Our culture/society

[Fanden]

So after having watched and read quite a bit about the culture and the society that we live in, I started wondering how much this really can affect a person's mind and psyche.

I can easily imagine, that the constant pressure on the human being in the modern world (getting an education, a decent job afterwards, being pretty, smart and so forth), can lead to severe self confidence issues.

I was absolutely blown away by one video that I watched. It's called "Paradise or Oblivion". It's definitely worth a watch. Here's a link, so if you have 50 mins to do away with, check it out.

Paradise or Oblivion - YouTube

What do you think about our society, and do you think mental illnesses would decrease in numbers in a society proposed by the video I linked?

Good day...

 

[Raichel]

Too tired now, but I've added this to my 'watch later' list! This topic caught my interest. Will get back to you, but for now I'm off to bed.

 

[jaim38]

Thanks for sharing. I will also watch this later.

@Raichel: You're back! Good to see you again.

Edit: I watched almost the entire video. I like the vision that they had of this grand utopia, and I'm sure given our current technology we could definitely build it. However, I don't think this vision will ever become reality unless there is considerable financial and political backing from influential people/groups.

 

[Fanden]

Thanks for sharing. I will also watch this later.

@Raichel: You're back! Good to see you again.

Edit: I watched almost the entire video. I like the vision that they had of this grand utopia, and I'm sure given our current technology we could definitely build it. However, I don't think this vision will ever become reality unless there is considerable financial and political backing from influential people/groups.

I don't think any political party will ever back a project like this:

1. They risk loosing many voters. And why is that? People simply aren't ready for a change like this, and many will write it off as either communism or being impossible. It is REALLY hard to imagine a world without money, and I think most people think of money as a necessity for humans to exist, although it isn't.

2. They will loose the power and status they have.

I don't think any great financial power will ever back a project like this, since they also will loose the power they have acquired through money.

On the other hand, I do not think it is necessary to get support from either rich corporations or political parties, if we were to change the current system. All change starts from the bottom. The top is simply interested in keeping status quo.

 

[nodejesque]

So after having watched and read quite a bit about the culture and the society that we live in, I started wondering how much this really can affect a person's mind and psyche.

I can easily imagine, that the constant pressure on the human being in the modern world (getting an education, a decent job afterwards, being pretty, smart and so forth), can lead to severe self confidence issues.

I was absolutely blown away by one video that I watched. It's called "Paradise or Oblivion". It's definitely worth a watch. Here's a link, so if you have 50 mins to do away with, check it out.

Paradise or Oblivion - YouTube

What do you think about our society, and do you think mental illnesses would decrease in numbers in a society proposed by the video I linked?

Good day...

very good video. thank you for sharing.

 

[Capsaicin]

I don't think any political party will ever back a project like this:

1. They risk loosing many voters. And why is that? People simply aren't ready for a change like this, and many will write it off as either communism or being impossible. It is REALLY hard to imagine a world without money, and I think most people think of money as a necessity for humans to exist, although it isn't.

2. They will loose the power and status they have.

I don't think any great financial power will ever back a project like this, since they also will loose the power they have acquired through money.

On the other hand, I do not think it is necessary to get support from either rich corporations or political parties, if we were to change the current system. All change starts from the bottom. The top is simply interested in keeping status quo.

Bookmarked for later.

I don't think the problem is money, though, it's the attitude behind money. If you leave the attitude but take away the means people will find something else. It's like taking the knife away from a serial killer; they'll gut you with a rake instead.

 

[BlueDays]

I don't think the problem is money, though, it's the attitude behind money. If you leave the attitude but take away the means people will find something else. It's like taking the knife away from a serial killer; they'll gut you with a rake instead.

^Exactly.:thumbup:
It is unfortunate that only those without significant power and money would ever want a world like that.

 

[Odo]

I haven't watched the video... but I think that the biggest problem we have is that our ability to live a long and productive existence depends on our ability to make money, and our ability to make money is controlled by consumption patterns and amorality. People aren't rewarded for contributing positive things to society, they're rewarded for working the system.

Education isn't about learning and growing as a human being, it's about appeasing your teachers and getting a good mark.
Working isn't about doing your job and contributing to society, it's about sacrificing your time and energy to get a paycheck.
Socializing isn't about taking an active interest in other people, it's about status, entertainment and validation (ie: what's in it for me?).

I don't think that people actually care about each other as much as they used to, I think people are overly dramatic about things that they shouldn't be, I think we care too much about the wrong things, and I don't think that technology is helping that-- most of the technology that is popular is isolating us from each other instead of bringing us all together. It's only natural that people would start feeling uneasy and developing anxieties about it all...

I don't think that power structures are the reason unhappiness exists or the reason that we don't have utopia--it's easy to vilify the rich and glorify the poor, but that's just not reality. I think it's the general social climate that exists because of the way our culture and technology has developed... the truth is that the human race does NOT know what it is doing either to itself or the planet, but it keeps on doing it because we just can't help ourselves... and it's probably having an effect on us that we would never have been able to anticipate and don't know how to deal with.

 

[Subpop]

Great post Odo, I enjoyed reading your perspective