Page 319 - Orthodoxy Zizioulas

T H E C H A R A C T E R I S T I C S A N D I M PA S S E S O F T H E M O D E R N W O R L D
such as Fyodor Dostoevsky perceived the deeper crisis that
would unfold.
The experience of the twentieth century, however, shat-
tered this optimism. World wars, new forms of oppression,
and unprecedented violence against human dignity revealed
the limits of reason and progress. Science itself became en-
tangled in cycles of solving problems only to create new ones.
Thus, the optimism of the modern world gives way to anxiety,
disillusionment, and a profound crisis of trust in institutions
and even in the future of humanity.
Other developments intensified this crisis.
The rise of the bourgeoisie established a class whose val-
ues—property, economic success, and social respectability—
became dominant. The bourgeois ethos elevated economic
success to a quasi-religious ideal, fostering conformity and
often hypocrisy in human relations.
At the same time, the growth of cities, driven by the Indus-
trial Revolution, reshaped human existence. People flocked to
urban centers not only for survival but also for pleasure, which
increasingly came to be regarded as a right. The city offers
anonymity, liberation from traditional social control, and the
possibility of a divided life.
From these developments emerged the division of society
into classes and the tensions associated with it. In a profound-
ly industrial context, thinkers such as Karl Marx articulated
the idea of class struggle—the conflict between those who
possess and those who do not. Various economic systems
sought to resolve this tension, whether through revolution or
reform, but increasingly technology replaced politics as the
primary means of shaping life.
Thus, the modern world becomes dependent on technolo-
gy—a new and powerful “deity” governing all areas of exis-
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