There is no evidence that people in industrial mass societies today are happier than they were before the modern age, but all proves the opposite. Even today, it can be observed that residents of remote isolated communities are happier than those living in big cities. The villages are happier than metropolitan areas. Citizens of small countries are happier, more balanced, healthier than citizens of larger countries. It is undoubtedly true that with the advent of the industrial era, the standard of living of the average person has increased enormously, and the average age too, modern man lives a far easier life than his ancestors, but this has led to a direct increase in expectations, social anxiety, stress, diseases of civilization, which were never experienced before. Today, it is not escaping the sword-toothed tiger that triggers a stressful reaction from man, but conforming to social expectation. Few in industrial societies have to experience imminent danger to life, but ironically the masses are not less stressful now. What is the reason for this? What we really gain with technical advancement? And what price do we have to pay for it?
I describe my theory as to why damaged personalities and fallen apart lives are a common phenomenon today, and why those who are successful in all areas of their lives are considered rare miracle beetles in mass society. It’s just a theory, but it’s worth a thought experiment.
Evolution, as we know, is an extremely slow process with natural selection in the gene pool, and the world around us is changing, evolving at a rapid pace. And since the beginning of the Industrial Revolution, this development has been accelerating year by year. Evolution cannot keep up with this incredible development, and humanity does not have time to adapt to ever-changing living conditions. Pre-industrial micro-communities disintegrated, which had previously ensured the transition between generations and the continuity of civilization. Multi-generational families have been replaced by the so-called. nuclear families. The long-established lifelong family-relative-friend ties have been replaced by atomized society and momentary communities of interest.
Let’s be honest, there are very few mutants alive who have been able to adapt to the changed conditions, the majority, on the other hand, inevitably fell behind in the race, or they are above the social hierarchy, but they have to pay a huge price for it in all areas of life. They have no life that is worth to live. The evolutionary race today is won by mutants who are able to create their own hierarchy in the social hierarchy, which they are at the top of. They are entrepreneurs, artists, travelers, bloggers, podcasters, creative geniuses, who are passionate in their work. Who create something new, taking advantage of modern technology.
The world is not for creative people, seemingly, just because they are not the majority. The truth is just the opposite. That’s true that creative geniuses form a negligible minority compared to the horde of mediocre average people, but that is why they have fewer competitors. A creative person can only be a competitor to another creative person, but human creativity is so infinite, unique, and untapped that even those few competitors do not mean direct competition. While most people do the same thing every single day where most people fail, the world provides an unlimited opportunity for a creative mind, which never existed before the industrial era. While most people want to work and learn less and less, and demand more and more comfort because they can’t find passion in what they do, the creative minority can’t get enough of acquiring more and more knowledge and the work that comes with it because they do it with passion. This is the reason that the 98% fail, and only 2% succeed. Or sometimes only 1% who are capable to live a life that is worth to live. This is that no one wants to hear, but this is the sad reality. The most people waste their life away with dealing stuffs which have no meaning. This is because the most people find passion in counterproductive if not self-destructive activities, which offer short term relief only. They’re living their life without purpose, and becoming jealous of those who aren’t. Which seems easier than taking a responsibility of their own lives. The consumer society offers an endless possibility of short term relief, drug, alcohol, smoke, sex, porn, game, and various kind of stimulus. The losers work by always seeking self-justification in failures of others. This is an involuntary survival strategy on their part.
The good news is that you don’t have to be creative to live a productive and meaningful life, but there’s no creativity that would be worth anything without hard work. However hard work with no purpose or passion is similarly self-destructive. According to Jeff Bezos the founder and executive chairman of Amazon, the richest man in the world, 2% succeed because they pursue what they’re passionate about, and what is worth working hard. This is the secret. Finding passion in something, working hard to improve it, making valuable it for the people. Creating value, earning trust, getting paid.
This does not mean that being a creative genius is easier than being average person, in fact in many ways it is much more difficult for them. A creative genius has a much higher chance of failure than an average person, but, and this is the most important, if they are ever succeeded, their reward is a way more higher. This is because creativity is absolutely useless at the bottom of social hierarchy, it is very difficult to create trend which does not yet exist. But for creative minds there’s no other way around.
Because you can’t be proud of what fate has gifted you with, you can only be proud of your decisions, your choices. Either way only your choices can make you either proud or ashamed, nothing else.
While the most lottery winners lost their winnings within a year, because they’re spending money with no purpose, some special individuals are creating extraordinary value from virtually nothing. The money alone does not solve the problem of anyone, the purpose does.
If you ask this world is better or worse than the traditional agricultural societies that have existed for millennia, we won or lost with the industrial era, and dissolution of archaic communities, I would say that depends on which person you are and what you want from your life. In archaic communities, the individual did not have to find a separate purpose for their life because everyone had a role to play within the community. Some special individual fled, but for the majority it was the solution. The masses have clearly lost with the modern age, even if they live to a higher standard of living than their predecessors. The standard of living does not matter in the case of a meaninglessly wasted life. The masses are simply unable to adapt to the challenges of the modern age. They are only consumers, or citizens, not individuals. This is the reality. Today’s world is a surreally depressing maze without a proper map, but with a map, is a world of limitless possibilities. In other words life with no purpose is not worth living.
According to many, this is the best era in which man could ever be alive, because the average person has never had as many choices in history as they do today. This is certainly true, but it is also true that very few can use this opportunity to their own advantage. The most follow only safe pathways and clichés, without taking any risk, and never reach the limitations of their true potential.
And let this be the final conclusion of this short essay.
As always thanks for reading me!