Uploaded October 2019 | Updated September 2026, 2 weeks ago
Alexander Bard is a Swedish philosopher and futurist. In part 1 of our conversation, we cover some of the principles of Bard's philosophy (co-developed with his collaborator Jan Soderqvist), including his Zoroastrianism, his critiques of Buddhism and Christianity, and the dialectics of mobilism and eternalism (the idea that the universe is constantly in flux, but in order to make sense of it we have to "freeze" it like a photograph). We then discuss mythological and ideological storytelling, exploring with examples how stories can be "phallic" or "matrichal", and consider the absence of authentic phallic storytelling in the current world. In this light we consider the environmentalist movement, the "failed messiah" Jesus, 20th century totalitarianism, the political situation in Britain and gender relations. We then turn to explore how we live at present, exploring the disconnection between age groups, the fact that more and more people live alone, and the ways that other societies measure social "belongingness". We examine the impact of the internet, examining the new digital power elite - the netocrats - and its underclass - the consumtariat. We note how most of the internet resembles a stage where everyone is talking and nobody is listening, and discuss how the winners in this world create meaningful "infotainment", while the rest of us belong to the passive "consumtariat" who simply watch and absorb.
Alexander Bard is a Swedish philosopher and futurist. In part 1 of our conversation, we cover some of the principles of Bard's philosophy (co-developed with his collaborator Jan Soderqvist), including his Zoroastrianism, his critiques of Buddhism and Christianity, and the dialectics of mobilism and eternalism (the idea that the universe is constantly in flux, but in order to make sense of it we have to "freeze" it like a photograph). We then discuss mythological and ideological storytelling, exploring with examples how stories can be "phallic" or "matrichal", and consider the absence of authentic phallic storytelling in the current world. In this light we consider the environmentalist movement, the "failed messiah" Jesus, 20th century totalitarianism, the political situation in Britain and gender relations. We then turn to explore how we live at present, exploring the disconnection between age groups, the fact that more and more people live alone, and the ways that other societies measure social "belongingness". We examine the impact of the internet, examining the new digital power elite - the netocrats - and its underclass - the consumtariat. We note how most of the internet resembles a stage where everyone is talking and nobody is listening, and discuss how the winners in this world create meaningful "infotainment", while the rest of us belong to the passive "consumtariat" who simply watch and absorb.
