Scientific American Special - Secrets of The Mind - USA (2022-Winter)

SCIENTIFICAMERICAN.COM | 69

R ADIC AL

CHANGE

Uncertainty in the world threatens our sense of self.

To cope, people embrace populism

By Michael A. Hogg

Illustration by Wesley Allsbrook

Human societies are constantly rearranging tHemselves, causing profound

disruptions in our social lives. The industrial revolution of the late 18th and early 19th

centuries fragmented communities as people moved for work, the decay of empires in

the early 20th century reconfigured nations and national identities, and the Great

Depression of the 1930s shattered people’s economic security and future prospects. But

we are now in what is perhaps a time of unprecedented uncertainty. The early 21st cen-

tury is characterized by rapid and overwhelming change: globalization, immigration,

technological revolution, unlimited access to information, sociopolitical volatility, the

automation of work and a warming climate.