”…social hysterias do not stand still. If they are not yet losing steam, they are getting worse. ... Radical movements keep ratcheting up their demands, because nothing enervates a cause more than success. Crusaders resent having their purpose stolen out from under them by the fulfillment of their quest; reaching the promised land leaves seekers bereft. There’s little to do in a utopian oasis but sip coconut water. So the journey must never be completed. The goal must remain out of reach. To preserve the perfect impossibility of getting there, the desired endpoint becomes ever more extreme.”
— Lionel Shriver (2024), “Mania”, p. 69
