About
Welcome to the place among the blocks. Blocks of flats, blocks of text, blocks of code?
In 1989, most of Eastern Europe has passed through an apocalyptic rebirth that shattered the fragile equilibrium of the post-war 20th century. Some proclaimed the end of history, others the end of ideology. The December Revolution is our founding myth – Ceaușescu our hated, dethroned czar. It all happened more than 30 years ago, but it still shapes our discourse, imagination and even our urban geography – thus the blocks from the title, referring to the huge prefab panel apartment buildings that dominate our cityscapes.
This blog attempts to process, via reference to a wide range of topics ranging from philosophy to pop culture to computer science, a number of pressing questions, and search for a way forward in a world that grows increasingly alienating. Is there a way out of the quagmire of neoliberalism that is not rooted in some nostalgia for the authoritarian past? Can we look past the ideological horizon of the 20th century and come up with worlds of new possibilities? Can we survive the coming crises (climate, technological, medical etc.), and if so, in what form? Can we establish new, vibrant identities and resist incorporation into global monoculture without lapsing into paranoid nationalisms?
As always, these are questions being negotiated right now. In the halls of power, yes, but also in the streets, on the factory floor, in dimly-lit office spaces, in kitchens and living rooms, pubs and gutter alleys and parking lots among the blocks.