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>This panic over accomplishment must be a cultural phenomenon. Economic pressure. Look at the housing market and the dystopian reality of our political process

>This panic over accomplishment must be a cultural phenomenon. Economic pressure. Look at the housing market and the dystopian reality of our political processes, social divide, etc. -- TONS of people feel like they need to become free by means of economic accomplishments. This is even more so the case in countries without universal healthcare etc. It's coming down to Maslow. If you work in tech, chances are you're smart enough to have and smell opportunities. People who don't have that opportunity because they are occupied with family or day-to-day-jobs can be content with less, just because there is no material dream to pursuit, or because they have other intrinsic goals (art, social connections [...]). The rat race we're forced into drives people mad, and we can't really blame the people. It takes a lot of mental progress to dig yourself out of that. Highly (!) intelligent people, think the top 1% of the chart, may be otherwise occupied, for example by the drive to contribute to scientific progress, but the top ~10-2% (I'm just throwing numbers here) feel trapped in material pressure and forced to "make it", where "it" isn't an actual target other than economic freedom.

alkonaut 5y ago
I think that's probably the cultural difference. When I think "accomplishment" coming from a country with a large social safety net, I'm thinking self-realization (writing a book, climbing everest, reaching the olympics, founding a company, making a scientific discovery) - but accomplishments in this case are independent from economic security. In fact, in order to accomplish I'd probably have to give up some of my economic security. Meanwhile in my case, sending my kids to college or paying for day care is a non issue, even on a low paying job. Getting a nice degree, even a PhD isn't an issue (because higher education is paid for and PhDs are paid positions - but not one you take for future economic gain). So if I want to maximize my economic security and worry about house prices, then I have to accept that I probably need to give up the thought of personal "accomplishment" of the Everest kind, and Instead I'll just work 40h a week and raise a family.

alkonaut 5y ago

I think that's probably the cultural difference. When I think "accomplishment" coming from a country with a large social safety net, I'm thinking self-realization (writing a book, climbing everest, reaching the olympics, founding a company, making a scientific discovery) - but accomplishments in this case are independent from economic security. In fact, in order to accomplish I'd probably have to give up some of my economic security. Meanwhile in my case, sending my kids to college or paying for day care is a non issue, even on a low paying job. Getting a nice degree, even a PhD isn't an issue (because higher education is paid for and PhDs are paid positions - but not one you take for future economic gain). So if I want to maximize my economic security and worry about house prices, then I have to accept that I probably need to give up the thought of personal "accomplishment" of the Everest kind, and Instead I'll just work 40h a week and raise a family.