“Every revolution evaporates and leaves behind only the slime of a new bureaucracy.”
— Franz Kafka

Has Neoliberalism and Socialism Already Blended Into Meaninglessness?

Whether you're threatened by socialism or neoliberalism, their mixture has already won in creating a meaningless world.

You only need to watch the so-called “debate of the century” between Slavoj Žižek and Jordan Peterson to see how the gutless “new enlightenment” thinkers have severed pessimistic spirits.

Peterson, a defender of capitalism, and Žižek, a Marxist of sorts, both describe themselves as radical pessimists. They laughably believe the victimization-savouring academic left is some omnipotent cultural force—and yet, they agree: capitalism needs some form of regulation.

Any of you who have read or watched Žižek know he’s actually a proponent of dismantling capitalism, but when it comes to concrete ideas, the free-market-loving Peterson and the anti-capitalist Žižek meet on common ground: regulated capitalism.

In other words, these self-proclaimed pessimists have nothing more to offer than the optimistic “new enlightenment” thinkers—those pointing out all our “progress” so we can stay comfortably numb on the capitalist-but-with-social-intervention road.

Religion Is No Better Than Liberalism. But What Comes After?

Marx said religion is the opiate of the masses—but that’s no more accurate than saying liberalism is.

Religion’s promises of salvation and liberalism’s promises of liberty have both proven empty. We cannot trust organizations whose leaders rape kids and justify terror, nor ideologies that birthed ivory towers and corporate titans, both filled with corruption and self-interest.

The ideas that once gave us collective meaning are dying.

We’re nothing more than dying gods in a terminally ill system.

Can We Still Have a Revolution That Actually Means Something?

Where do we go from here?
Can there be a meaningful revolution—one that ends our planet-killing system, rather than just adding regulations to it?

To answer that, let’s look at a place where nuclear superpowers, socialism, neoliberalism, religion, and environmental destruction collided:

Nicaragua.

The Nicaraguan Revolution: Literacy, Democracy, and U.S. Backlash

The revolution in Nicaragua (1979–1990) ended the Somoza family dictatorship, spread literacy, strengthened workers’ rights, and laid the foundation for electoral democracy.

The Sandinista National Liberation Front (FSLN) actively organized millions through neighbourhood groups and unions.

And the USA was like: fuck that noise.

When the FSLN ousted dictator Anastasio Somoza DeBayle and formed a revolutionary government, Nicaragua became a Cold War battleground.

U.S. leaders saw the revolution as a Soviet and Cuban incursion into Central America. And American companies like United Fruit Company (UFCO) saw it as a threat to their ability to rape land, displace Indigenous communities, and profit.

Ronald Reagan’s 1981 administration quickly provided military aid to the anti-Sandinista counterrevolutionary force: the Contras.

How the Contras, Cocaine, and Christianity Colluded to Crush Revolution

The Contras famously funded their efforts by selling cocaine—a practice the CIA helped ignore because it was “anti-communist blow.”

But there’s something even more effective than cocaine at destroying social democracy:
Christianity.

Not only did the Catholic Church oppose the FSLN, but so did American Evangelicals.

In 1980, conservative Nicaraguan pastors formed the National Council of Evangelical Pastors of Nicaragua (CNPEN), which linked up with right-wing U.S. groups like the National Association of Evangelicals and the World Evangelical Fellowship.

Why use religion to fight socialism?
Because it works—through deep persuasion.

Why Religion Persuades Better Than Politics Alone

Using the dual-process model of persuasion, religion works especially well through the central route—which depends on two things:

1. The issue feels personally relevant
2. The audience feels knowledgeable in that domain

Religion isn’t just persuasive because of its arguments. It’s persuasive because of its delivery.

Instructions or fear alone aren’t nearly as effective as combining both. That’s something Christian rhetoric (and most religious rhetoric) has mastered.

Why Conservatives Are Easier to Persuade (Psychologically Speaking)

Conservatives are statistically more susceptible to persuasion strategies.

Why? Personality psychology.
Research shows that:

• Agreeableness is the most persuasion-prone trait
• Openness is the least

And guess what?

Agreeableness is more common among conservatives, while openness is more common among liberals—something Jordan Peterson loves to point out in his Big 5 lectures.

Of course, that argument is BS—because it's correlational and leans into false dichotomies.

Just like Peterson.

Still, the point remains: political ideology and religion are often intertwined. And both play out in revolutions.

I’m Not a Christian-Hating Socialist. I’m Not Any “-ist.”

Before you label me...

I vibe with Jesus’s teachings.
And I fully understand that:

• The Ortega government withheld passports from priests
• Expelled clergy
• Forced others into exile
• Spread anti-Catholic rhetoric that led to death threats

None of which I support.

Do I wish we didn’t need religion, political parties, or identities to find meaning? Sure.
But that’s not how most people operate.

And that’s why it matters to study how these forces collide—especially during revolutions.

Do Revolutions Really Leave a Lasting Impact?

Most scholars agree that revolutions spark change, but there’s not much research on what happens culturally and psychologically after power shifts.

One exception is a study by John A. Booth and Patricia Bayer Richard, which looked at the long-term effects of the Nicaraguan revolution on civic behaviour.

Their research compared post-revolutionary Nicaraguans to similar populations in Central America.

Key findings:

• Higher voter turnout in Nicaragua than in neighbouring countries
• Stronger support for civil disobedience
• More political leftist alignment
• More active participation in schools and unions

But... those effects faded quickly.

So What’s Left? The Mirage of Hope.

In other words, the revolution, like religion and liberalism, didn’t fulfill its promise.

I don’t blame the agents.
I blame the mirage of hope.

“Hope is a beautiful lie, and maybe that’s what breaks you.”
— Stephen King

Are We Just Comfortable in Our Collapse?

I know I’m not alone in feeling that the world is broken.

Sure, we can focus on the positives:

• Fewer men die in war
• Absolute poverty has declined
• Developed nations are more secular, and tolerance for homosexuality, abortion, and divorce has increased
• Life satisfaction is higher

But these facts often feel like opioid injections of hope—keeping us docile within social democracies, while the neoliberal machine hums beneath our blankets.

81 Billionaires Have More Than Half the World. And We Regulate?

According to Global Citizen, 81 billionaires have more wealth than 50% of the world combined.

And instead of revolting, we add the occasional regulation to the very system they designed.

Meanwhile, we give:

• Our minds through data and information
• Our souls through art
• And in return?
  We’re turned into brands and consumers.

There’s No Political Party or Religion That Can Save Us

We’re on the brink of a digital totalitarian dystopia.

And like everyone else, I don’t have solutions.

All I know is this:

The answer isn’t in regulations, revolutions, or religions.

Nor is it in any “ism.”

For lack of a better word, the answer is in a vibe shift—
A shift in collective consciousness.
A refusal to find meaning in what the hegemony designs.

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