Where economic health is measured by growth and shareholder profit, new markets at some point cannot be located and nature nears exhaustion. This is late-stage capitalism.
Instead of relenting to a new, sustainable economic order, the titans of capital have found themselves preferring end-times to wealth-sharing, permitting the earth to rest.
Enter Apocalypticism, the nihilistic core of Christian Nationalism.
Apocalypticism—the belief in an impending end of the world, often framed as a final reckoning or judgment day— is grounded in interpretations of the Bible that predict the ultimate triumph of good over evil but also the destruction of the world as we know it.
The belief in an imminent apocalypse turns politics into a battle between good and evil; Christian Nationalists see themselves as soldiers in a spiritual war, fighting to preserve a Christian Nation from the forces of secularism, atheism, and other “ungodly” movements.
Apocalyptic beliefs are used to justify the destruction or transformation of society. Believing the end of the world is near creates a worldview where the collapse of existing social structures isn’t something to avoid but to embrace- the breakdown of the current order is the necessary precursor to Christ’s return, and the ultimate triumph of Christian values. This can make apocalyptic scenarios seem not just inevitable but divinely ordained.
It cannot be said that capitalists are converted to any form Christianity, but simply that Apocalypticism and capitalism merge. Global efforts to avoid climate and nuclear catastrophe are discarded.
What emerges is not new. Contemplating our circumstances, the text, as it were, is quoted: “Now I am become Death, the destroyer of worlds.”