Episode #188 - Achievement Society and the rise of narcissism, depression and anxiety
Achievement Society
In this episode, Byung-Chul Han’s theory of positive power takes center stage, building on themes of surveillance, control, and the modern self. Han argues that we no longer live in a disciplinary society where behavior is regulated through prohibition and punishment; instead, we exist within an achievement society governed by the illusion of total freedom. This shift replaces the coercive “should” with the self-imposed “can,” encouraging individuals to optimize themselves endlessly under the guise of autonomy. Han sees this as a sophisticated form of domination: people internalize the pressure to constantly improve, turning themselves into marketable projects, and framing their worth in terms of productivity and efficiency. In doing so, they lose touch with “the Other”—that which is different, imperfect, or disruptive to self-centered striving. Han links this to rising levels of depression and burnout, noting how technology reinforces this isolation by offering shallow, self-affirming experiences in place of real connection. True thinking, he argues, requires slowness, contemplation, and a deliberate effort to engage with difference. Rather than succumbing to a world of sameness, Han urges a return to presence, rest, and a deeper sense of the Other—practices that offer a quiet resistance to the invisible forces shaping modern life.
Further Reading:
The Burnout Society by Byung-Chul Han (2015)
Psychopolitics: Neoliberalism and New Technologies of Power by Byung-Chul Han (2017)
The Society of the Spectacle by Guy Debord (1967)
See the full transcript here.
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