began to live lives of comfort and dignity. This is what some call 'The Miracle'—a leap so sudden and profound that it stands out against the flat line of history like a mountain rising from a plain.

But what caused this miracle? Was it a master plan, a divine intervention, or simply luck? The answer is humbling: it was largely an accident. Ideas changed, cultures shifted, and a new way of seeing the world took root—first in a small corner of Europe, then, like wildfire, across the globe. We stumbled into prosperity, and what’s more, we could stumble out just as easily.

Think of the 'hockey stick' chart: for thousands of years, humanity’s wealth and health barely budged. Then, around 1700, the line shoots upward—life expectancy doubles, incomes multiply, literacy spreads. The miracle is real, and it is recent. Yet, it is also fragile, for it rests not on nature, but on a set of ideas that must be learned, cherished, and defended.

As we move forward, let’s remember: the world we live in is not normal—it is a gift, a blink in time, a miracle that can vanish if we forget how rare and precious it is. Now, let’s explore the forces within us that threaten this fragile gift, and how our deepest instincts shape the fate of civilizations.