We live in interesting times. We are freer, healthier and wealthier than ever before in human history. And yet, somehow, everything seems to have gone to hell—the planet is warming, governments are failing, economies are collapsing, and many of us end up experiencing a constant sense of despair.
In 2016, with his book THE SUBTLE ART OF NOT GIVING A F*CK, which became a global publishing phenomenon, Manson showed us that constantly chasing happiness makes us more unhappy.
In EVERYTHING IS F*CKED: A BOOK ABOUT HOPE, Manson turns his attention to the endless disasters unfolding in the world around us. Drawing on the wealth of psychological research on these subjects, as well as the timeless wisdom of philosophers such as Plato, Nietzsche and Tom Waits, he examines religion, politics and the unsettling ways in which they have come to resemble each other. He explores our relationship with money, entertainment and the internet, and how too much of even a good thing can consume us psychologically. He openly challenges our definitions of faith, happiness and freedom—and even hope itself.
With his usual blend of wit and eccentric humour, Manson grabs us by the collar and challenges us to be more honest with ourselves and connect with the world in ways we may never have considered before.
We are a civilisation that needs neither peace nor prosperity, nor ornaments for the hoods of our electric cars. We have all of those things. We are a civilisation that needs something far more precarious. We are a civilisation and a people in need of hope.
Our soul needs hope to survive, just as a fish needs water. Hope is the fuel of our mental machinery. The butter on our bread. Without hope, our entire mental mechanism will either seize up or starve.
Because freedom isn’t having more brands of cereal to choose from, more holiday destinations for taking selfies, or more satellite channels to fall asleep watching.
All of these things are variety. And in a vacuum, variety is meaningless. If you’re trapped in insecurity, tormented by doubt, or bound hand and foot by intolerance, you can have all the variety you want. But you aren’t free.
