Page 320 - Orthodoxy Zizioulas

O r t h o d o x y
tence.
At the same time, individualism deepens into both per-
sonal and collective self-interest. Whether as isolated indi-
viduals or organized groups, people pursue their own well-
being without reference to the common good. Society be-
comes fragmented into competing units, each concerned only
with its own interests.
This fragmentation leads to serious consequences, includ-
ing crime and the ecological crisis. The exploitation of nature
as a mere resource represents the extreme expression of indi-
vidualism and utilitarianism. Attempts to resolve these prob-
lems appeal once again to reason and morality, yet they often
fail because they do not address their deeper roots: the abso-
lutization of individual desire. The modern world thus finds
itself in a tragic dilemma: to reduce exploitation requires lim-
iting production, yet this threatens the prosperity that modern
society seeks to preserve.
At the center of this condition stands technology. Technol-
ogy elevates technique into a dominant mode of thought and
life. It arises from the conviction that human reason can mas-
ter nature and produce any desired result. With the aid of
mathematics and science, it can even produce thinking mech-
anisms capable of performing many human functions. Today,
technology permeates all aspects of life—science, politics,
medicine, and economics—and no one can ignore it without
becoming obsolete. It has become, in effect, a new and power-
ful “deity” of the modern world.
Thus emerges the image of our time: a world of immense
achievement, yet also of deep uncertainty; a world that has
extended its powers to their limits and now confronts its own
boundaries. A world that has reached an impasse.
Such, in broad outline, is the condition of the modern
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