Contemporary Culture: the Problem of Old and "New" Normality

Abstract

The article is devoted to the "new normality" that has declared itself as another achievement of Western progress. The authors show that this recent phenomenon is the result of the specifics of the modern information market society, which has led to an unjustified hypertrophy of ideas about human freedom. Western man, who wished to "take the place of God", decided that "normal" is the denial of any restrictions on self-will, both transcendental and natural ones. "Normal" is any individualistic whim and absurd demand of a narrow group. As a result, such behaviors as the child-freeness, rejecting sexual identification, the rights of the majority and even the desire for self-preservation become accepted as “normal”. The study reveals the absence of differences between the norm and pathology. The authors of the article believe that the "new normal" is a painful social phenomenon supported by the selfish elite circles of the West, which must be overcome by returning to the "old" humanistic norms.