The age of aggression

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I have just added this post to my glossary, because I think defining the term 'the age of aggression' is important, and I have a revived enthusiasm for the glossary itself, to which links are automatically added in all my posts when a term within it first comes up in the text:


The Age of Aggression

The age of aggression is the contemporary era of political economy, defined by the aggressive dominance of corporate and ultra-wealthy interests over democratic institutions, public discourse, and resource allocation.


The Age of Aggression marks the latest phase in the evolution of modern capitalism, succeeding the post-war Age of Compassion and the neoliberal Age of Indifference. It began with the rise of figures such as Donald Trump and has intensified through the influence of billionaires, global corporations, and tech elites whose power now eclipses that of many governments.

In this era, political economy—understood not simply as the study of who gets what, but why they get it—is shaped by force rather than consent. Competition in ideas, particularly in economics and politics, has been all but eliminated. Neoliberal orthodoxy reigns unchallenged, and dissent is sidelined.

The wealthy and powerful now assert their interests with open contempt for democracy and the public good. Control of media, technology, and narrative allows them to dictate terms while rendering the concerns of ordinary people irrelevant. This is an era not merely of inequality, but of active suppression and exclusion.

The Age of Aggression is thus not just about economics or politics—it is about the use of economic and cultural power as tools of domination. It will, inevitably, end. Aggression always does. But until a new politics of compassion emerges, this is the world we must navigate—and resist.


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