The human struggle

• 7 February, 2022
• culture
• perspective

These struggles manifest themselves in different ways, in our relationships with other people, many people struggle economically, there are political struggles, people struggle emotionally and psychologically, ethically and morally, and often this struggle appears to have no end in sight.

We all have our individual struggles, we all suffer in various ways, we all experience fears and insecurities, we all experience pain. Then you have the frustrations, the despair, the disappointments, the unfulfilled expectations. Then on other levels you have the abuse, the conflicts, the killing, the destitution, the poverty, the hardships, the stigma, the marginalization, the isolation and the loneliness.

Then for many people there's the drudgery and monotony of work, and the need to work 40, 50, 60 years and the need to spend a third of your life at work, working 40 or more hours a week, if you're lucky, just to be able to have sufficient income to be able to live, pay your bills, have somewhere to live, buy food, clothe yourself and so on.

I could have included the time off for holidays and vacations but for many people taking a holiday, which broke up the monotony and drudgery of work a couple of times a year is becoming a luxury which many people cannot afford. I think for an increasing number of people a holiday means either recovering from the stresses and trauma of work, relief from not having to deal with certain people, or a chance to let off steam or even go wild.

Then you have the 'payday' weekends when some people spend going wild, getting drunk, taking drugs, having sex, getting kinky, again as a means of escape from the drudgery and monotony of their everyday lives. The 'friends with benefits' culture where some people try to set up a good fuck with someone online just for that bit of excitement which is missing from their lives.

Then you have the struggles and conflicts of poverty, where despite the drudgery and monotony people are still struggling to make ends meet, to pay bills, to have enough money for essentials such as food, fuel, heating, energy - the hot water bottles, the additional layers of clothing, the constant reminders and phone calls to ask for more time to pay bills, the repayment plans, the debt, the loans, the empty fridges, and so on.

Then you have the people who cannot work, or who cannot find enough work, and an increasing number of people who have nowhere to live or who are living in unsuitable conditions.

This is what I feel most people call living or life right now.

It's the constant struggles, in relationships, in business, at work, with family, with school, with organizations, with neighbours.

Why does it have to be this way?

This is a key question which I feel needs to be asked. I mean, why have so many people have accepted that life has to be this way? It's like you meet with people and you ask these questions and you often get a shrug and "Life." There's the common assumption that this is the way things are in reality and if we don't struggle then we are destroyed.

But seriously, is this right? Is this the way to live? Is this the appropriate way to behave? Is this how we appreciate the beauty of life?

The Capitalist Illusion e-book intro