#### Facing Humanity's Wrongs and the Implications for Social Activism `Author:` [Vanessa Machado de Oliveira](https://www.penguinrandomhouse.com/authors/2249047/vanessa-machado-de-oliveira) `Availability:` > [!info] ![[Hospicing Modernity.jpg]] > https://www.penguinrandomhouse.com/books/675703/hospicing-modernity-by-vanessa-machado-de-oliveira/ ## Key takeaways ### 1. Hospicing Modernity: A Radical Concept • The metaphor of _hospicing_ modernity suggests that modernity—defined by colonialism, extractivism, and individualism—needs to be cared for in its dying process, not salvaged or reformed. Instead of clinging to its ideals, we must focus on creating the conditions for something new to emerge. • This involves deep grief work, acknowledging the harm that modern systems have caused, and letting go of attachments to their promises of progress and control. **2. Unlearning as a Path to Transformation** • A central theme of the book is the need for unlearning deeply ingrained habits, beliefs, and narratives tied to modernity, such as the pursuit of perpetual growth, mastery over nature, and the prioritisation of individual success over communal well-being. • Unlearning requires humility and openness, recognising that knowledge systems outside modernity, particularly Indigenous and relational worldviews, hold critical wisdom for sustainable and just living. **3. The Pitfalls of Activism within Modernity** • Machado de Oliveira critiques activism that operates within the logic of modernity, often replicating its harm through saviourism, urgency, and reliance on technocratic solutions. • Effective activism must confront its complicity with colonial and extractive systems, focusing on relational accountability rather than performative or tokenistic approaches. **4. Embracing Complexity and Ambiguity** • The book invites readers to move away from [[binary]] thinking—right/wrong, us/them, good/bad—which modernity perpetuates. Instead, it encourages embracing complexity, paradox, and ambiguity in addressing social and ecological crises. • This means accepting that there are no singular solutions and that healing requires patience and care, not quick fixes. **5. Relationality as a Core Principle** • Relationality, or the understanding that everything exists in interconnected relationships, is highlighted as a vital counterpoint to modernity’s atomised and individualistic worldview. • Activism and social change should centre relationships—among people, with the Earth, and with non-human beings—prioritising interdependence over independence. **6. Preparing for Collapse and Rebuilding** • Machado de Oliveira stresses the importance of preparing for societal and ecological collapse as modern systems unravel. This is not a call for despair but an invitation to imagine and foster lifeways that can survive and thrive beyond modernity. • Hospicing modernity involves cultivating resilience, adaptability, and imagination for alternative futures. **7. Decolonising Ourselves and Our Movements** • The process of decolonisation is not just external—concerning land and institutions—but also internal, requiring individuals to confront the colonial mindsets and practices embedded in their own thinking and behaviour. • Decolonising activism means respecting and learning from Indigenous leadership and epistemologies while acknowledging the damage wrought by colonial histories. **Key Implications for Social Activism** • Activism should focus on care, repair, and relational transformation rather than conquest or victory. • Building a post-modernity world requires collective efforts to nurture localised, ecological, and reciprocal practices of living. • Rather than rushing to save the world through existing systems, activists are invited to _stand in the ruins_ of modernity, creating space for new possibilities to emerge. **Final Thought** Machado de Oliveira’s work is an urgent and compassionate call to rethink activism and humanity’s relationship with the world. It challenges us to face uncomfortable truths while inspiring hope and imagination for life beyond modernity. By letting go of control and dominance, we might co-create a world rooted in reciprocity, care, and balance. ## Quotes - ## Notes ## Summary `Concepts:` [[Books index]]