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All these advances in medicine are great; It's so wonderful to know that rich and powerful people like Obama and Hillary Clinton will live to be 150 - I'm so ha

All these advances in medicine are great; It's so wonderful to know that rich and powerful people like Obama and Hillary Clinton will live to be 150 - I'm so happy for them - With all the stress I'm under, I'd be surprised if I make it to 50. Maybe the elites can harvest my organs when I'm gone; it's nice to give back to this wonderful society that the elites have created for us. Yes, social media is great; I have lots of friends on Facebook! Except that in real life I can't even see them because I had to move to a different country to escape the high property prices and high cost of living... And I'm actually one of the lucky ones - Most people don't have the option to work remotely and are stuck paying half their income in rent. I can't even buy a house because some reserve bank somewhere will mess with the interest rates and cause another housing crash (at the most inconvenient time possible) and I'll have to declare bankruptcy and watch the big banks reprocess my home. Regarding global warming - I don't care about it at all! With the way things are going, AI will probably destroy us before global warming ever becomes a problem (and by 'us', I mean 'those who are not elites').

pavlov 10y ago
50 years ago, the notion of moving to a different country and still being able to work remotely was science fiction. Now it's not only possible, but it's not a crazy luxury -- you're saving money by doing it! And you can still keep up with your friends using a free global network and all sorts of options for video conferencing. (Remember when international phone calls cost many dollars a minute?) This all sounds like amazing progress to me. You complain that you "can't" buy a house because something might happen to interest rates at some point. Guess what -- it's always been like that. Housing loans come with risks, and renting has always been relatively expensive for low-income workers. Nothing new under the sun. I challenge you to point out an era in human history when the élite was less powerful than it is today. The primary reason why it seems that they're gaining in wealth is increased visibility and transparency brought on by the global network -- again, progress.
- jondubois 10y ago
  My point is that happiness is not about material things; it's about doing what you want to do - Not what you have to do. There is a difference between doing something because you want to versus doing it because you have to. I'm not saying that I'm not responsible for my own decisions, but I certainly feel like my hand was forced to some extent. When I think about people who are less fortunate than me, I think the feeling of powerlessness must be 100 times stronger - Most of these people aren't even aware of what's happening to them.

pavlov 10y ago

50 years ago, the notion of moving to a different country and still being able to work remotely was science fiction. Now it's not only possible, but it's not a crazy luxury -- you're saving money by doing it! And you can still keep up with your friends using a free global network and all sorts of options for video conferencing. (Remember when international phone calls cost many dollars a minute?) This all sounds like amazing progress to me. You complain that you "can't" buy a house because something might happen to interest rates at some point. Guess what -- it's always been like that. Housing loans come with risks, and renting has always been relatively expensive for low-income workers. Nothing new under the sun. I challenge you to point out an era in human history when the élite was less powerful than it is today. The primary reason why it seems that they're gaining in wealth is increased visibility and transparency brought on by the global network -- again, progress.

jondubois 10y ago
My point is that happiness is not about material things; it's about doing what you want to do - Not what you have to do. There is a difference between doing something because you want to versus doing it because you have to. I'm not saying that I'm not responsible for my own decisions, but I certainly feel like my hand was forced to some extent. When I think about people who are less fortunate than me, I think the feeling of powerlessness must be 100 times stronger - Most of these people aren't even aware of what's happening to them.