We're all trapped in this prison of money. Reality is more absurd than anything we could think of. People forget they are fundamentally free. The prison is a mental construct. Even the rich are trapped.
> We're all trapped in this prison of money. People forget they are fundamentally free.
I often think along those lines too, but of course, our perspective is very skewed living in very rich countries, and earning a good wage, being programmers/engineers/etc.
This really hit home for me when I worked minimum wage jobs, and became good friends with people living that life. People working in those jobs MUST go to work 40+ hours merely to have food, shelter and transport to/from work. Nothing else. If you want to have medical coverage, savings or any kind of "pleasure" money, you'll need a second or third job to make that happen.
If you have not seen it already, I highly, highly recommend the first episode of Morgan Spurlock's series "30 Days" where he and his girlfriend attempt to live on minimum wage in a poorer part of the US [1]. tldr; They cry themselves to sleep and struggle horribly. Then Morgan meets a guy working the same jobs as him who has a wife and 3 kids to support. Shocking is not nearly a strong enough word.
For tens of millions of "working class poor" the prison you speak of is the only reality they have.
We're not free, except for those of us with enough money to buy freedoms. Take the US, the country of NYT and HN. Its imprisonment rate (and maybe still absolute numbers) eclipses every other nation.
In the lives of most people, power still requires violence. (Privileged people don't have to be aware of this.) Hence all the police and military. Otherwise we would have another system, and money (if it exists) would have a different meaning.
I mean there's something a tiny bit arrogant about people going around feeling sorry for other people they consider less fortunate. Are the more fortunate really so terrific? Do you want some much richer guy going around saying poor Tom Townsend, doesn't even have a winter coat, I can't go to anymore parties
Nick: "It’s a small thing, but symbolically important. Our parents’ generation was never interested in keeping up standards, they wanted to be happy. But of course, the last way to be happy is to make it your objective in life."
Tom: "I wonder if our generation is any better than our parents."
Nick: "Oh, it’s far worse. Our generation’s probably the worst since… the Protestant Reformation, it’s barbaric. But a barbarism even worse than the old-fashioned, straightforward kind. Now barbarism is cloaked with all sorts of self-righteousness and moral superiority."
I often think along those lines too, but of course, our perspective is very skewed living in very rich countries, and earning a good wage, being programmers/engineers/etc.
This really hit home for me when I worked minimum wage jobs, and became good friends with people living that life. People working in those jobs MUST go to work 40+ hours merely to have food, shelter and transport to/from work. Nothing else. If you want to have medical coverage, savings or any kind of "pleasure" money, you'll need a second or third job to make that happen.
If you have not seen it already, I highly, highly recommend the first episode of Morgan Spurlock's series "30 Days" where he and his girlfriend attempt to live on minimum wage in a poorer part of the US [1]. tldr; They cry themselves to sleep and struggle horribly. Then Morgan meets a guy working the same jobs as him who has a wife and 3 kids to support. Shocking is not nearly a strong enough word.
For tens of millions of "working class poor" the prison you speak of is the only reality they have.
[1] http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_30_Days_episodes