> human efforts should be directed to the pursuit of social and moral progress and the increase of leisure For better or worse we gave up on slavery a long tim

> human efforts should be directed to the pursuit of social and moral progress and the increase of leisure For better or worse we gave up on slavery a long time ago. We decided that humans shouldn't be directed but rather be left to choose their own direction. This means that they are likely to choose, literally and metaphorically, junk food over vegetables. While vegetables may be better for you, it turns out humans like to taste the competitive struggle for material wealth. If it wasn't obvious 200 years ago, we have learned that helping your neighbour live a good life doesn't spark the same desire as striving to have something to show that you are better than your neighbour. > It's unclear who this destructive machine is serving. Those who participate in it. This "machine" you speak of is nothing more than the aggregate of choices made by a population of people. They could change, but what's the incentive? Leisure isn't the top priority of the human. Mating is. And displays of "being better" help attract higher quality mates. We have yet to figure out how to provide decent mating options for all so competition is still required.