Excerpt from

The West: An Autoimmune Disease?
 

Liviu Poenaru, PhD

 

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Abstract

 

Context
This work explores the paradoxical stress mechanisms in Western societies, marked by consumption and comfort. Despite the perceived well-being of modern capitalist societies, a profound psychosomatic discontent manifests, reflected in the rise of stress-induced illnesses, autoimmune diseases, and psychiatric disorders. The article uses the metaphor of autoimmunity to describe Western societal dysfunction, drawing parallels between biological self-destruction and societal self-harm driven by hyper-individualism, economic pressures, and digital dependencies.

 

Objectives
This study aims to analyze the mechanisms through which Western societies contribute to self-destructive processes, paralleling the way autoimmune diseases function within the body. It seeks to demonstrate how excessive control, consumerism, and the digital environment exacerbate stress, which in turn contributes to both physical and psychological deterioration. The philosophical question underpinning this analysis is whether the societal and economic systems in the West are undermining the self-defense mechanisms of their members, akin to an autoimmune response.

 

Method
The article adopts a qualitative and theoretical approach, integrating concepts from psychology, psychoneuroimmunology, and epidemiology. The author incorporates clinical observations, epidemiological data, and philosophical reflections to explore the effects of chronic stress on mental and physical health. Drawing on psychoneuroimmunology, the research explores the bi-directional interaction between the mind, nervous system, and immune function, focusing on the relationship between stress, inflammation and autoimmune diseases.

 

Results
Our exploration reveals a significant correlation between the rise of autoimmune diseases and the psychosocial stresses of Western capitalist societies. Epidemiological data support the link between chronic stress, psychiatric disorders, and autoimmune conditions. The article also highlights how the digital economy's manipulation of stress and fear (such as through FOMO) contributes to widespread psychological distress. This stress, in turn, disrupts immune function, leading to a cycle of physical and psychological degeneration.

 

Interpretation
Western societies, through their relentless pursuit of control, comfort, and consumption, create environments of heightened stress that mirror the dysfunctions of autoimmune diseases, where the body turns against itself. The research suggests that modern capitalist structures are pathogenic, exacerbating stress, weakening immune resilience, and fostering mental health crises. The article concludes that a holistic approach is necessary to address this systemic dysfunction, advocating for a reconceptualization of health that integrates mental, physical, and societal well-being.

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The Attack of "Non-Self" Objects and the Struggle for Comfort

 

After this multi-level detour aimed at familiarizing ourselves with the complexity of interactions, mechanisms, and dynamics attached to stress within contemporary cybercapitalist society, I propose focusing on the particular characteristics of the non-self object and its psycho-somatic effects.

It is evident from the previous elements that stress, alongside its corollary, anxiety, can play a central role in triggering autoimmune diseases. The theoretical foundations, observations, and hypotheses mentioned above bring us back to the question underpinning our research: Could the paradoxical creation of heightened psychological protection, potentially influenced by the ideology of control and risk, be responsible for the degradation of both psychological and biological defense mechanisms, ultimately leading to a state of war against oneself? The psychoneuroimmunological perspective and the strong scientific links it proposes tend to confirm this hypothesis. Sigmund Freud (1926) and Anna Freud (1936) developed, in psychoanalysis, the idea that anxiety/anguish can weaken the Ego’s defense mechanisms. This concept is based on the idea that individuals develop unconscious defense mechanisms as adaptive responses to manage internal conflicts, stressors, and anxieties. However, excessive reliance on or rigid adherence to these defenses can ultimately exacerbate anxiety and other psychological functioning.

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Although defense mechanisms initially serve a protective purpose, they can pose challenges when overused (Vaillant, 1992) or when they hinder healthy emotional processing. Repression, which involves suppressing unpleasant thoughts or memories into the unconscious, may offer temporary relief from anxiety but could lead to the accumulation of unresolved emotional conflicts over time. Similarly, denial, while radically protecting individuals from disturbing truths, can (when used too frequently) impede the recognition and resolution of underlying problems, perpetuating a cycle of anxiety and avoidance, especially if it occurs in an environment that continually aggravates its stressors.

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By erecting barriers between the conscious mind and the unconscious, individuals may become disconnected from their true selves, leading to feelings of emptiness, alienation, or existential angst. The creation of psychological protections may thus paradoxically contribute to weakening defense mechanisms by fostering dependence on maladaptive coping strategies. The inflexible and methodical maintenance of immature defense mechanisms can further disrupt interpersonal relationships, as well as adapted interactions within the ecosystem.

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"Non-self objects" (Poenaru, 2023) could be defined as representations and affects (constituting highly conflicted and unnamable non-self drives) induced by the codes of consumer society and the economic dictatorship to which we are all subjected to varying degrees. In psychoanalysis, the concept of "object" primarily refers to that toward which a drive is directed to achieve satisfaction. This term does not necessarily refer to a physical object but rather anything that can satisfy a drive, whether a person, a body part, an idea, or even a symbol (Laplanche, Pontalis, 1997). Thus, the object is what captures libidinal (or drive) energy and helps alleviate the tension created by the drive.

Non-self objects can be seen as entities or representations toward which drives are directed but that do not originate from the authentic self or the individual as such but rather from the cognitive overload operating in an addictive register to create an artificial self. They function as projections from the outside that the individual forcibly integrates in increasing numbers (due to the prevailing logic of accumulation) without being able to appropriate them or make them their own. As external projections, these objects could be seen as equivalents of paranoid entities because they are perceived as potential threats to the integrity of the self. Are we not on the fringe between projection (to rid oneself of intolerable objects) and the reality of a hostile, persecutory, and invasive context?

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These non-self objects, integrated without conscious consent, create a discrepancy between what the individual feels as their authentic self and what is perceived as external intrusions. The difficulty in integrating these objects thus leads to a sense of fragmentation, loss of control, and a feeling of invasion. In paranoia, internal anxieties are projected onto external objects, turning them into threats. However, what complicates the contemporary situation is the actually hostile and persecutory nature of the social and technological context in which individuals evolve. Modern reality is marked by the omnipresence of surveillance technologies, data manipulation (Wylie, 2019), and information and behavior control (Zuboff, 2019), creating an environment where fears of manipulation and domination are not merely products of the imagination but have a real basis.

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The question of the fringe highlights a troubling dynamic: how do we differentiate rational fears based on real threats from pathological anxieties arising from an excessive or distorted interpretation of reality? This boundary becomes particularly tenuous in a world where contradictory and manipulated information abounds. Individuals may perceive their environment as threatening not only because they project their fears but also because elements of that environment are genuinely coercive or manipulative. Paranoia and reality are then two sides of the same coin, profitable for the digital economy: it involves expelling through projection what has been forcefully internalized and cannot be integrated by the self or Ego.

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Let us not forget that the creation of paranoia groups, as evidenced by Christopher Wylie[1] (2019), is part of the social network industry’s program. According to Wylie, Cambridge Analytica used microtargeting techniques based on personal data to identify groups of individuals likely to react strongly to alarmist or polarizing messages. Once these groups were identified, the strategy was to bombard these individuals with content designed to exacerbate their fears and reinforce their sense of threat or injustice. By cultivating a climate of paranoia, where users believed that their values, safety, or way of life were under threat, Cambridge Analytica could encourage these people to engage actively, whether by sharing content, commenting, or participating in online discussions. The psychological mechanisms underlying this strategy rely on the fact that strong emotions, such as fear and anger, are powerful drivers of engagement. Polarizing or paranoid content triggers intense emotional responses, increasing the likelihood that users will react, share, or spread this content. These interactions then amplify the reach of these messages, creating a feedback loop where paranoid ideas spread rapidly and gain momentum. Is this not one of the common strategies of social networks?

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By bombarding these groups with alarmist or extremist messages, social networks fragment the audience into echo chambers. These echo chambers act like "autoimmune reactions" in that they reinforce only certain perspectives, often hostile to other groups, fostering social division and hostility rather than unity. Society, like an immune system, begins attacking itself, with individuals seeing each other as threats rather than part of a shared community. The sense of paranoia becomes self-reinforcing, as users are fed content that repeatedly tells them they are under threat. This creates an environment where people’s psychological "immune systems" (their sense of stability, security, and trust in society) are continuously on high alert, leading to chronic stress and alienation. Just as autoimmune diseases escalate the body's response to perceived threats (which may not exist or be misinterpreted), the polarization strategies of social media lead to extremist behaviors. Users, driven by fear, anger, or a sense of victimization, become more aggressive, share more polarizing content, or even act out in harmful ways. The emotional feedback loop mirrors the self-destructive nature of autoimmune conditions, where the body overreacts and harms itself in the process.

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Non-self objects are therefore products of external influence, particularly the codes imposed by consumer society and profit-driven economic dynamics. These objects constitute false desires, needs, and values that do not stem from the individual’s intrinsic needs but are instead induced by forces that generate hostility, addictions and internal agglomerations (sensory and mnemonic). Cybercapitalism, characterized by the omnipresence of digital technologies and an unprecedented acceleration in the flow of [negative] information, content, and objects, imposes considerable cognitive demands on individuals. These demands exacerbate the creation of non-self objects as artificial selves, leading to cognitive overload that profoundly affects health and decision-making capacity.

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These non-self objects, being in conflict with the individual’s authentic needs and desires, generate conflicting drives. The drive to consume or the compulsion to accumulate, encouraged by messages from consumer society, risks conflicting with the individual’s deep psychic needs for autonomy, dignity, emotional and spiritual fulfillment, and psychological well-being. The relentless search for artificial satisfaction through non-self objects imposes pressure on the Ego, causing fragmentation and dilution of identity. Constantly being pushed to seek objects that do not meet their real needs, individuals may feel out of sync with their own desires and emotions, leading to an identity crisis.

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The codes that interest us involve the permanent exposure and internalization of new economic, cultural, and political codes attached to propaganda and digital practices. They are also the result of visual invasion and scopophilic colonialism, which abundantly feed voyeuristic-exhibitionist desire and the primary cortexes (those closest to reflex areas) while stimulating bio-psychic boundaries. All of this suggests a massive parasitism of the containing psychic function, which risks having a traumatic effect due to an excess of "non-self" stimuli integrated into erratic drive configurations, resulting in false drives whose objects do not serve the integrity of the Ego. Bion (1962) suggested long before the digital world that in cases of sensory agglomerations, subjective protections are replaced by confused barriers between the conscious and unconscious, between self and non-self.

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Opposing processes, mentioned earlier, are a central concept in understanding the dynamics of addiction, whether related to substances, objects, or behaviors. This mechanism is fundamental to understanding how social media use, for example, can lead to a form of addiction that is not unrelated to new dysfunctional drive configurations centered on opposing agglomerations.

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The activation of conflicting non-self drives can lead to self-aggression, with the self becoming intolerable, tense, and confused. When individuals fail to satisfy their (artificial) drives through non-self objects, they may experience intense frustration, which can manifest as aggression turned against themselves. This results in self-devaluation, excessive self-discipline, or behaviors harmful to their well-being. For example, according to Twenge (2020), after a period of stability in the early 2000s, the prevalence of mental health challenges among adolescents and young adults in the United States began to rise in the early 2010s. This shift was marked by significant increases in depression, anxiety, loneliness, self-harm, suicidal thoughts, suicide attempts, and completed suicides, with the increases being particularly pronounced among [again] girls and young women—the epidemiological data mentioned earlier illustrate these clinical phenomena. While progress in gender equality has been made, the structures of cybercapitalism reinforce existing gender disparities. By consolidating economic, psychological, and social inequalities, the digital economy disproportionately affects women, making them primary victims in a system that benefits from gendered exploitation and manipulation.

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There is growing consensus that these trends may be linked to increased technology use. We also mentioned the example of France, where the consumption of psychotropic drugs among children and adolescents increased by 2 to 20 times compared to the adult population in 2021, which can only suggest confirmation of Twenge’s (2017, 2020) hypotheses.

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In the current digital ecosystem, we are forced to remain focused on the emergence of new "non-self" content that guarantees our social and environmental integration while "guaranteeing" the reduction of the risk of exclusion. Yet exclusion represents a secondary threat since it exposes us to mental illness, which can only ultimately lead to social and economic exclusion. For all of this conflicts with both psychic and physical homeostasis. Subjectivity, faced with the dictatorship of the future, progress, and infinite accumulation, quickly becomes obsolete (the planned obsolescence of the self modeled after the obsolescence of machines), always susceptible to being marginalized, degraded, eliminated, etc. Fear and its corollary, stress, are the main vectors of this profitable dehumanization program for the industry.

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In autoimmune diseases, confusion between the body itself, its defense mechanisms, and pathogens is at the heart of the disruption we are investigating. Normally, the immune system is responsible for distinguishing between "self" and "non-self" entities, meaning that it recognizes and tolerates the body’s own tissues while attacking foreign invaders such as viruses and bacteria. A proposed mechanism for breaking self-tolerance involves molecular mimicry, where foreign antigens from pathogens resemble autoantigens present in the body (Wucherpfennig, 2001). An antigen is a molecule or substance capable of triggering an immune response in the body. Antigens can be foreign substances, such as bacteria, viruses, or other pathogens, or they can be autoantigens, which are molecules produced by the body’s own cells. When the immune system mounts a response against an invading pathogen, it may inadvertently target similar autoantigens, leading to an autoimmune reaction. And what about mimicry and memes in cybercapitalism? Could mimicry and memes lead to the destruction of the self?

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In the realm of capitalism, mimicry plays a significant role in shaping consumer behavior, market trends, and societal norms. Capitalist economies rely on advertising, branding, and consumer culture to promote products and lifestyles, often leading to the emulation of certain behaviors or consumption patterns perceived as desirable or aspirational. Individuals automatically mimic others’ consumption habits, driven by the desire for social status, validation, or belonging within consumer societies. Memes within capitalist systems (Shifman, 2013) encompass not only symbols or cultural trends but also ideological constructs and narratives that perpetuate and legitimize capitalist principles. Ideas such as the pursuit of individual success, the glorification of entrepreneurship, or the valorization of consumption can be considered memes that propagate within Western societies, shaping collective attitudes, values, and behaviors.

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These primarily unconscious mechanisms, among many others to which the bio-psycho-social individual is exposed, could contribute to the confusion between self and environment, between natural and induced behavior, between personal and artificial/distorted representations, and between one’s own antigens and those of pathogens. Consequently, they may lead to a psychodynamic conflict against oneself and one’s own biology. We can propose the interpretation and hypothesis that capitalism, with its deep scientific understanding of human psychology and physiology, manipulates our desires and needs to falsify them, thereby creating confusion between self and non-self as long as the self is parasitized by codes assumed to be natural. The naturalization of these codes is created through education, norms, policies, and social pressure.

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Technology—or applied science—has confronted mankind with problems of profound gravity. The very survival of mankind depends on a satisfactory solution of these problems. It is a matter of creating the kind of social institutions and traditions without which the new tools must inevitably bring disaster of the worst kind (Einstein, 2011/1950, pp. 13-14).

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One way capitalism achieves the naturalization of economic codes is through the commodification of goods and services. By turning essential aspects of life, such as food, housing, and healthcare, into commodities that can be bought and sold, capitalism creates a dependency on consumption to meet basic needs. Take food, for example. The link between food, stress, and the immune system is complex, bidirectional, and multifaceted. Proper nutrition plays a crucial role in maintaining a healthy immune system. There is a bidirectional communication pathway between the gut, brain, and immune system known as the gut-brain-immune axis (Yan, 2018). The gut microbiota, composed of billions of microorganisms, plays a vital role in immune regulation. Stress can disrupt the balance of the gut microbiota, leading to inflammation and immune dysfunction. Certain dietary patterns, such as high consumption of processed foods, sugary snacks, and caffeine, can exacerbate stress and contribute to inflammation in the body. Thus, food dependency and addiction (Levin Pelchat, 2009) may stem from various interrelated psychological, physiological, and social factors related to the primary need for food: reward pathways, emotional regulation, habit formation, social and cultural influences, advertising, marketing, and biological factors.

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Neuro-immune functions are influenced by the human microbiota, particularly the multidirectional communications in the gut-brain-immune (MGB) axis, rather than by one or two neurotransmitters or cytokines. The human microbiota is an ecosystem that plays a key role in visceral perception, drug and carcinogen neutralization, and systemic inflammation. The dynamic interactions and balances in the MGB axis are essential for the prevention and treatment of various inflammatory diseases, from depression to diabetes (Yan, 2018, p. 4).

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This paradigmatic dependency on the system that interests us may lead to a blurring of the boundaries between self and non-self, as individuals may come to define themselves by their possessions or consumption habits: We are what we eat. Human beings can largely be defined by their sensory experiences and interactions with the material world, including the food they consume.

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The relentless pursuit of profit by capitalism often leads to the exploitation of human labor and natural resources. Workers may become alienated from their work, feeling disconnected from the products they produce and the value they create (Marx, 1867). They are thus, according to Marx, reduced to the triangle of accumulation, commodity fetishism, and alienation. This last point can contribute to a sense of disconnection from the self and the surrounding world, with individuals becoming mere cogs in the capitalist machine, devoid of agency and purpose beyond serving the interests of capital. The omnipresent influence of capitalism, as previously suggested, extends beyond the economic realm and infiltrates various aspects of society, including culture, media, and politics. Through advertising, propaganda, and consumer culture, capitalism shapes our desires, aspirations, identities, and bodies. Einstein (2011/1950) understood it: The economic anarchy of capitalist society as it exists today is, in my opinion, the real source of the evil (p. 6).

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This bio-psycho-social transformation thus blurs the boundaries between self and non-self, as individuals internalize (unconsciously, from a very young age) capitalist values and norms without being able to truly question their validity or consequences. Viewed from this angle, the confusion we address could potentially affect biological antigens and psychological defenses within the complex interaction examined by PNI. This scientific field, as mentioned earlier, illustrates how multiple psychological factors can influence our biology, including stress response, immune function, gene expression, brain structure and function, health behaviors, social relationships, placebo and nocebo effects, and much more.

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It is worth noting that in capitalist societies, the creation of cumulative comfort exposed simultaneously to obsolescence is often associated with the injection of fear concerning the potential loss of this comfort, motivated by reasons of consumption, productivity, and profit. Once again, these are non-self objects that must be continually integrated and against which we must defend ourselves. This context generates both artificial and genuine anxiety related to the comfort zone and its possible loss. Such a paradoxical zone can induce physiological responses, representing the body’s natural reaction to stress and perceived threats. Individuals facing comfort zone anxiety may resort to negative thoughts, catastrophizing, or irrational thought patterns. They may fixate on potential catastrophic scenarios or doubt their ability to meet the new challenges dictated by social consumption norms. Situations outside the comfort zone that provoke anxiety can trigger feelings of fear, apprehension, insecurity, or inadequacy.

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To exacerbate the artificial anxiety resulting from the disparity between environmental demands and personal capacities, individuals are bombarded with messages equating happiness with consumption and the accumulation of wealth. The systematic dissemination of narratives about economic insecurity can further exacerbate anxiety related to the comfort zone, prompting individuals to prioritize financial stability and security over personal growth or exploration. The fear of unemployment or underemployment can deter individuals from taking risks or seizing new opportunities outside their current employment situation. This locks individuals into a vicious cycle of fear and alienation, ultimately leading to anxiety about survival and a long-term erosion of personal identity. Is this why the number of autoimmune disease cases increases after age 50?

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Constant exposure to social media, news, and online content contributes to a sense of information overload (allostatic load) and aggravates anxiety, leading to decision paralysis, and repression of truth, representations, and emotions associated with it. In an attempt to cope with this flood of information and stress, individuals may retreat into familiar routines and comfort zones, avoiding the uncertainty of new experiences and alternatives. However, one could argue that this plays into the main agenda of capitalism: by maintaining a delicate balance between comfort and anxiety, it discourages choices that are not profitable for the economy as well as the development of critical thinking.

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It is clear that the pursuit of well-being yields positive outcomes such as happiness, fulfillment, and satisfaction. However, it also introduces stressors, pressures, and anxieties, especially when individuals feel overwhelmed by the expectations of accumulation or perceive obstacles hindering their desired state of well-being, dictated by the alienation industry. Consequently, individuals worry about not meeting societal norms or expectations, generating feelings of inadequacy and self-doubt, perpetuating a continuous struggle against a self constantly confronted with obsolescence in the face of the relentless pace of capitalist development. Social comparison, particularly through social media platforms, exacerbates anxiety related to well-being. Persistent exposure to carefully curated representations of seemingly perfect lives can engender feelings of inadequacy, jealousy, or fear of missing out (FOMO), further fueling anxiety about one’s own well-being while reinforcing the confusion between self and non-self.

 

[1] Christopher Wylie is a data scientist and former employee of Cambridge Analytica, a political consulting firm involved in a major scandal in 2018 regarding the unauthorized use of personal data for political purposes. Wylie gained fame as a whistleblower when he revealed how Cambridge Analytica exploited the data of millions of Facebook users to influence political campaigns, notably during the 2016 U.S. presidential election and the Brexit referendum in the United Kingdom.

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