La sociedad paliativa

Today we live in a society that has developed a phobia of pain, in which there is no longer a place for suffering. This widespread fear is reflected both personally and socially, and even in politics. The neoliberal imperative "be happy", which hides a demand for performance, tries to avoid any painful state and pushes us to a state of permanent anesthesia. As in The Society of Tiredness, Byung-Chul Han assumes that a radical paradigm shift has occurred in the West. Premodern societies had a very intimate relationship with pain and death, which they faced with dignity and resignation. However, at present, the positivity of happiness supersedes the negativity of pain, and extends to the social sphere. By expelling conflicts and controversies from public life, which could provoke painful confrontations, a post-democracy is established, which is at heart a palliative democracy.