A disenchament of existence

[DoW Lowen]

I recently been in a state of introspection. Though I've study social sciences and humanities, psychology and philosophy it only dawned on me how systematic and methodical our lives are. In this western civilization, where everything is globalized we are no longer individuals in numbers, rather we are a mass of consumers. Mindless wallets with legs and a mouth which more than often spews complete nonsense. Life has become so shallow due to a consumer driven ideology of society that we find it hard to lose ourselves in what was once a mystical world.

Living in Australia, and don't get me wrong the country is my home and I love it here, we are taught to work. And our lives are based around the idea of a routine between the hours 9am to 5pm. That's 8 hours, a third of our day, a third of our lives. Another 8 hours of our lives is dedicated to sleeping, but that's because it's a necessity. The hours between 9am and 5pm is only a third of our lives, it has become central to our existence. And when I say 9am to 5pm I don't mean those literal hours, you could be working a night shift, a morning shift etc. but you're still giving up parts of your life. My point is, people don't really realize how much work consumes us. We think, okay we'll work 46 weeks of the year, but we get about 6 weeks holidays if we're lucky. It seems that life is less of a prison that way, but after those 6 weeks we end up exactly where we were.

In those 6 weeks we may travel to a far distant country, but many of us are victims of token tourism. We travel to France we visit the Eiffel Tower, to Italy it's the Leaning Tower of Pisa, Bali it's "natural beaches" that are littered with generic luxury resorts. We are there for a bit and we want to absorb an eye opening experience, but instead many people are given the tourist treatment - a shallow view of the country taken at face value. Many tourists come to Australia, and they never leave the city. I have seem tourist who travel and once there they will run to the first franchise they can find, a McDonald's, a Subway or a KFC. They are so scared of new experiences, because they have the condescending mind set that their culture is better, and that other cultures aren't different they are just "wrong", or because their lives have been so routine and "safe" that they just can't open up to anything else. And then after those 6 weeks we are back into a routine life, a systematic existence and our life is again focused on those dreadful 8 hours.

Basically what's i'm getting at is that the world doesn't seem as special anymore, or at least people aren't looking at the right places. Life has become about our jobs, society's need to consume. We've become our jobs, our lives are revolved around 8 hours many of us don't even like.

There are so many more things I could discuss, but then i'll feel like I'm rantintg unless I pace myself. Any opinions on the matter?

 

[Dys]

All people are different, and enjoy different things. Your life is only as empty as you let it become. Yes a lot of people dedicate themselves to earning material goods and holidays that you may think are shallow, but this doesn't make their life any less significant than anyone elses. There are also a lot of people who reject the commercialization that society loves to push on us.
I drove along the great ocean road in Victoria, Australia yesterday and, much to my fury, discovered cars pulled over the "side" of the road (or rather stopped to the left of their lane) with tourists looking at koalas and/or the veiws. People with families enjoying their break by seeing something truly beautiful. As humans, we are creatures of habit, but it is nice to occasionally break free of whatever routine we are in, and I think most happy people beleive they do just that.

 

[recalcitrance]

I think you should get a job you like lol. Because if you have one then those 'dreadful 8 hours' would become bearable if not enjoyable. Just because we're working doesn't mean those are hours lost from the individual to a corporate machine. Make the hours your own and enjoy 'em (I realise how cheesy that is but the sentiment is logical ).
Also you should read Harukai Murakami - all about the alienation of the individual by our modern industrious societies.

If you think that people (like those tourists) live their lives like they're just going through the motions then make your life different so you can learn from their mistakes. Also I fail to remember when our world was mystical as you said. I'm pretty sure we would've had it worse in the middle ages when we could've been tilling farms by hand under the rule of some not-so-benevolent lords. I think we have it better in this day and age if only because we have so many more opportunities - in education and in travel etc. - and if you make the most of them then you're living better than a lot of people.

But if you look too deep at life then you can't help but come to the conclusion that everything is pointless. Because it is (unless you're religious and you believe there's something afterwards). Consumerism is, like everything else, pointless - but if the material possessions people buy give them pleasure and happiness then surely thats a motive and a meaning in itself. There is no universal truth that will imbue our lives with meaning, so we just have to make do with the lives we've got. Some people choose rampant consumerism and safe lives and some don't. Choose whatever makes you happy and if you don't know what will: try it all .

 

[Labyrinth]

Welcome to my global outlook. Warning: Side effects may include:
-Cynicism
-Bouts of mild depression
-Snarkyness
-Wry humour
-An inability to connect with consumer peers
-Seeking out of other disillusioned individuals
-Social independance

In truth, I've long looked with disparagement at the way that franchises are overtaking the things which one goes to other places to see. I went to Melbourne recently and actually explored because their urban environment is so very different to mine. The natural area is also striking, but so often missed.

Hell, at times I wonder if anyone bothers to look up and wonder at the splay of galaxy across our skies. It seems that most are too busy working for money to spend on things they don't need, in situations they dislike. The way the consumer culture has evolved is a fascinating, if quite depressing study to be honest. I just need to look at my classmates to see its effects. We're a culture of walking wallets, and little else about us matters.

Why must we put a price tag on everything? It de-values so much.

 

[DrunkenKitty]

Don't become so busy making a living that you forget to make a life.

Sure, we all look the same when you view us as a collective, but that's not what matters.

I certainly relate to being down on humanity. It's important to learn to interrupt those thoughts. I'll say from experience that there's no bottom to a downward spiral. Raise yourself up and express the love you feel for others. Otherwise, you're just part of the problem.

Enjoy the moment. Enjoy knowing that your perspective is unique.

 

[recalcitrance]

Welcome to my global outlook. Warning: Side effects may include:
-Cynicism
-Bouts of mild depression
-Snarkyness
-Wry humour
-An inability to connect with consumer peers
-Seeking out of other disillusioned individuals
-Social independance

In truth, I've long looked with disparagement at the way that franchises are overtaking the things which one goes to other places to see. I went to Melbourne recently and actually explored because their urban environment is so very different to mine. The natural area is also striking, but so often missed.

Hell, at times I wonder if anyone bothers to look up and wonder at the splay of galaxy across our skies. It seems that most are too busy working for money to spend on things they don't need, in situations they dislike. The way the consumer culture has evolved is a fascinating, if quite depressing study to be honest. I just need to look at my classmates to see its effects. We're a culture of walking wallets, and little else about us matters.

Why must we put a price tag on everything? It de-values so much.

If people are happy being wallets then why stop them?
If your global outlook encourages depression, cynicism and general snarkiness it doesn't seem like a winner

 

[Labyrinth]

Actually, that was something I was discussing the other day. My generation is the first who really believe in working to live, rather than living to work. We've had teenage years to enjoy, and decide to retain that lifestyle beyond that. An entirely different cultural phenomenon than you had say, in the 1950s.

 

[Labyrinth]

If people are happy being wallets then why stop them?
If your global outlook encourages depression, cynicism and general snarkiness it doesn't seem like a winner

I don't believe in blissful ignorance. It.. annoys me most of the time. Besides, I have so much more fun debating and arguing my beliefs than I ever had buying as though I were a wallet on legs. I won't Baaaa-ck down from this either. I'm not about to become part of the sheeple.

 

[rossatdi]

I recently been in a state of introspection. Though I've study social sciences and humanities, psychology and philosophy it only dawned on me how systematic and methodical our lives are. In this western civilization, where everything is globalized we are no longer individuals in numbers, rather we are a mass of consumers. Mindless wallets with legs and a mouth which more than often spews complete nonsense. Life has become so shallow due to a consumer driven ideology of society that we find it hard to lose ourselves in what was once a mystical world.

Living in Australia, and don't get me wrong the country is my home and I love it here, we are taught to work. And our lives are based around the idea of a routine between the hours 9am to 5pm. That's 8 hours, a third of our day, a third of our lives. Another 8 hours of our lives is dedicated to sleeping, but that's because it's a necessity. The hours between 9am and 5pm is only a third of our lives, it has become central to our existence. And when I say 9am to 5pm I don't mean those literal hours, you could be working a night shift, a morning shift etc. but you're still giving up parts of your life. My point is, people don't really realize how much work consumes us. We think, okay we'll work 46 weeks of the year, but we get about 6 weeks holidays if we're lucky. It seems that life is less of a prison that way, but after those 6 weeks we end up exactly where we were.

In those 6 weeks we may travel to a far distant country, but many of us are victims of token tourism. We travel to France we visit the Eiffel Tower, to Italy it's the Leaning Tower of Pisa, Bali it's "natural beaches" that are littered with generic luxury resorts. We are there for a bit and we want to absorb an eye opening experience, but instead many people are given the tourist treatment - a shallow view of the country taken at face value. Many tourists come to Australia, and they never leave the city. I have seem tourist who travel and once there they will run to the first franchise they can find, a McDonald's, a Subway or a KFC. They are so scared of new experiences, because they have the condescending mind set that their culture is better, and that other cultures aren't different they are just "wrong", or because their lives have been so routine and "safe" that they just can't open up to anything else. And then after those 6 weeks we are back into a routine life, a systematic existence and our life is again focused on those dreadful 8 hours.

Basically what's i'm getting at is that the world doesn't seem as special anymore, or at least people aren't looking at the right places. Life has become about our jobs, society's need to consume. We've become our jobs, our lives are revolved around 8 hours many of us don't even like.

There are so many more things I could discuss, but then i'll feel like I'm rantintg unless I pace myself. Any opinions on the matter?

Sounds to me like someone is feeling classic Marxist alienation with their lives, probably with a little dose of Durkheim's low social integration!

Man is a worker. The problem with our society is that work has been trivialised as 'something that must be done to pay the bills'. Think of a hobby you love, gaming for example, when you're trudging through that level again to get the final x or beat it on hard mode you are essentially working. The difference is that you are enjoying it. There are some rare people in the world that enjoy their employment.

That rapid disintegration of communities within Western civilisation is greatly concerning. For a very long time work has been alienating but people have relied on a community spirit to give them meaning and purpose.

Simply find yourself a goal in life and know that every step of employment is on that road.

 

[recalcitrance]

If people are happy being wallets then why stop them?
If your global outlook encourages depression, cynicism and general snarkiness it doesn't seem like a winner

I don't believe in blissful ignorance. It.. annoys me most of the time. Besides, I have so much more fun debating and arguing my beliefs than I ever had buying as though I were a wallet on legs. I won't Baaaa-ck down from this either. I'm not about to become part of the sheeple.

What makes you think consumers are ignorant? Of what? Debating is fun - please indulge me
I just think that sometimes the desire to be different and the self-righteousness which it entails can take over your life to the point where a bit of mainstream culture can be refreshing and fun.

 

[Lord George]

I just take my philosophy of taking and doing what I want when I want. I think my life's pretty fulfilled so far, but people should worry a lot less about martial possessions and not be so serious about their mundane little lives, I'm bunking off most of school today to try and read all of William Blake's poetry, I might even go for a walk onto a hill and write some Romanticist poetry myself. I think more people would be happier if they simply did whatever felt right for them instead of worrying about what must have item they should buy next, or worrying about their electric bill.

 

[Labyrinth]

What makes you think consumers are ignorant? Of what? Debating is fun - please indulge me
I just think that sometimes the desire to be different and the self-righteousness which it entails can take over your life to the point where a bit of mainstream culture can be refreshing and fun.

As I said. Working for money to buy things I don't need in a situation I don't want. I find myself bombarded by things saying "You need x! You must buy y!" Sure, I'm arrogant about the fact that I rebel against these, but it doesn't change the fact that I reject their ideas.

The ignorance I see in many consumers is that they just don't realise what they're doing. I've met people blissfully unaware that their lifestyle was infiltrated by chain stores and the like. In fact, I've argued this while they stood there with Maccas in hand. It's interesting to watch the difference once someone is aware however. They tend to change their habits a lot.

 

[Frybird]

I both agree and disagree with the OP's statement.

The observations in itself are sad and true, unfortunately. Yes, we spend a very significant chunk of our life doing work we don't really like (of course, there are people who really enjoy thier job and at least two thirds of the working population has chosen a job that is "okay-ish" for him, but i still think hardly anyone would like to do his work just for fun) and whenever we go to see something new, most end up ordering a Big Mac at the Fast Food Ruler of the World.

But, as it was said already, at least the working part is not only the same thing as it was for the greater part of humanity's existence, and for the most time it was worse than it was today. And of course, there is no way around working, at least not in the greater picture.
If no one would be working, you'd have to take care of all your necessities yourself (food, clothing etc.), wich would be impossible for most people (Good Luck finding Farmland within a city) and also would mean LOTS of more work every day.
Working sucks, but in the end, you have to.

I blame TV and all of media in part for making everyday work look so miserable and sad. I love TV Shows, Books, Games and Movies, but if you think about it, most of them are based around lives that are exiciting, unique and different (wich makes sense, of course). And so, as we are exposed to these stories, we inevitably start to think that our life is supposed to be as varied and exciting as shown there. And save for a few individuals, it isn't.

In the End, life is about making the best out of what we have. Try to work in a job you like, make the best out of the little free time you have, and get the maximum of enjoyment out of every hour you are awake.


Our work-based society may be depressing (I cringe every time i hear someone saying "Human Resources"), but you cannot change it but for yourself. So you either need to leave this society behind, or get the most out of the life you have.
Being sad about the state of things is just another way to rob yourself from even more of your precious time.

 

[recalcitrance]

What makes you think consumers are ignorant? Of what? Debating is fun - please indulge me
I just think that sometimes the desire to be different and the self-righteousness which it entails can take over your life to the point where a bit of mainstream culture can be refreshing and fun.

As I said. Working for money to buy things I don't need in a situation I don't want. I find myself bombarded by things saying "You need x! You must buy y!" Sure, I'm arrogant about the fact that I rebel against these, but it doesn't change the fact that I reject their ideas.

The ignorance I see in many consumers is that they just don't realise what they're doing. I've met people blissfully unaware that their lifestyle was infiltrated by chain stores and the like. In fact, I've argued this while they stood there with Maccas in hand. It's interesting to watch the difference once someone is aware however. They tend to change their habits a lot.

I don't see how a lifestyle can be 'infiltrated' by chain stores. Sure people always seem to be after the next must-have product but they can do what they want and I say good luck to them and their lives. I hope they're happy and I don't think consumerism will ruin their lives. Just because people live in the mainstream doesn't mean they have no worth as individuals, just because they buy an iPod or listen to Kanye West doesn't mean they are sheep. It's all a balance - I live in the mainstream sometimes, and often not but there's happiness and fun to be had in both worlds.

Life is about doing whatever makes you happy (at least in my mind) and if people are happy in the mainstream then I say - show me the way!

 

[Labyrinth]

I don't see how a lifestyle can be 'infiltrated' by chain stores. Sure people always seem to be after the next must-have product but they can do what they want and I say good luck to them and their lives. I hope they're happy and I don't think consumerism will ruin their lives. Just because people live in the mainstream doesn't mean they have no worth as individuals, just because they buy an iPod or listen to Kanye West doesn't mean they are sheep. It's all a balance - I live in the mainstream sometimes, and often not but there's happiness and fun to be had in both worlds.

Life is about doing whatever makes you happy (at least in my mind) and if people are happy in the mainstream then I say - show me the way!

I have no problem with people living like that if they're aware of what they're doing. They're 'sheeple' when they are unaware, just following the mob as it were.

Your second statement is quite funny considering the entire point of the OP is that life is not necessarily about being happy, and it would seem that it is about working instead, whether that makes one happy or not.

 

[recalcitrance]

I don't see how a lifestyle can be 'infiltrated' by chain stores. Sure people always seem to be after the next must-have product but they can do what they want and I say good luck to them and their lives. I hope they're happy and I don't think consumerism will ruin their lives. Just because people live in the mainstream doesn't mean they have no worth as individuals, just because they buy an iPod or listen to Kanye West doesn't mean they are sheep. It's all a balance - I live in the mainstream sometimes, and often not but there's happiness and fun to be had in both worlds.

Life is about doing whatever makes you happy (at least in my mind) and if people are happy in the mainstream then I say - show me the way!

I have no problem with people living like that if they're aware of what they're doing. They're 'sheeple' when they are unaware, just following the mob as it were.

Your second statement is quite funny considering the entire point of the OP is that life is not necessarily about being happy, and it would seem that it is about working instead, whether that makes one happy or not.

From MY perspective it's about being happy. But fair point, the original poster did say that. Life seems always to have involved rather a lot of work throughout history, but I for one would be pretty darn bored without it.

 

[jim_doki]

I work to eat. I live in a place that requires me to pay rent. If you want special go to disneyland or learn magic tricks

I dont like work any more or less than the rest of the world, but its a necessity as i like having a house and food

 

[dead_beat_slacker]

What makes you think consumers are ignorant? Of what? Debating is fun - please indulge me
I just think that sometimes the desire to be different and the self-righteousness which it entails can take over your life to the point where a bit of mainstream culture can be refreshing and fun.

As I said. Working for money to buy things I don't need in a situation I don't want. I find myself bombarded by things saying "You need x! You must buy y!" Sure, I'm arrogant about the fact that I rebel against these, but it doesn't change the fact that I reject their ideas.

The ignorance I see in many consumers is that they just don't realise what they're doing. I've met people blissfully unaware that their lifestyle was infiltrated by chain stores and the like. In fact, I've argued this while they stood there with Maccas in hand. It's interesting to watch the difference once someone is aware however. They tend to change their habits a lot.

I think for the most part is has to do with the media. The media tells us how we should be living our lives and alot people believe what they see, hear and read. It's a type if brainwashing that alot people aren't really aware of. But in order to obtain that lifestyle you need to spend money and the only way to get money is by working your ass off your entire life. The media convinces us that all these wonderful things will make our lives easier and the majority do buy into this bull shit and it's sad. Its consumerism at it finest. At least here in the United States the government has a hand in the things we buy. Alot politicians have money invested in major corporations. In exchange for those investments those corporation are told by the politicians that they need to convince the people into living a certain lifestlye by using there products as an example and since alot people believe what they see on TV or read in the magazines, or news papers they go out do so.

 

[imperialwar]

If i didnt need electricity to power my fridge to stop my food from going off. If i didnt need money to keep a roof over my head. If i didnt need money to put clothes on my body. If i didnt need money to fund the number of hobby projects i have on the go at once. Then yes, i wouldn't work either. In now way do i consider myself a consumer, but modern man needs certain things to live these days and unfortunately the main way to gain these things is with money.
I try to fill my life with as much life and color as i can doing as little work as possible to allow me the freedom to do so.
To the "outside" world i may be just another number, a faceless drone in the crowd, but i assure you talk to anyone i have had contact with in person and they will remind you just how much knowing me means to them.

A man does not try to change the world, lest the weight of it's meloncoly drags him down. Rather a man changes those he has contact with by the strength of his character.

To the OP. Not to be rude: When was the last time you sat down and talked to a perfect stranger and heard the story they had to tell ? Trust me, every one of the worlds "drones" has a story to tell. It is their version of these things you consider so cut and dry that gives society any meaning. If you are finding the world so Black and White, listen to someone elses version of the world, let them bring color back to the world for you.

You are a well read person, if your credientials are taken at face value, and yet you have not found the gift of listening to your fellow man. To be completely logical with the world will only result in the effects you have stated above.

 

[Khedive Rex]

Life sucks. Any form of civilization that could ever govern the multitudes requires the multitudes to work for the preservation of their civilization. Whether it's just or satisfying or spiritually uplifting or none of the above the sad truth is that society ends up forming its own entity which is superior to the individual in both authority and needyness.

Society doesn't really care if you enjoy your job; humans are not naturally empathetic. What society does care about (the only thing society cares about) is that the job gets done so that when the multitudes put their trash out at night it's not there in the morning. No individal person wants to get rid of their own waste so they assign some poor bastard the job. The lights in your house work because a large group of poor bastards got stuck with the job of building the electrical lines. You have a gaming console because a bunch of poor bastards got stuck with the job of peicing it together in a manufacturing facility that some other poor bastard had to build.

That's the thing though, it costs money to have electricity in your house and it costs money to buy that gaming system. You need money in order to enjoy any of the benefits of living in a society. And the only way to acrue money is to be the poor bastard doing the job no one really wants. Money is civilization's membership card and you get it by being productive for society, working for 'The Man' or more appropriately the men and women you expect to work for you.

You can't live without society (unless you're prepared to grow your own food, take out your own trash, power your own home and build your own damn x-box) and so you take a job and get your membership card so that the people working tirelessly around you will be working for your benefit. They were working anyway but now your entitled to a share of what they produce.

And so, thousands upon thousands of people you've never met and will never meet have suckered your undying alliegance to an amorphous entity that wants all of your time, within reason, for the production of society's goodies and in return will give you what meager cuttings you can scrounge together of the goodies you helped make. The worst part? By agreeing to this serfdom you badger countless others into the identical agreement.

This is the underpinning of society. All societies. Communist, Capitalist, Monarchy, Democracy, Left, Right and In-Between, this is the basis of all civilizations that could ever function.

I repeat. Life sucks.

You get use to it though.