3 ms·
It's ironic that the image of a rat race that came into my head after reading the title was exactly what the author proposes as an alternative at the end of the
by st1x7 6y ago
It's ironic that the image of a rat race that came into my head after reading the title was exactly what the author proposes as an alternative at the end of the article - comparing yourself to others and constantly trying to upgrade your skills and yourself.
- imbnwa 6y agoBingo! The "rat race" has already adjusted for insufficient means of material improvement and has now entered the "knowledge economy" mode whereby now the signalling revolves around virtue and moralizing. TikTok has basically captured this entire new mode of engaging signaling, you can't open that app and swipe your feed without hearing someone lecture/preach/opine at you about some perceived collective wrong doing. TikTok buries the button that allows you to "dislike" content and so curate your feed to better enable this economy of head-nodding and head-turning. An entire platform that largely consists of people signalling virtues (how to be black; how to be white; how to not be a simp; how to not be one of _those_ people, etc, etc). I mean look at any of the "No Nuance November" content on TikTok It's funny, IG was just materialist imagery accompanied by platitudes of self-liberation but TikTok realized people desire to stoke their moral indignation as a means of coping with increasing complexity of the world
- cambalache 6y agoYeah, humans fight and care about money, but they do that with the same intensity about status/prestige. See all the silly fights in academic circles, in open source projects in non-profit organizations. Most people will fight to the bitter end for an ounce of prestige and recognition.
- Cloudef 6y agoI think the author should read The Egyptian by Mika Waltari