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I think this effect is tough for anyone tuned to care what others think, and it tends to be rougher the younger you are. There's a significant lack of guidance

I think this effect is tough for anyone tuned to care what others think, and it tends to be rougher the younger you are. There's a significant lack of guidance in WEIRD societies about how to be a person, and this is topped off by the limited maturation rituals: learning to drive, first full-time job, graduating and buying a house come to mind - but we've somehow come to a consensus that putting a giant paywall in front of them and creating dependencies between them is fine. Putting it like that, it's no wonder that so many young people are staying home, whittling their time away on scraps of "advice" on how to get on in life. I've come to pity people who plug such "productivity" advice online, because I feel like they must be suppressing (or missing) an idea of the Good Life: a notion of using one's actions, or speech, to contribute to the common good. I'm hopeful newer generations in the West will have the nous to reject false idols like "productivity" or extreme wealth, but I think it's on us to expose the painful lessons learned as we're transitioning into a cyborg society.

sjtindell 6y ago
As evidenced by the current state of society in the United States, the 20th century was the Century of the Self (Adam Curtis) and the downfall of community (Bowling Alone, Robert Putnam). The idea of contributing to the common good comes along rarely, and those who pursue it face an uphill battle. The system is tuned for individuality and appears to only be getting worse in my opinion. There is an “every man or woman for themselves” mentality that pervades everything. Extreme wealth is seen as the only escape from the crushing grind of modern life, and so people chase productivity to get it. This is deep, bedrock stuff, I’m not sure what can change the course.
- rwnspace 6y ago
  I'm not sure either, but I am certain it's possible - not every race to the bottom is impossible to decelerate. But we must find the way to a consensus about the immeasurably powerful sorcery belief and speech imbue. Nuclear pales in comparison; the way I see it, we choose between the common good and the Good Life, or MAD.

sjtindell 6y ago

As evidenced by the current state of society in the United States, the 20th century was the Century of the Self (Adam Curtis) and the downfall of community (Bowling Alone, Robert Putnam). The idea of contributing to the common good comes along rarely, and those who pursue it face an uphill battle. The system is tuned for individuality and appears to only be getting worse in my opinion. There is an “every man or woman for themselves” mentality that pervades everything. Extreme wealth is seen as the only escape from the crushing grind of modern life, and so people chase productivity to get it. This is deep, bedrock stuff, I’m not sure what can change the course.

rwnspace 6y ago
I'm not sure either, but I am certain it's possible - not every race to the bottom is impossible to decelerate. But we must find the way to a consensus about the immeasurably powerful sorcery belief and speech imbue. Nuclear pales in comparison; the way I see it, we choose between the common good and the Good Life, or MAD.