Joy and Fear: An Illustrated Report on Modernity

Theo Deutinger’s ingenious continuation of Neurath’s info-design classic Modern Man in the Making tracks the successes and failures of modernity

Brilliantly adapting and updating Otto Neurath’s pioneering 1939 study Modern Man in the Making, Theo Deutinger’s (born 1971) Joy and Fear questions how modernity, through its promises and failures, continues to reshape humanity. For the West, these promises have largely been fulfilled: computers and domestic technology have made life easier; hygiene, modern medicine and education have led to steep increases in health, life expectancy and literacy rates. For large parts of the world’s population, however, these promises have not been fulfilled. For example, the current average life expectancy in Chad is equal to that of the United States in the 1920s, and at 52 is eight years below the retirement age there. The entire globe is irreversibly involved in the modern project, but its benefits are very unevenly distributed. By depicting these asymmetries in a visual language that makes complex issues immediately accessible, Joy and Fear brings clarity to today’s world. The pictograms and illustrations and their accompanying texts touch on global issues ranging from agriculture to warfare to the welfare state. Thematic and chronological affinities allow cross-referencing between topics throughout the book. Joy and Fear is aimed at a broad audience interested in the evolution of modernity, its quirks and its pitfalls.