mistyfox812 said:Look, I’m reading through some stuff—actually making sense of it, for once. If you have a better handle on this than I do, feel free to correct me.
My apologies—mea culpa. I acted a bit too impulsively again, much like my previous outburst regarding immortality... I clearly need to work on that. 😉
But there's a contradiction right there. It proves that people don't just prioritize "secondary" needs over primary ones—they do it constantly, every single day. Not just those fanatics mentioned, either—it’s a universal habit.
I included "extreme" as an example—though honestly, it wasn't even necessary—since they aren't really the point. What matters is exactly what you pointed out... we deal with this stuff every single day. It’s the truth.
It’s hardly a contradiction when you consider our core objectives—one really ought to ask why we are even doing this in the first place. It isn't enough to just observe a daily pattern and conclude that because it happens, it is somehow permanent or set in stone—God help us. What you and I both see and know doesn't actually prove the existence of that contradiction.
We live in a society—and I’m not just talking about our current brand of capitalism, though this feels like its absolute peak. Then again, Marx thought he had reached the final stage a century ago... so maybe I'm off base here. 😉It shapes our needs—creates them, actually—and imposes them upon us, whether subtly or not, until we genuinely believe they are our own. We convince ourselves we truly desire exactly what we’re being told to want... and if we believe it, then technically, we do. But that isn't what we *actually* want. Not really.
People will always trade freedom for security—not necessarily the right to be locked up, but the liberty to speak, to think, and to act without consequence. Most of us don't have anything truly subversive or revolutionary to say anyway; we aren't out here challenging the status quo or risking everything. It’s exactly what you’re getting at—once your stomach is full, everything else becomes secondary.
Everyone keeps preaching about how much they value freedom—it’s all quite tiresome. What kind of freedom are we actually talking about here? Most people just want a safety net—financial security, a steady paycheck—and only once that cushion is in place do they feel they have the luxury to sit around and "philosophize" about liberty.
And that’s just how it is—it's perfectly normal, even natural... but only because society was designed this way to begin with.
And why even bother asking people what they want? If you did, 95% would just say millions of dollars—for what, exactly? To buy this or that, a flashy car, a yacht, some massive mansion... blah, blah, blah. Does that man actually become happy? Satisfied? Truthfully, others might "appreciate" him or envy him—but that won't be what makes him happy.
The guy drinking beer does it because he’s restless—plain and simple. That hyper-ambitious type isn't happy either; the only difference is one has the cash and the other doesn't. But even the guy with the beer has his passions—maybe fixing up old Mustangs, drawing comics, whatever—it's just that his passion won't put food on the table or provide for his family. So, he's stuck. Meanwhile, look at the high-powered attorney working 15-hour days—sure, he's loaded, but what does he actually have left of a life?
Even an academic needs someone to fix their car—just like a machinist might occasionally need a lawyer. In that sense, they’re equals. It all comes down to interests—one person spends their time sewing while reading Dostoevsky, while another messes around with electric motors or whatever else, though I haven't the slightest clue what that entails.
If you ask either of them—and I mean really ask—about what constitutes a "happy moment," they’d probably point to time spent with family, friends, or some hobby they actually enjoy. It wouldn't be about grabbing a beer or obsessing over endless litigation in court—that’s my own baggage, I suppose. Things would look entirely different if we lived in a world where an attorney didn't have to grind 15-hour days just to stay relevant. If a decent job paid enough to actually cover the bills—without that toxic pressure to equate net worth with human value—life might actually be livable.
External pressure shapes our outward appearance—it defines how we present ourselves to the world—but those aren't our actual core needs. So, there’s no contradiction there.