The fear of uselessness: From the normalization to the enjoyment of ecological destructiveness

Abstract

Protest against the mitigation of climate change has become a core issue for right-wing populism across the globe. Such politics can mobilize a widespread normalization of ecological destructiveness. Drawing on Frankfurt School critical theory and Lacanian psychoanalysis, this article argues that climate protection provokes such outrage because it appears to negate all the sacrifices that had to be made for the world of work. Thus, the normalization of destructiveness relates to a fear of uselessness common to the modern subject. This fear is taken up by the right-wing anti-climate protest and turned into something positive to be enjoyed. The phenomenon is illustrated by interviews with Swiss construction workers about their experiences with climate change.