How Postmodernism Created the Opioid Crisis

Nothing says progress like turning your entire intellectual class into professional malcontents.

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Note: The following is a guest essay by

Gene Botkin

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The Western intellectual tradition maintained a coherent structure for centuries. It unified scholars across disciplines within a shared framework of truth-seeking. The Enlightenment reinforced this unity by embedding within universities the assumption that both the sciences and the humanities pursued a common goal: the discovery of the true, the good, and the beautiful.

Whether one studied philosophy, history, mathematics, or engineering, the underlying assumption was that truth existed and could be known through reason and empirical inquiry. This harmony was imperfect—debates between rationalism and faith, empiricism and idealism persisted—but intellectual work, regardless of discipline, was seen as a means of furthering human understanding.

The Industrial Revolution disrupted this balance. It moved societal emphasis toward technological advancement and material progress. As economic power became increasingly tied to industrial capability, applied sciences—physics, chemistry, engineering—gained unprecedented social and political influence.

These disciplines were no longer valued solely for their intellectual merit but for their ability to drive economic and military dominance. Consequently, the humanities—history, philosophy, literature—saw their role diminish in perceived societal importance. This transformation fragmented the academic world. Technical disciplines ascended to positions of power while the humanities struggled to retain their historical significance.

By the late 19th and early 20th centuries, this division had produced two intellectual factions: STEM intellectuals (SI) and humanities intellectuals (HI).

STEM intellectuals, grounded in empirical observation and measurable outcomes, became increasingly aligned with industrial and governmental interests. Meanwhile, many in the humanities found themselves alienated from the mechanisms of societal relevance. While some attempted to maintain their role in shaping public morality and cultural discourse, others responded by seeking alternative avenues for intellectual influence.

This schism in the intellectual class set the stage for deeper epistemological crises. As the humanities lost their traditional role in guiding objective moral and historical narratives, many scholars began to abandon the premise that objective truth even existed.

The transition from a universalist intellectual order to a fractured one was not merely an academic shift but an epistemic rupture. Where scholars once debated what was true, many now questioned whether truth itself could be known. It was in this climate of uncertainty that postmodernism emerged, a philosophical movement that would go beyond critiquing power structures to dismantling the very foundations of knowledge itself.

II. The Rise of Intellectual Class Warfare

If you can’t outbuild the engineers, just convince people that bridges are racist.

The Industrial Revolution reshaped the hierarchy of intellectual authority. As scientific and technological advancements became central to economic power, SI gained prestige, funding, and institutional influence. Governments and industries prioritized technical knowledge, viewing applied sciences as the foundation of progress.

Meanwhile, HI, once regarded as the stewards of culture and morality, found their relevance diminishing. Lacking direct utility in an industrial economy, they faced an existential crisis: if knowledge was valued by its material contributions, then where did that leave philosophy, literature, or history?

They became resentful. While some in the humanities sought to adapt by aligning with governance and ethics, others turned to ideological resistance. Rather than competing within the framework of industrial society, they sought to dismantle it.

Marxism became their first major weapon, offering an intellectual justification for overturning capitalism and positioning scholars as interpreters of social struggle. Through academia, HI, as a group, promoted class conflict narratives, portraying industrialization as a system of oppression. However, the catastrophic failures of Marxist revolutions in the 20th century damaged the ideology.

By the mid-20th century, Marxism had lost credibility. The Soviet Union, Maoist China, and other communist states had proven that class revolution did not lead to liberation but to economic ruin and authoritarian rule. The failure of these experiments disillusioned many intellectuals who had championed Marxism as the key to dismantling industrial capitalism. Yet, rather than abandoning their ideological struggle, intellectuals in the humanities sought a new strategy—one that would not confront industrial society directly but erode its foundations from within.

With Marxism exposed as unworkable, HI needed a new strategy. Rather than attacking industrial society outright, they would undermine its foundations. Their solution was postmodernism, a doctrine that did not confront power directly but dissolved the very idea of truth itself.

III. From Marxism to Postmodernism: The Shift in Strategy

The problem with class struggle is that eventually, someone wins.

Postmodernism is a doctrine that rejected universal truths and objective reality. Unlike Marxism, which offered a structured theory of history and revolution, postmodernism dissolved the very concept of a coherent metanarrative. It did not propose an alternative system but instead attacked the legitimacy of systems themselves. Rather than inciting class struggle, it introduced radical skepticism: science was merely a social construct, morality was subjective, and historical narratives were tools of oppression.

This shift was profound. By undermining truth itself, postmodernism disabled industrial society’s ability to justify itself. If knowledge was nothing more than a product of power, then expertise, merit, and objective inquiry were illusions. The intellectuals riding these currents no longer needed to replace the industrial world with a new system; they only had to convince people that no system was valid at all. The consequences of this ideological shift would prove catastrophic.

IV. The Psychological Consequences of Postmodernism

Nothing is real. Nothing matters. Also, here’s your student loan bill.

Postmodernism did not merely reshape intellectual discourse—it altered the psychological landscape of society. By rejecting universal truths, moral absolutes, and shared meaning, it left individuals without a stable foundation for understanding themselves or the world. Where once societies provided coherent moral frameworks—rooted in religion, tradition, or philosophical ideals—postmodernism deconstructed all narratives, offering nothing in their place. The result was a crisis of meaning.

Without objective moral standards, individuals were left to construct their own ethical systems, a task few are equipped to handle alone. The loss of shared values led to nihilism, where life itself seemed arbitrary and purposeless. As existential despair spread, so too did its psychological consequences: rising rates of depression, anxiety, and social alienation. Corroborating studies show that societies experiencing cultural fragmentation and moral relativism exhibit higher rates of mental illness and substance abuse.

Postmodernism did not create suffering, but it removed the structures that once helped people endure and avoid it. Religion, national identity, and community provided resilience in times of hardship, but postmodern thought dismissed these as constructs of oppression. In their absence, people sought escape—through consumerism, digital distraction, and, increasingly, chemical oblivion. The stage was set for the opioid crisis. A society convinced that nothing is true and that nothing matters becomes a society primed for self-destruction.

V. The Empirical Link Between Postmodernism and Drug Abuse

Postmodernism told people nothing mattered. Heroin gave them something to do.

The opioid crisis is often framed as a public health failure, but its roots lie in cultural and ideological decay. Societies that have abandoned shared moral frameworks, embraced radical individualism, and rejected objective truth have experienced higher rates of addiction, depression, and self-destructive behavior. Postmodernism, by dissolving the structures that once provided meaning—faith, family, tradition—created the psychological conditions necessary for widespread substance abuse.

Empirical data supports this connection. Studies show that countries and communities with strong religious or communal structures have significantly lower rates of drug addiction. Conversely, regions where secularism and relativism dominate tend to experience higher levels of existential distress and substance dependency. The decline of metanarratives has coincided with rising opioid deaths: between 1999 and 2022, opioid-related fatalities in the United States surged tenfold, paralleling the weakening of traditional moral institutions.

Historical parallels further support this connection. Post-Soviet Russia, after the collapse of communism, experienced an alcohol epidemic as millions of people lost their ideological framework overnight. The late Qing Dynasty, facing cultural dissolution, was consumed by opium addiction. The modern opioid epidemic is no different.

People seek escape from themselves when they feel as though their lives are meaningless. Whether through heroin, fentanyl, or synthetic opioids, a society untethered from truth becomes a society prone to self-destruction. The evidence suggests that postmodernism did not merely accompany the opioid crisis—it created the void into which addiction rushed.

VI. The Opioid Crisis as a Public Health Issue

Turns out, ‘everything is meaningless’ is not a great public health policy.

The opioid epidemic is commonly treated as a failure of pharmaceutical regulation, economic hardship, or inadequate healthcare. While these factors play a role, they do not explain why certain societies succumb to addiction more than others. The crisis is beyond medical. It is ideological. Widespread drug dependency emerges where cultural decay, existential despair, and the erosion of shared meaning leave individuals vulnerable to self-destruction.

Public health data reinforces this argument. The sharp rise in opioid overdoses from 1999 to 2022 coincides with a broader decline in traditional social structures. Communities with lower levels of religious belief, family cohesion, and civic participation have suffered the highest addiction rates. Their rapid ascent shows the opioid crisis is not simply about the availability of drugs; it is about the absence of resilience. A society that lacks purpose is a society primed for self-destruction.

Addressing the opioid crisis requires more than treatment programs and law enforcement. It requires restoring meaning—rebuilding faith, community, and purpose. Without these, no public health intervention will ever be enough. But first, the problem must be attacked at its source.

VII. The Case for Reform: Rebuilding Meaning in a Postmodern Society

Strong communities and families are more effective than government pamphlets.

If postmodernism has contributed to the opioid crisis by eroding truth, morality, and social cohesion, then reversing its influence is not simply a matter of intellectual debate—it is a matter of survival. The restoration of meaning in society requires deliberate cultural and institutional reform. Public policy, education, and social institutions must shift away from the relativism that has dominated academic and cultural discourse and instead promote frameworks that encourage purpose, responsibility, and resilience.

One approach is curricular reform in universities. Higher education must return to a foundation of objective inquiry rather than ideological subversion. Instead of dismissing metanarratives as tools of oppression, academic institutions should engage with them as essential structures for meaning. The humanities should not be abolished but reoriented—toward teaching history, philosophy, and literature in ways that inspire rather than deconstruct belief in truth and moral order.

Beyond academia, public institutions and communities must reclaim their role in shaping meaning. Churches, civic organizations, and families must counteract the atomization postmodernism has encouraged by fostering deep, enduring social bonds. Governments should recognize that addiction prevention is not only about restricting supply but about addressing spiritual and existential poverty.

The opioid crisis is a symptom of a broader crisis of meaning. The antidote is not merely medical treatment—it is cultural renewal. Without a deliberate reconstruction of shared purpose, the cycle of despair and addiction will continue.

VIII. The Future: A Society Beyond Postmodernism

Life finds a way. With or without you.

Again, the opioid crisis is not an isolated public health emergency; it is a symptom of a civilization in decline. Societies that lack shared truth, moral purpose, and communal identity inevitably breed despair. Postmodernism, by dismantling the very structures that once provided meaning, has left individuals adrift in nihilism, searching for escape in substances like opioids. The challenge ahead is not merely to treat addiction—it is to rebuild a culture that crafts resilient people.

A post-postmodern society must reject the relativism and deconstruction that have dominated intellectual life for decades. Instead, it must restore a sense of higher purpose, reinforcing the values that sustain civilizations: faith, duty, family, and truth. This shift requires more than policy changes—it demands a cultural renewal. Education, media, and governance must once again emphasize human purpose rather than cynicism, collective identity rather than hyper-individualism.

There is precedent for such renewal. In times of existential crisis, societies that have rediscovered their moral and philosophical foundations have endured, while those that failed to do so have collapsed. The opioid epidemic is a stark warning. If Western civilization does not reclaim its lost narratives, the crisis of despair will only deepen. The alternative to postmodern nihilism is not a return to blind dogma but a reaffirmation of truth, meaning, and human dignity.

IX. Financing the Reconstruction: Rebuilding Meaning as Public Health

Churches and symphonies do more for mental health than SSRIs.

If the opioid crisis is a symptom of cultural collapse, then its solution must go beyond medicine. Treating addiction without addressing the underlying despair is akin to prescribing painkillers for a broken limb without setting the bone. Religious and artistic institutions, long dismissed as relics of the past, must be reframed as essential to public health. These institutions do not merely offer aesthetic or spiritual enrichment—they provide psychological resilience, social cohesion, and existential meaning, all of which are critical for addiction prevention and mental well-being.

Public health data supports this argument. Studies show that individuals who participate in religious or artistic communities have lower rates of depression, suicide, and substance abuse. Regular religious attendance is associated with a 33 percent reduction in drug abuse risk, while engagement in the arts has been linked to improved mental health and social connectedness. These findings make a strong case that religious and cultural organizations should not be seen as private lifestyle choices but as public health assets deserving of institutional and financial support.

Lobbying efforts should emphasize this link. If governments allocate billions to mental health and addiction treatment, why not invest in preventative measures that strengthen communal and existential well-being? Religious and artistic institutions should advocate for grants, tax incentives, and policy support by positioning themselves as pillars of resilience against the epidemic of despair.

X. The Other Side of Nothing

We laughed at the past, we deconstructed the present, and now we have no future.

Postmodernism has gutted the soul of the West, leaving behind only addicts, cynics, and wanderers in search of oblivion. Societies do not die in flames—they rot from within, collapsing under the weight of their own emptiness. When a civilization forgets what it stands for, it does not need an enemy to destroy it. It destroys itself.

If society is to recover from postmodern nihilism, it must fund the institutions that can restore meaning. This means financing religious institutions, art galleries, and communal work projects. Because the antidote to nihilism is not another policy or program—it is the reconstruction of civilization itself. A people who abandon truth will not simply drift into irrelevance; they will collapse into ruin, forgotten even by history. If meaning is not restored, if faith and duty are not rekindled, then the abyss will consume all that remains.

We are now faced with the final choice: rebuild or perish. Either the West restores its moral and philosophical foundations, or it joins the long, unbroken graveyard of civilizations that once thought themselves eternal.

Truth must be defended as if civilization itself depends on it—because it does. Meaning must be reclaimed as if human survival depends on it—because it does.

A people who refuse to believe in anything will find that they are nothing. And the time for delay is over. Our somnolence approaches an eternal coma, and the choice is simple: wake up now or not at all.

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