While I have hope, I have very little faith in humanity.
It is not because I dislike people, it is just that we have the perhaps genetic tendency to do what is in our short-term best interest, even if it is going to cost us in the mid- to long-term. I assume that this is evolutionary, because while ultimately we might have the urge to replicate and carry on our DNA, in order to do so, we have to firstly survive, find a partner, and then have access to the resources required to raise the child until they can do the same to continue the chain. But just like our cravings for sugar, what was once an evolutionary advantage for our longevity, might now be a detriment.
I sometimes daydream or hypothesise what might be the difference in the world if we were able to spend our resources on development for human excellence, instead of innovation for defence against other humans. Yes, military innovation has led to a great deal of discovery that has benefitted us in a plethora of ways, but that doesn't mean it was an efficient use of the resources available, nor done in a way that was actually in our best interest as humans.
As I have said many times before, government and corporation are not interested in the betterment of humanity, they are driven by the growth of power and control. If left unchecked and unconstrained, they would by like Bostrom's paperclip problem, where they would find more and more ways to generate control and power, to the point that all resources are depleted to zero. The only thing that stops government and corporation from doing this, is their own incompetence, and us, the demanding consumer.
But we as the consumer are short-focused by nature, and the way for more power and control is to use our nature as a resource to be mined and extracted. As a human we have many skills and traits, with most overlapping with each other to a high degree, but there being many differences along the spectrum of individual ability. But, the one thing we really have at our disposal that is ours, is our attention. It is this we consume with, which means that as a resource, it is our attention that needs to be directed toward the target.
The attention economy might seem like a new thing, but it is not - it has always been in play, because what our attention turns to, drives our motivations and intentions. My attention turns to my hunger, I look for food to satisfy the need and reduce the discomfort. My attention turns to an advertisement for a new car, it creates a hunger and I look to satisfy it. What resources do I need to do so?
Governments and corporations are solution-based entities, which means they are problem solvers. But, the problem they have to solve is how to maximize power and control, with "wealth" being a mechanism that can be used for both of those aims. Their problems to solve as entities are not the problems we face as humans. At the base, we have the various models for our human needs that give the guidelines, but ultimately it is our attention and consumption behaviour that will meet this.
What has been interesting over the last fifty years is the continued focus on the needs of the individual as if the person lives in a vacuum. This has been supported by those corporate algorithms for wealth creation and incentivized by governments further as control mechanisms, to disjoint us from each other, raising short-term desires of one, over the long-term goals of the many.
Consider your own consumer behaviours and then look at the image above, which is from Maslow's Hierarchy of needs. Where does scrolling social media for hours on end, or watching Netflix fit in? What about the goods and services you buy outside of the basic needs? Where are your attention resources going, and which layer is the majority supporting?
Now, just imagine if all your physiological and safety needs were taken care of and you focused on the Love and Belonging layer. If you had no healthy relationships, what happens to Esteem and Self-actualisation? What about if you had an incredibly full and loving set of relationships, how is your esteem and what is your possibility to self-actualise?
But, if we go back and consider the drive for individualism that has disconnected us and come at the expense of friendship, intimacy, and family, it appears in the Esteem section. As a result, we look to build our esteem, respect, status and strength, from strangers. But it is a losing game, because we haven't the foundational layer below it to support anything meaningful. This also means that we are unable to self-actualise, because in order to truly be the most we can be, we must have the
help of others.
We can spend our time on technological advancement and building solutions to our resource problems, but it all becomes irrelevant if it isn't attached to our human needs in a way that all of them are being treated. As I have said before, the economy is a pyramid scheme that looks to keep growing, even if it does through by generating the appearance of growth, like what happens with wealth. But, if humanity isn't growing, if we aren't getting better, it is meaningless growth and will devour us, and like a mould that runs out of bread to feed on - humanity will die.
As I see it, our attention is more often than not, misplaced. The economy doesn't care about misplacement of expenditures, as it just flexes and shifts with consumption demand. However, when we spend more time watching a screen than with building the relationships for friendship, intimacy and love, other aspects of our needs go unserviced, become brittle, and collapse. and our individual pyramid, crumbles.
We can solve all the technological problems we have, and still have nothing we need.
Taraz
[ Gen1: Hive ]
