Centuries ago people produced to survive. The journey of survival was the motivating factor, but we evolved to be able to produce and find purpose in that production. We felt value as human beings in providing for ourselves and serving the people and values we care about. Today, our production is seemingly more distanced from our survival and the result is purposelessness.
Tag: lying
Elite
Even if you can find the one elite who sets a million mites to work on a billion fleas who will infest a trillion dog’s tails, there is another elite starting a similar chain of chains of chains, a nanosecond before and a nanosecond after.
Disobedience is a Virtue
When we spend most of our formative years being bombarded with the message—from parents, teachers, the media, agents of the state, etc.—that obedience is a virtue and disobedience is a sin, we “learn” that lie at a very deep psychological level, way beyond merely an intellectual understanding.
Resting in the Open Nature of Life
It can take some practice, as it’s easy to have your mind be very active, or reject certain parts of the experience, or get caught up in a chain of thoughts. That’s OK. Just notice that happening, and think of this as a part of the experience. Just keep practicing.
How We Lose Sight of the Profound Awesomeness of Life
There are moments when we are able to soak in the incredible beauty of life, the preciousness of it, the awe-inspiring power of the world around us. It is breath-taking, gorgeous, deeply moving. But most of the time, we forget.
Guns, Criminals, and The Mentally Deranged
Who gets to define “criminal” and “mentally deranged”? Or even “weapons”? I know– those same proven, unethical criminals of “government”, right?
How the Work Week Encourages Short-Term Thinking
Problems can’t be left behind in one week. They will follow us to the next. This is surprising to some people, but it shouldn’t be. By dividing our lives into these discrete chunks called “work-weeks”, we can too easily shuffle away “the old units” down the memory hole.
On the Harvey Weinstein Scandal
I have two daughters and there is a good chance I will have more. I imagined what I would tell them about it if they were 8-14ish. I realized that my reaction would be different and I would desire to relay different information than most people. So I thought I might share some of what I might say.
The Optimal Level of Government Intervention
Neoclassical economists have made many studies of various aspects of what they call “the optimal level of government intervention in the economy.” All of these studies are highly problematic.
Relying on Thugs for Protection
It would be pretty much impossible to determine this accurately, but it would be nice to know how many people have died in the U.S. as a result of them being taught for all of their lives to “call the authorities” if something bad is happening, instead of “taking the law into their own hands.”