Past Present Future Where Are We Going? The Idea of the Future
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Jul 1, 2026 
Ivan Krastev, political scientist and writer who studies democracy, populism and political time. He traces how modern life turned the future into our main way of living. He contrasts progressive projects with data-driven projections, explores time compression from Trump to tech immortality, and shows how fractured timeframes weaken shared political life.
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Immortality Fantasies Undermine Collective Political Time
- A cultural push toward individual physical immortality and weakening of collective immortality both reshape how people value time and political sacrifice.
- Krastev links Silicon Valley immortality projects with eroding nation/religion's promise of lasting meaning.
Democracy Depends On Keeping Past Present And Future Distinct
- Representative democracy rests on separating past accountability from future promises; collapse of those distinctions weakens accountability.
- Krastev explains elections require judging past behavior and future proposals, so collapsing time harms democratic function.
Democracy Reconciles Cyclical Return With Open Futures
- Democracy reconciles cyclical time with progressive open futures by allowing parties multiple lives and mechanisms for self-correction.
- Krastev notes cyclical electoral returns reduce incentives to cling to power and enable disappointment to be processed democratically.
