When every side blames the other and society feels divided beyond repair, it may not be the end—it might be the beginning of something greater.
I meet many people of differing political persuasions who are upset with the direction of contemporary society. Each side contains the other side for causing the problems. The only way through the mess that they say is to impose that will on everyone. Once there will is imposed everything will be OK. We all know that’s not true. It’s never worked through throughout history. And it will not work in our contemporary situation. We can take some solace in applying Thomas Kuhn;s stages of scientific progress. Our current stage can be compared to his pre-paradigm phase of competing schools of thought, where there is a long period of normal science where a dominant paradigm is established and used for “puzzle-solving,” a crisis phase that arises from accumulating anomalies not solvable by the current paradigm,.
This sounds a lot like what is happening today. The good news is according Kuhn there will be an accumulation of anomalies—problems and results that cannot be solved within the existing paradigm—eventually leads to a crisis. The established paradigm begins to show its weaknesses, and a period of extraordinary science emerges where new approaches are permitted.
Thomas Kuhn’s idea of paradigm shifts reminds us that chaos often precedes clarity. When old systems no longer work, frustration and blame rise to the surface. It feels like collapse—but in truth, it’s transformation. Humanity has faced these crossroads countless times, and from each came new understanding and progress. The noise and confusion of our age may simply mean the old paradigm is cracking, making space for the new. Hope lives in that space between endings and beginnings. If we hold faith in reason, compassion, and dialogue, a better order will emerge—not imposed, but discovered together.
Reader Question:
What signs do you see that a new paradigm—a wiser, more humane way of thinking—is beginning to take shape?