ruinism

Noun

ruinism (uncountable)

1. An ideology that leads to the destruction of society.
   • Ignorance, cast, and superstition abound in the south; Unitarianism and socialism in the east; Mormonism, Anarchism, and Romanism in the west; a stupendous race problem in the north; and ruinism both north and south and east and west.1880, T. B. Cauldwell, Wisconsin Baptist anniversaries, page 113
   • Some call the present trend collectivism, some call it statism, but I call it ruinism. . . . Taxes have now reached the confiscatory stage . . . The reckless spending of the Truman administration has precipitated a federal fiscal crisis which many of us may not fully realize . . . There are many...1952, Northwest Medicine, page 62
2. An enthusiasm for appreciating ruins or sites of destruction.
   • At that time, "ruinism" actually became an artistic category, in demonstration of the depth of sentiment the ancient glories excited in the viewer's soul.1991, Armando Ravaglioli, Rome, a Journey of Dreams, →ISBN
   • Already in the early 1960s, however, in the wake of John Cage's aleatoric compositions, some traces of 'ruinism' could be found, for instance, in Walter De Maria's radical proposal of May 1960 for an Art Yard, published in La Monte Young's An Anthology.2011, Frederik Le Roy, Tickle Your Catastrophe!, →ISBN, page 34
3. A prevailing belief in the imminent destruction of society or the environment; an apocalyptic worldview.
   • Gone are the dark days of myopic ruinism and the primitive huts of fragmented postmodern pessimism. As visionary idealists, we must escape the oppressive grip of cynical postmodern despair ...1983, Arts & Architecture - Volume 2, page 14
   • ALCHEMY OF DECAY AND RUINISM The post-communist prophets hone their sharp ironies, herald the coming of doomsday, draw apocalyptic visions.1995, Vladislav Todorov, Red Square, Black Square: Organon for Revolutionary Imagination, page 182