Estrangement Ideology – Part 26. Stepping into Logan’s Run

How Estrangement Ideology and the rejection of family takes us one step further along the path to a dystopian future.

This is number twenty-six in a series of articles concerning Estrangement Ideology. Key concepts are introduced in Part 1. Tenets, Goals and Methods; Part 2. Transgressions, Moral Certitude and Traditional Values; and Part 3. The One-Sided Path to Redemption. Other parts can be found here.

As I’ve been working through this series of articles, my thinking has turned to the question of where Estrangement Ideology may be taking us as a society and a culture. This brought back memories of the 1976 film Logan’s Run which was new when I first watched it. For me, Logan’s Run represents presents a possible dystopian endpoint of an ideology, where intergenerational ties are entirely severed, and the concept of familial obligation is erased in favour of a hyper-individualistic, technocratic society. In this world, personal identity is dictated by external authorities, relationships are transient and the natural cycle of life—particularly aging and intergenerational care—is not just rejected but actively destroyed.

The End of Family and the Severing of Generational Ties

At the core of Logan’s Run is the complete absence of the family unit. The citizens of the domed city exist in a world where birth and child-rearing are mechanised and children are raised by the State rather than parents. There are no familial connections, no sense of lineage or intergenerational continuity—only isolated individuals whose primary function is to consume pleasure and comply with societal rules until their time is up.

This aligns with Estrangement Ideology’s increasing focus on the self over kin, where personal fulfillment is prioritised over familial duty and where aging parents are seen as burdens rather than members of a continuing lineage. Just as Logan’s Run eliminates the role of parents, Estrangement Ideology promotes a vision in which parents must meet arbitrary, therapy-defined conditions to remain in their children's lives—or else be discarded. The "doing the work" mantra within estrangement discourse mirrors the film’s concept of Carrousel, where those who reach the age of 30 must submit to their own execution under the false belief that they might be "renewed."

In both cases, the older generation must comply with the demands of the younger generation or face erasure. Just as parents in Estrangement Ideology are expected to demonstrate accountability, self-reformation and compliance with therapeutic frameworks to justify their continued inclusion in their children’s lives, so too must Logan’s Run’s citizens submit to renewal rituals under the guise of progress.

Assisted Death as a Stepping Stone

The rapid expansion of Medical Assistance in Dying (MAID) programs in Canada and similar assisted death initiatives across the Western world mirror the themes of Logan’s Run, particularly in how society increasingly frames aging, dependency and perceived burdensomeness as problems best solved by elimination rather than care. Much like the dystopian city in Logan’s Run, where those over 30 are sacrificed under the guise of renewal, modern assisted dying policies shift from a focus on end-of-life relief for the terminally ill to a mechanism that subtly encourages the vulnerable—including the elderly, disabled, and mentally unwell—to view death as a socially acceptable, even morally responsible, solution to their suffering.

This expansion aligns with Estrangement Ideology, which promotes the severing of intergenerational ties and erodes the traditional expectation that younger generations care for aging parents. If family obligations are dismissed as coercion and aging parents are seen as toxic burdens, it is not surprising that state-driven euthanasia programs flourish as an alternative—offering a cold, institutionalised exit for those who might once have relied on family for end-of-life support.

In Logan’s Run, society eliminates its elders not out of cruelty but in the name of progress, efficiency and maintaining a utopian order—just as today’s assisted death policies are increasingly justified under economic and social rationales rather than purely medical necessity. A consequence of Estrangement Ideology is that it acts to isolate the elderly, reducing their support networks and making them more vulnerable to the subtle pressures of a system that presents death as an act of autonomy and dignity—even duty—rather than a last resort.

When both the social acceptance of cutting off difficult parents and the normalisation of assisted dying converge, it creates a chilling vision of a future where the aged and infirm are not cared for but discarded—whether by family rejection or State-sanctioned euthanasia. The blurring of voluntary and coerced euthanasia—particularly for those who feel abandoned or burdensome—echoes the ultimate fate of Logan’s Run’s citizens—where mandated death is presented as a rational social good.

Therapeutic Governance and Technocratic Control

The world of Logan’s Run is ruled by an AI system that dictates human life, much like therapeutic governance increasingly positions experts, therapists and State institutions as arbiters of acceptable relationships. Personal choices are mediated by an external authority and the idea of questioning the system is met with severe consequences. In 2025, it seems that AI is already positioned to replace even the human experts and technocrats as an emotionless automated agent of the all-powerful State as it wields evermore intrusive power and control over the lives of the populace.

This parallels how Estrangement Ideology, when institutionalised through therapy culture, dictates acceptable emotional responses, pathologises dissent and positions therapists as final adjudicators of reconciliation or continued estrangement. Much like the AI in Logan’s Run, the therapeutic-industrial complex dictates the emotional conditions under which estranged adult children may consider reconciliation, often placing ever-shifting, unattainable expectations on parents.

Furthermore, the film highlights a consumerist, pleasure-driven dystopia where transient relationships replace long-term commitments. This reflects how Estrangement Ideology deconstructs long-standing relational bonds in favour of self-fulfilment narratives, reinforcing the idea that obligations to family or intergenerational duty are antiquated constraints to be cast off in pursuit of personal happiness. The citizens of Logan’s Run live in a world where no one is allowed to age, where no past wisdom is passed down and where immediate gratification supersedes long-term relational investment—a logical endpoint of a society built upon estrangement principles.

The Fear and Rejection of Aging

One of the most striking thematic elements of Logan’s Run is its visceral fear of aging—the idea that growing old is something unnatural, undesirable and even punishable. This mirrors modern therapeutic culture’s unease with aging parents, where the narrative of "toxic boomer parents" casts older generations as problematic relics of the past who must justify their continued inclusion in the younger generation’s lives.

In the film, those who live past 30 are labelled “runners” and are cast as problematically degenerate, much like estranged parents who fail to meet the arbitrary and shifting standards imposed upon them by their adult children. The film’s society does not tolerate the presence of the elderly, just as Estrangement Ideology often treats aging parents not as individuals with lived experience, wisdom and emotional depth, but as burdensome obstacles to self-actualisation.

The idea that one must conform to the rules of emotional labour, self-improvement and ideological purity to maintain a place in the younger generation’s lives is reflected in both Logan’s Run and Estrangement Ideology. Just as the film’s citizens submit to Carrousel in hopes of renewal, estranged parents are expected to submit to cycles of apology, self-criticism and therapeutic intervention in hopes of reconciliation—often without any clear path to success.

Sanctuary: The Rediscovery of Family and Meaning

The climax of Logan’s Run reveals an alternative to the sterile, emotionally vacant world of the domed city: an elderly man who has survived beyond 30, living in harmony with nature and surrounded by the remnants of human history. His very existence shatters the illusion of renewal, proving that aging is not something to be feared but rather an integral part of life.

This moment serves as a counterpoint to Estrangement Ideology’s rejection of intergenerational bonds. The old man represents continuity, history and an organic connection between past and present, things that the city’s system seeks to erase. He symbolises the importance of family, lineage and learning from those who came before us—values that Estrangement Ideology often dismisses as antiquated in favour of therapeutic self-construction.

Much like the citizens of Logan’s Run, estranged individuals may find that the utopia they were promised—a life free from the burdens of difficult family ties—does not bring the fulfillment they expected. Just as the protagonists discover that life outside the dome holds more depth and truth, some estranged individuals eventually realise that cutting off family has left them unmoored, disconnected from their past and struggling with unresolved emotions.

Conclusion

Logan’s Run serves as a dystopian vision of what happens when intergenerational ties are completely severed and relationships are dictated by external ideological forces rather than natural human connection. The film’s world, devoid of family, history and aging, highlights the hollowness of a society built on estrangement principles—one where older generations are discarded, where human bonds are transactional and where a technocratic system dictates the terms of belonging and existing.

The film serves as a cautionary tale against the unquestioning embrace of Estrangement Ideology. While some family relationships may indeed be harmful and require “boundaries”, Logan’s Run illustrates the dangers of a society that normalises the rejection of elders, pathologises intergenerational connection and reframes human relationships as conditional and transactional.

At its core, the film asks: What is lost when we abandon family, tradition and intergenerational continuity in favour of a hyper-individualistic, therapeutic vision of personal liberation? In doing so, it provides a chilling glimpse into the final destination of Estrangement Ideology taken to its extreme—a world where parents are discarded, aging is feared and intergenerational human connection is erased.

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Note: This article was developed with assistance of ChatGPT, used as a structured analysis and writing tool. All ideas, interpretations and final outputs were authored, verified and edited by me. The model was conditioned to reflect my reasoning, not to generate content independently.