my main problem is I compare life now to in the US in the 50’s through 90’s instead of the dark ages.
“I have all these materialist things and still not happy”
Productivity has risen as well. Anon likely has a mind-nunbing job that produces more economically in a year than a village or two of those ancestors would have.
Keynes famously predicted in 1930 that his grandchildren would only need a 15 hour workweek as technology would allow people to work less. Many others predicted similar throughout the 1900’s. When you look at a household perspective, Keynes was writing in a time when huge populations of women were expected not to work already.
What we see now is that it is incredibly rare for multi-adult households to have singular incomes. For the household, the 40 hour workweek might have actually grown to 80. Or more, as individuals engage in gig work or get 2nd or 3rd jobs. Plus forced overtime is becoming an issue, and of course wage theft.
Wages have stagnated while productivity has increased. Pensions (and unions) are gone (at least in the US). Inequality is constantly increasing - the rich use their power to get richer while the poor are stuck getting poorer.
Anon mentions his freedoms, but neglects to mention he probably spends 50 or more hours a week either working, on break from work, getting ready, commuting. He cannot criticize his employer publicly. An arrest and a night or two in jail could throw him into poverty. Unless, of course, he is rich enough that he doesn’t need to work, in which case simply tossing his name around with he police can often get him out of any trouble.
He mentions healthcare - US life expectancy not, and I do not believe has ever been, 90 years. Maybe for ultra-wealtjy women? Currently the average is 76 years for the whole country. But even then, women live longer than men, and the top-1% of income earners live almost 15 years longer than the bottom-1%. . So if anon is a low-income male, his life expectancy may be in his mid-60’s. Which is comparable to the average life expectancy of the late 1700’s- early 1900’s in Europe.
He has a lot of fancy toys at his disposal, but his life is still being consumed by the wealthy in power.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hedonic_treadmill
Also, from an existentialist point of view, we’re inundated by so many choices that almost nothing could satisfy us. We’re always seeking more. Here is a quote from Soren Kierkegaard:
Marry, and you will regret it; don’t marry, you will also regret it; marry or don’t marry, you will regret it either way. Laugh at the world’s foolishness, you will regret it; weep over it, you will regret that too; laugh at the world’s foolishness or weep over it, you will regret both. Believe a woman, you will regret it; believe her not, you will also regret it… Hang yourself, you will regret it; do not hang yourself, and you will regret that too; hang yourself or don’t hang yourself, you’ll regret it either way; whether you hang yourself or do not hang yourself, you will regret both. This, gentlemen, is the essence of all philosophy.
hedonism does not lead to life satisfaction?? do people know this??!!
Life is nothing without struggle
I upvoted your comment but as I always say, man fuck this BS life and it’s stupid fuckin rules
You need some sort of goal in life, and anon doesn’t sound like he has one. Most any positive goal will do, just get one
Yeah just get one of the life goal market, something is gonna make sense eventually right haha
Look up Maslow’s Hierarchy.
Anon is enjoying every creature comfort the planet has to offer, but they are still missing the entire top half of this pyramid. And you need that to be happy.
Edit: to anyone returning to this thread.
It’s easy to see how the worst mechanisms in our society cut into this model. Not having enough money for basic needs, being too isolated, or not having enough time to yourself, are all issues that track through the very shape of our society and employment issues in general. I don’t have answers for everyone. But it sure is easy to spot the problems.
What I do know is that it’s important to keep trying to fight for your best life and don’t settle for long if your needs aren’t being met. Also, invest in people power even if you have money. After all, you can’t buy friendships, it takes time to build them, you actually need other people to be completely happy, and it’s probably the best safety net you can get.
Funny I used to have those things but then someone that acts like they are God fucked with my life.
Well, for a start, 90% of young men can’t relate to the first one. That is a major and growing problem
What can we do to solve it?
Travel helps a lot. Gives perspective. Also there’s a whole ass planet of people that will boink you out there. No need to geographically lock your romantic life. Just ya know, don’t go to brothels and shit, that’s no bueno.
As someone who formerly suffered from that problem I think a big part of the issue is that the world is incredibly isolating and alienating, so you get stuck in your head and can’t just talk to people normally. We need to stop creating suburbs that act like prisons for developing minds. We need more third places. And we need to find some way of teaching people to have healthy relationship-building interactions with other people without making anyone feel unsafe.
