Chamberlain's Oriental Curse
"May you live in interesting times."
Contrary to popular belief, there is little evidence this seemingly Chinese expression originated there. Perhaps it was instead an invention of the Chamberlain political dynasty. The prominent members of that family, Joseph, Austen and Neville, each lived up to the expression’s supposed ironic meaning in their own way. At least Joseph and Neville could be said to have produced the “interesting times” themselves, if not Austen too. Despite its disputed provenance, however, it can prove a quite useful phrase when reflecting on present times.
The frequency and immediacy of events, the two factors operating symbiotically, are historically stark features of the modern world. Operating from Joseph’s Chamberlain original (albeit partial) use of the phrase in 1898, these events can be “objects of interest” or “objects for anxiety.” Due to the potential for exacerbation of contemporary mass media and particularly social media, the anxiety permeates to more people and more often. From there, a subconscious civilisational sentiment can develop over time for tens of millions. As such, to live in interesting times can be a collective curse, akin to the claimed intent of the expression, since to live on a precipice (real or perceived) is an interesting existence in a certain sense. From the ways in which communication and technology have developed, the curse also appears inescapable preceding a thorough collapse of civilisation.
It is presently inconceivable that most of these innovations can be undone, nor that most should be undone, so one must think within these realistic limits. Rapid global communication technologies have obscured the fact that within the past 200 years (for a loose timeframe of modernity) there have been lulls in the intensity of world-defining events. In terms of pivotal regional events, there have naturally been greater fluctuations. This obfuscation can be combatted with existing historical knowledge. More fundamentally, new developments must occur in the near future on navigating through the fear and boredom within our worsening civilisational sentiment. These were two enemies of civilisation, amongst those responsible for the fall of Rome, identified by Kenneth Clark at the beginning of his fantastic series on the West’s history. In addition, there is a need for new work on the contemporary nature of information and its consumption to more directly oppose the torrent of “objects for anxiety.” Many necessary ideas on these topics already exist intuitively for some, for instance the persuasive arguments against digitalising all aspects of social life, hence the potential to socially innovate and break at least the negative side of Chamberlain’s curse. We might yet be capable of permanently living in interesting times, but only once we value the opportunities of events over their potential for anxiety and withstand their pace without universal exhaustion or paralysis.