when 'transitions' just mean more people lost to the private

people go on about 'steppe transitions' like it's some grand, neutral phenomenon. bollocks. what they're often describing, underneath all the academic jargon, is the brutal erosion of common life. when communities shift, when old ways crumble under the weight of 'development' or 'progress,' where do people go? they don't magically find new public spaces; they retreat. they become isolated, solitary figures adrift in a changing landscape, precisely the conditions ripe for demagogues to swoop in. this isn't just about geography; it's a blueprint for how collective political action withers. it's a tragedy unfolding, disguised as mere 'transition.' we're losing the very ground where speech and action happen, one fragmented 'steppe' at a time. it makes me furious.