We are starting to think that the purpose of our life is to, firstly find somebody, whom they love and with whom they build a life together, build a unit together to face the world. And the other great source of meaning is to find a job of purpose, a job that not only creates money but also creates purpose.
No wonder we are all fairly unhappy one or two times a day, as one of these assumptions cracks. To be a modern individual is to be weigh down by these two ideals of love and work.
Never before in history and people expected so much from themselves and from life. No wonder we are frequently dissapointed.
Alain de Botton: A job becomes meaningful, if in some way or another, that job leaves you feeling at the end of every day, that you have in some ways helped either reduce the suffering or increased the pleasure of another human being.
According to Vilfredo Pareto, the modern economy should feel fairly meaningless.
Most meaningful jobs in our fantasy, where we see the effort of our labor on a sustainable timescale:
- Doctor
- Running a small bed and breakfest
- Bakery
You know you are living in an advanced economy, if somebody at a party tells you about a job you don’t understand.
The moral basis of capitalism is not to fullfil the essential needs.
Advertising is so clever because it knows what we need. It just refuses to sell it to us. We end up with consumer good and not the thing we really need.
Technology allows to get inside our minds and to create products that understand our higher needs.