This article is the outcome of discussions about the “dreadful state of the world” which have been going on for two years between Kenneth Hermele, an economist, Jan Stensson, a psychoanalyst, John Toler, a historian, and the author, also a psychoanalyst. Starting from our varied professional experiences, we have spoken of the importance of social imagination and utopias, of environmental degradation, of the increasing gap between north and south, the increasing differences between poor and rich in our country, of globalisation and ethnic conflicts, of the questioning of the concept of progress and the ideals of modernism. This article discusses these questions and the feelings, often in the area of negative affect, which these changes give rise to. Great demands are made of the individual, if he is to be able to perceive and move between different contexts and different emotional areas while retaining the ability to think holistically, about himself and the other.