Decoding Scapegoats

Scapegoating in contemporary culture reveals a deeper failure not only in public discourse but in the way research and foresight are practiced. When societies assign blame to symbolic targets such as migrants, youth, AI, or academic institutions, they often reflect a broader discomfort with complexity, ambiguity, and systemic accountability. These patterns of blame are not merely sociopolitical but point to a crisis in how knowledge is produced and applied. Traditional foresight practices that rely heavily on linear trends, quantifiable data, and sanitized narratives fail to account for the emotional, symbolic, and narrative dimensions of collective behavior. To move forward, research must evolve into a layered, participatory practice that includes cultural semiotics, affective insight, and plural perspectives. Only by treating scapegoats as meaningful signals of what societies cannot process can foresight become a tool not just for prediction, but for understanding and transformation.