Friday, November 11, 2005

Eat, Sleep, Work, Consume, Die

"Civilization took a definite nose dive when the merchant princes grew ascendant at the expense of the artists and thinkers; when the notion of liberté, égalité, fraternité gave way to "I've got mine; screw you" (an attitude that existed in Voltaire's day, too, you might recall, with unfortunate results for the blue bloods). In the Big Picture, the dead white guys -- Rousseau, Thoreau, Mill -- cared a lot more about your well-being than the live ones like Gates or Jobs or Ellison ever will.

But stock-market capitalism is today's coin of the realm, consumerism its handmaiden, and technology is the great enabler. You think technology benefits you because it gives you an easier row to hoe? Bollocks. The ease it provides is illusory. It has trapped you, made you a slave to things you don't even need but suddenly can't live without. So you rot in a cubicle trying to get the money to get the stuff, when you should be out walking in a meadow or wooing a lover or writing a song..."

Link to Whole Article
And no, I didn't write this :-)

2 Comments:

At 5:41 PM, Blogger The Mistress of the Dark said...

This is true on so many different levels, even more than just consumerism.

Here I am, a slave to this computer when I could be out snapping photographs. What's even more disheartening is how many children would rather be tucked away inside playing computer games than being active outdoors.

 
At 7:24 PM, Blogger Madhava Gosh said...

Yep. I hear rickets is making a comeback because nowadays kids drink sodas and have stopped drinking milk with Vit D added and never go outside to get any naturally from the sun. Or only go oustide slathered in sunblock.

 

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