4d ago

I'm not sure that this is truly so unpopular.

155 comments

I think about this a lot. We have essentially, purely through accident tbh, created a society that we are evolutionary unprepared to live in. So much of our typical day to day is actually horrible for our bodies and often antithetical to their good function.
In a strange way, it's almost incredible. We have invented a rock that we cannot lift.
- Eh, agreed except it’s no accident. A small group of people have managed to convince everyone else to do all the lifting in exchange for crumbs and little green pieces of paper. We have allowed ourselves to become our own worst enemy rather than unite and explore the stars
- Competition is good for a lot of things, but it also becomes a day-to-day race to the bottom that rewards whoever is willing to sacrifice more of their life for the sake of their job than others.
  The logical consequence is exactly this: we back ourselves into an increasingly uncomfortable corner that leaves less room for living than we could easily enjoy with our current technology.
  
  Competition is essential in almost all (if not just all) human interaction, as its what pushes us to better ourselves and our species. healthy competition has rules in place that all parties know, and if someone is hurt or confused the competition is stopped to assess and adjust if needed, like sports n shit. We forgot to add that to the economy, whoops
  
  Actually capitalist competition hinder progress, by not allowing humanity to have a goal other than profit
  
  So you just didn't read my comment or what
  
  I think the commenter is focusing on the idea of 'competition for what?'. 'Better ourselves' how, and for what purpose? I struggle with this myself, specifically in terms of motivating myself at work. i.e. What is the goal of all this (our working society, at large, not just my role as a cog).
  
  But they’re better at lefting than you and they really need you to know it!
  
  No it's not, people naturally wants to do better each day by themselves, for people they love and care.
- B-b-b-b greed is human nature!
  Yeah, go check out how any society outside of Europe worked before colonization. Winner writes the history!
  The colonists were able to easily defeat most of the natives by out-arming them. But does anybody ever stop to think about why none of these societies ever invented guns? 🤔
- That's because you don't lift the rock, you grind it. Try waking up earlier!
  (jk)
- I have a friend who is probably going to become a nun, and the place where she seems likely to join is a convent which has very little contact with the outside world (it's even on an island). It struck me that the monastic life seems like a pretty good escape from conditions that are objectively antithetical to humanity, especially if you're someone whose faith is already a huge part of how they cope with the world.
  Hell, I'd be tempted by it, if I had a compatible religious belief. Alas, I think that if I had a "vocation"^[1], it would probably require me to stick around and work alongside others who are trying to build a more humane world. I can't do much, but my sense of duty is greater than my desire to escape.
  [1]: As I understand it, "vocation" has a particular meaning for Catholics. Here's a definition I got from Google: "vocation in a religious context is how God calls you to serve Him in the world.". "Vocation" came up a lot when my friend was discussing her plans. Despite me being hilariously far from being a Catholic, the concept resonated with me — perhaps because I'd loosely describe myself as an agnostic theist. I don't believe in a God, per se, but the sense of duty I feel to things like Truth, Justice, Beauty etc. (all of which I feel the need to capitalise) — things which a more religious person might just call "God".

155 comments