This is a question that many people are asking themselves in the wake of the global challenges that we face today. Climate change, pandemics, social unrest, inequality, terrorism, cyberattacks, and more. These are the problems that modernity has brought us, or at least failed to solve.

Modernity is the term that describes the historical period from the 17th century to the present, characterized by the rise of science, reason, democracy, individualism, and progress. Modernity promised us a better world, where we would be free from ignorance, superstition, oppression, and suffering. Modernity gave us many achievements, such as technology, medicine, education, human rights, and culture.

But modernity also had its dark side. Modernity created new forms of violence, exploitation, alienation, and destruction. Modernity disrupted the natural balance of the earth, the social fabric of communities, and the spiritual dimension of life. Modernity made us more connected, but also more isolated. More informed, but also more confused. More powerful, but also more vulnerable.

One of the most obvious manifestations of modern violence is war. Modernity brought about new technologies, ideologies, and political systems that enabled and justified large-scale conflicts that spanned continents and claimed millions of lives. The World Wars, the Cold War, the Vietnam War, the Iraq War, and many others are examples of how modernity fueled and facilitated warfare. These wars not only caused immense suffering and death, but also had lasting impacts on the environment, the economy, the culture, and the psychology of the people involved.

Another form of violence that modernity created is colonialism. Colonialism is the practice of establishing political and economic domination over other peoples and territories, often through force and coercion. Colonialism was driven by the desire for resources, markets, power, and prestige, as well as by the belief in the superiority of one’s own civilization and culture.

Colonialism resulted in the exploitation, oppression, displacement, and genocide of many indigenous peoples around the world. It also disrupted and destroyed their ways of life, their languages, their religions, their identities, and their histories.

A third form of violence that modernity generated is capitalism. Capitalism is an economic system based on private ownership of the means of production and exchange, and on the pursuit of profit. Capitalism emerged in conjunction with modernity and became the dominant mode of organizing society.

Capitalism created unprecedented levels of wealth and productivity, but also unprecedented levels of inequality and poverty. Capitalism also created new forms of exploitation, such as slavery, wage labor, child labor, sweatshops, and human trafficking. Capitalism also alienated workers from their products, their labor, their creativity, and their humanity.

A fourth form of violence that modernity spawned is environmental degradation. Environmental degradation is the deterioration of the natural environment due to human activities. Modernity increased the demand for natural resources and energy, and also increased the production of waste and pollution.

Modernity also altered the climate and the ecosystems of the planet, leading to biodiversity loss, deforestation, desertification, soil erosion, water scarcity, air pollution, ocean acidification, and global warming. These environmental changes have threatened the survival and well-being of many species, including humans.

These are just some of the ways that modernity created new forms of violence, exploitation, alienation, and destruction. These forms are not isolated or independent from each other; they are interconnected and interdependent. They also have cumulative and synergistic effects that amplify their impacts.

Modernity is not a monolithic or homogeneous phenomenon; it has multiple dimensions and expressions that vary across time and space. Modernity also has positive aspects that should not be overlooked or dismissed. However, it is important to recognize and critically examine its negative aspects as well, in order to understand its origins, its consequences, and its alternatives.

So, has modernity failed us? The answer is not simple. Modernity has given us many benefits, but also many costs. Modernity has solved some problems, but also created new ones. Modernity has not fulfilled all its promises, but also not all its threats. Modernity is not a monolithic entity, but a complex and dynamic process that is still unfolding.

Therefore, instead of asking whether modernity has failed us, we should ask ourselves how we can shape modernity to serve us better. How can we preserve the positive aspects of modernity, while mitigating the negative ones? How can we balance the needs of the present and the future? How can we integrate the rational and the emotional? How can we foster a sense of belonging and meaning in a diverse and changing world?

These are the questions that we need to ask ourselves as we face the challenges and opportunities of modernity. These are the questions that will determine our fate as a species and as a planet. These are the questions that will define who we are and what we want to be.