Never has the reminder of death been so omnipresent as it has been for my generation with the coronavirus pandemic. Death rates are recurrent in headlines and conversations, and losing loved ones has become a personal experience for millions more people around the world due to the coronavirus pandemic. At the same time, the pandemic has also highlighted the strong hold that the denial of death has on American culture, as we attempt to not contemplate death any more than is absolutely necessary. The terror management theory, proposed by Jeff Greenberg, Sheldon Solomon, and Tom Pyszczynski, explains how death, being the inevitable ending that we all strive to avoid, presents a psychological conflict in our minds that drives our actions.

As discussed in The Worm at the Core, one of the coping mechanisms that humans have relied upon to deal with our mortality comes through building a perception of ourselves as being superior to all others on the planet. This contributes to our actions being more inherently selfish and driven by the desire to get ourselves more than what we need. This is in contrast to animals who only consume for sustenance. The Anthropocene film explores some of the ecological harms that have come from re-engineering the planet to fit the desires of the wealthy, with little regard for other humans and living things. 

I believe that terror management theory helps us in the sense that it identifies why people turn to ways of creating or strengthening value in their lives, and how death anxiety can manifest itself through destructive tendencies. Identifying a root cause is essential for coming up with solutions. For example, in “Is a Fear of Death at the Heart of Capitalism?”, James Rowe proposes an increased focus on meditation and spirituality. 

With that being said, I don’t think that terror management theory is the most effective tool to address human’s harmful actions toward each other and the planet. Although it may be a crucial underlying factor, I believe that dismantling our capitalist systems is the most important step to reducing harms in the anthropocene. Economic factors play much more immediate roles in people’s lives. Once people feel more economically stable, they will then be able to prioritize meditative and spiritual practices. 

K, Manikanta. “Earth Day - Human Greed and Solution.” Medium, Medium, 14 May 2021, https://maniybm.medium.com/earth-day-human-greed-and-solution-b313b84c05f0.