What Do We Mean When We Say ‘It’s 2025’?

Variations of the phrase ‘it’s X year’, a common expression used by the more progressive-minded, are used either in response to bigoted views being expressed, or to affirm one’s liberal attitude. This is done implicitly by reminding those present that we live in the modern age, and certain attitudes are no longer acceptable. Understood as such, the meaning is simple; certain views are better left in the past, and we should try to move forward as a society with respect to social justice and civil liberties as time passes. Upon further inspection however, this sentiment, and particularly this phrase used to express it, implies a certain belief in not only the legacy of history, but the political zeitgeist at any one time. It is through this framing that I think it is interesting to analyse the implications of invoking the present as a synonym of progress, and the meaning of doing so in the current political context.

Although it is difficult to place the origins of this particular expression, it is very likely that referencing the modern age as a placeholder for a new progressive consensus began in the 90s, as this compilation of pop culture soundbites would suggest. This is important, as it suggests that around this time culture was shifting in such a way that made the present synonymous with social progress. This may not be too surprising to some, as the cultural zeitgeist of the 90s was characterised by a rejection of the Reaganite conservatism of the previous decades. Pop culture icons like Nirvana, blur, N.W.A, and 2pac, helped shift the status quo, replacing the sleek 80s look with a greater focus on individual expression, rebellion, and a relaxed, casual aesthetic.

This cultural landscape was reinforced by social progress in the political sphere too. The 90s saw a departure from the GOP’s domination of American politics, with a younger and more ostensibly liberal ‘third way’ Clinton taking the helm, even if many of his campaign promises failed to materialise. In the UK, Tony Blair would look to follow in the footsteps of his American counterpart, adopting his rhetoric on the ‘third way’ in another ostensible departure from the previous conservative position.

Perhaps it was naive and inconsiderate to use such an expression in such a context, however. After all, those communities living in former Yugoslavia, Rwanda, or Northern Ireland, not to mention black communities in the US faced with the perpetual menace of state-sanctioned police brutality, would likely scoff at the supposed 90s progressivism and its liberal cultural revolution.

Whilst it is important to consider these more turbulent episodes of the decade, the fact that ‘it’s the 90s’ was still used to reference the freedom and progress of the age suggests two things. First, the sentiment is more concerned with a general vibe of the political and cultural mainstream, about the views that are rendered acceptable, and less so about material conditions domestically or internationally. Secondly, the phrase is employed to refer almost exclusively to the western cultural zeitgeist, firstly because it originated in the English language, as far as I know, and at the time of its conception the U.S.A was the undeniable global hegemon.

Another interesting feature to highlight about the phrase ‘it’s X year’, and the context within which it is used, is the fact that it is updated yearly. Last year one might have heard ‘it’s 2024’ in the same context as they heard ‘it’s 2023’ the year before and so on. What does this suggest? If it is necessary to keep invoking the general progressivism of the age to shut down those with unsavoury views, to what extent has this underlying assumption of progress been achieved, and by extension to what extent does it no longer hold?

This is an important question to ask because it touches on several fundamental beliefs and convictions which progressives are being forced to wrestle with at the contemporary political juncture. It seems illogical to surrender the belief in the broad march towards justice and social progress simply because reactionary forces exist in the political discourse. Despite what Francis Fukuyama would have us believe, ‘the end of history’ is a fiction, and the struggle for power in politics is neverending. However, this fact does not preclude any groups in society from defending what they believe to be the liberal status quo. The yearly updates to the expression ‘it’s X year’ therefore, are not admissions of failure, but expressions of the conviction that despite the existence of politically reactionary forces, society remains rightfully progressive.

I bring this question up in reference to the current political context, because for the first time in quite a long time, it no longer seems that culture is on the right path. Now, the many leaps forward made in the 90s and early 2000s for LGBTQ+ rights, women’s rights, and the acceptance of multiculturalism, are being eroded in the West generally and, for the purposes of this article, particularly in the US and the UK. 

This is not to say that reactionaries and those opposed to social progress did not exist when culture was at its most progressive. As I noted above, the struggle for control of the political centre has never fully been won by one side. What is different now, however, is that the reactionary forces that always existed in political discourse, don’t feel the need to disguise their positions among euphemisms, aware of the fact that their opinions are no longer frowned upon by the mainstream.

Whereas before Republican lawmakers needed to centre their views in the ostensibly righteous objective of getting rid of ‘illegal immigrants and criminals’, it is now possible to accuse Haitian immigrants of literally eating pets on a nationally-televised debate and still be elected President of the U.S.A. Similarly, right-wing politicians in the UK have been emboldened to advocate for a policy of ‘mass deportations’ despite calling it a ‘political impossibility’ only a few years prior. Now, supporters of the far-right proudly proclaim their allegiance to fascist dictators in front of millions of people, as political commentator Mehdi Hasan found out when he went on the popular YouTube channel Jubilee.

It is clear therefore, that a ‘vibe shift’ in politics has taken hold, and has vindicated those far-right fringes which, previously ostracised from serious mainstream consideration, are now seeing their views echoed by the most powerful politicians in the world. What meaning, then, can the expression ‘’it’s 2025’ have? Is it now bordering on naive to assume that vaguely referencing the times we live in will be met by a popular recognition of its progressivism?

It certainly seems that way, given that the assumption upon which that sentiment is based, that the passage of time, by its very nature, guides society towards justice and freedom, is in growing conflict with the state of the real world.

Despite the overwhelming evidence to the contrary, I do not believe it is naive to use the phrase ‘it’s 2025’ and believe in the sentiment it implies. When the liberal status quo can no longer be taken for granted, it is this belief in the present, and by extension the future, that takes on a greater significance. In previous decades, the phrase did not assume that all bigotry had left the world, but that it was fundamentally on the right path. To repeat its meaning today is to reassert such belief in the future of progress, perhaps defying logic, but not defying hope in one another. At the risk of sounding overly saccharine in my conclusion, I would like to defer now to a man far more knowledgeable about such historical junctures than I:

‘I can’t be a pessimist, because I am alive. To be a pessimist means that you have agreed that human life is an academic matter. So, I’m forced to be an optimist’

Illustration:Will Allen/Europinion