I would like to start this short essay with a question. How do you, reader, feel about the future?
For some, including myself, the question above might be difficult to answer. Lately, most of my conversations have ended in mutual agreements about uncertainty, pessimism, or even fear for what the future might bring. Topics like social security, political discontent, or climate change are no longer exceptional, but rather standard. My own conversations may be mostly situated within my bubble, but the last election in the Netherlands show that those with radically different opinions than mine are just as discontent with the current situation — maybe even more so.
Recent opinion polls in Western societies reflect these conversations. In my home country, the Netherlands, 57% of people think we are heading towards a wrong direction (SCP, 2025). In Germany, an alarming 84% of the population is pessimistic about the future. Research from the Centre for the Future of Democracy in Cambridge shows that trust in political systems is declining in most Western societies (Reckwitz, 2024). How can it be that these highly "developed" countries are increasingly dominated by pessimism? My recent conversations, experiences, and research have led me to believe that the answer could involve an experienced loss of way-of-life.
Andreas Reckwitz explains in his lecture on 'Loss and Modernity' that our late modern society is founded on a strong belief in progress: the future will be better than the present, which is again better than the past (Goethe-Institut New York, 2022). Industrialization has provided us with luxury and comfort. Globalization gave us access to new cultures. The world wide web established a global connection. Science and technology have driven knowledge and innovation. Modernity meant dreams of a bright and plentiful future.
However, the pursuit of these dreams has begun to show drawbacks. Large crises such as climate change, biodiversity loss, resource depletion, labor exploitation, conflicts, terrorism, and mass migration are becoming complexly entangled. We can no longer deny that there are boundaries to our dreams of progress — global balances that should not become unbalanced. And with these crises comes the experience of loss. For some, this is loss of territory or resources; for others, it is loss of economic safety, social status, faith in the future, or loss of meaning or identity.
The paradox of late modernity is that loss is considered to be the very opposite of progress — it is the worsening of conditions (Goethe-Institut New York, 2022). And thus, rather than acknowledging and coping with it, we find alternative explanations. We either push it away and act like it does not exist (climate change denial), or we put the blame for our loss on marginalized groups in society (immigrants and asylum seekers). In doing so, we threaten the possibilities for a joyful life for those around us, as well as for future generations.
So, "where is the design in it?" Design has played, and is playing, a major role in sustaining our dreams of progress. It is the development of products, the offering of services, and the selling of experiences and feelings (What if your brand's best strategy was just a feeling). It has been so successful at this that over time, design has moved from making 'that which we need', to 'the need itself to make it'. It has unquestionably contributed to our quality of life, but also to our addiction to our ever-lasting strive for 'more'. Design carries responsibility.
This responsibility has made me wonder: how might design help us navigate societal loss?
I think that when given the right attention, loss can create fertile ground for a more inclusive future. Organizations like the Polycene Design Manual have already integrated the concept of loss in their core considerations, as "stewarding loss" (Polycene Design Manual, n.d.). To me, as to many others I suppose, the idea of using design to navigate societal loss is still new. Therefore, I will end this piece of text with more questions.
What role does design play in a world that needs not more, but less? Which practices are worth repairing, and which should we let go? How can design facilitate loss in order to create new fertile opportunities? And what can design do to show that confronting loss could help us to a better future for everyone?
I will explore these and other questions during my master’s thesis. If this short text inspires ideas, opinions, critique, or more questions, I would be happy to hear from you.
All the best,
Simon
https://www.instagram.com/simonscheepers/
https://www.linkedin.com/in/simon-scheepers-741a93220/
References
Goethe-Institut New York (Director). (2022, November 4). ANDREAS RECKWITZ: LOSS AND
MODERNITY [Video recording]. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DgnPufSNxEw
Polycene Design Manual. (n.d.). Polycene Design Manual—Center for Complexity at RISD. https://polycene.design
Reckwitz, A. (2024). Loss: A Modern Predicament (pp. 9–21). https://link.springer.com/chapter/10.1007/978-3-662-58434-7_23
SCP. (2025, March 4). Onder Nederlanders met hbo- en wo-opleiding daalt vertrouwen in
regering—Nieuwsbericht—Sociaal en Cultureel Planbureau [Nieuwsbericht]. Ministerie van
Volksgezondheid, Welzijn en Sport. https://www.scp.nl/actueel/nieuws/2025/03/04/onder-nederlanders-met-hbo--en-wo-opleiding-daalt-vertrouwen-in-regering