Kathmandu— In 1799, Francisco de Goya’s engraving ‘The sleep of reason produces monsters’ captured a potent idea about the fragility of order. More than a century later, Antonio Gramsci, writing from prison, described a similar moment of societal upheaval as an ‘interregnum’ filled with ‘morbid phenomena.’ While translated loosely, these parallel observations by Goya and Gramsci reveal a shared understanding: that monsters aren't simply external threats, but symptoms of deeper shifts within the structures of reason itself, emerging when established orders falter and new ones struggle to take hold.

Echoes Across Centuries

Goya and Gramsci lived over a hundred years apart, yet both witnessed periods where rationality seemed unable to maintain order. Goya experienced the Enlightenment alongside its contradictions—wars, superstition, and absolutism—while Gramsci observed the collapse of the European order following World War I and the rise of fascism. Both artists recognized that monsters appear not as isolated incidents but within broader societal landscapes.

From Individual Sleep to Collective Unrest

It’s tempting to interpret Goya's work as a commentary on individual consciousness—a sleeping mind overrun by nightmares. However, Los Caprichos consistently addresses society as a whole. While the figures depicted – witches, friars, and dandies – have distinct forms, they embody collective issues like ignorance, superstition, and abuse. Goya portrays these widespread phenomena through individual representations, giving form to abstract concepts.

Shifting Focus from Monster to Field

Gramsci approached this phenomenon differently, focusing on the underlying conditions that allow unsettling events to emerge. He argued that during a crisis—an ‘interregnum’ between old and new orders—'morbid phenomena' proliferate. This leads to a crucial reversal: instead of viewing monsters as the *cause* of societal problems, Gramsci suggests they are *symptoms* of a deeper instability. What if it isn’t the monster that warps the field, but rather a curvature within the field itself that allows the monster’s trajectory?

Reason's Internal Contradictions

The 20th century demonstrated that rationality doesn’t automatically equate to goodness. Some of history’s most horrific acts were carried out with chilling efficiency through bureaucratic systems, legal frameworks, and advanced technologies. Instrumental reason can function flawlessly even when the underlying goals are deeply flawed. This suggests unreason isn't simply the opposite of reason, but a potential *state* of it—a distortion born from its own internal contradictions. The monster may not come from outside; it could have been latent within the existing order.

A Contemporary Reckoning

The authors suggest we are potentially living through another such moment, characterized by eroding institutional authority, technological disruption of truth, algorithmic fragmentation of public discourse, persistent inequalities, and a growing difficulty in establishing shared realities. Rather than fixating on individual ‘monsters,’ they urge us to examine the broader societal forces at play—the desires, fears, and frustrations that are reshaping our collective experience. By the time a monster gains prominence, much of the underlying transformation has already occurred.

Ultimately, understanding what state of reason is making these unsettling developments possible may be the most crucial question facing us today.

(With inputs from CounterPunch)

Originally published on abcnews.com.np.