If someone drinks excessively more than the recommended intake amount, they are labelled with an alcohol addiction. If someone is a smoker, they are labelled as having an addiction. If someone gambles thousands of pounds a month, they are considered to have a gambling addiction. We freely recognises these forms of addiction created by society, but fail to realise the biggest addiction in our interconnected world to date. Why are we addicted to busyness?
Our sociopolitical and economic system revolves around the idea of doing as much as you can, in as short a period of time as possible. Economic strength is measured through GDP, the value of economic activity in a specific time-frame. Having a "good" social life is an indicator that you partake in many activities, with many different people. To be "well-travelled" is to have visited awide plethora of different places and cultures.The more, it seems, the better.
That constant endeavour for various personal pursuits was always going to be highlighted in a global pandemic that has brought the ever-evolving world to a complete standstill. Yet alongside that, it has illuminated the fragility of societies that need to constantly develop to increase their power and the need to change our behaviours as a result.
It is somewhat crude to comment on the economics of a global pandemic, in my opinion, whilst people around the world are sadly perishing, but it is necessary to articulate this point. Whilst we are in the early stages of what experts anticipate will be a pandemic with long-term ramifications, one only has to look at the countries who are struggling the most to come to terms with a full lockdown. They are the busiest, most interconnected ones.
It speaks volumes that the US, Japan and most of Western Europe have the clearest group of dissenters resisting the need for a shutdown of the world. Activists in the the more conservative parts of the US have protested at their "right to freedom", and resisted calls for a lockdown, incomprehensibly supported by their temperamental President. The Japanese opted for a 'partial' lockdown, like many developed nations have, but are reluctant to put a full one in place, and the virus is predicted to spread rapidly. Whilst many states in Western Europe have undertook pretty severe lockdowns, the million-dollar question has already turned to how long we can cope economically with these restrictions in place.
Throughout these most developed countries, there is anguish that we cannot live life whilst isolating and social distancing. And these countries have a clear theme - we are some of the most co-dependent countries in the world.
These countries need communication to operate. We are blessed with technologically advanced systems, but want to maintain economic production as much as is possible. The production of non-essential goods and services are what drives our society and even a one-month pause to this has sent global markets crashing and jobs vanishing.
We need global travel to operate. The idea of being stuck in one country for many in our globally-connected society seems absurd, let alone one house. Business trips are so common to help secure global deals. Travelling abroad is seen as refuge away from working for the many whose work is domestic, a break from the busyness of work that would otherwise engulf your weekly life.
Globalisation is embedded firmly into our lives. There is a reliance upon other countries to fuel our needs, whether that be through foodstuffs, electricity or materials, that is vital for the Global North to function. The richest countries are struggling, the pandemic has startled us and shown the limitations to our society that we carelessly thought we never had.
None of this is to say that lower-income countries will not be affected by COVID-19. The impact upon their societies will be perhaps more marked, but for different reasons. Many will not have the ability to social distance, such are the bleak conditions they are forced to live in. Should they even try to social distance, many other diseases will impact them disproportionately worse. For example, social distancing in African countries where malaria has been endemic, will only stop the distribution of mosquito nets, and possibly kill more.
Hygiene levels in lower-income countries are also virtually non-existent. Many cannot afford to social distance and stop working; it is perhaps a choice between catching COVID-19 and starvation resulting from social distancing. Make no mistake about it, as much as I emphasise this problem for the developed world, far fewer people will face the deadly physical and economic effects than those in absolute poverty.
Perhaps this pandemic is changing the interconnected world whose hectic nature is driving us towards insanity. Technological advances have enabled us to hold important work meetings, study sessions and social contact from our own homes. Perhaps this will be carried into the future, and our lives won't consist of so much travelling to conduct business and events that we can participate in from literally anywhere.
Using quotes is often misleading and I try to avoid it, but Oscar Wilde's "work is the refuge of people who have nothing better to do" is poignant in this time. I have spoke about a universal basic income before for reasons of security, but if we give people security, we have to give them opportunity to explore whatever they desire. Working 5+ days a week isn't something we should be proud of.
We should be creating a world in which work is seen as rewarding, where people all love the jobs they do and even if they don't, they should have sufficient time and economic security to spend their free time doing what they enjoy. Pursuing hobbies is the most important thing in our lives.
Bronnie Ware's 2012 book titled 'Five Wishes of the Dying' is based off a survey of dying people who were asked what they wished they'd done. One of these was "I wish I hadn't worked so hard", another was "I wish I had let myself be happier". Most of the people she nursed in palliative care when she was doing this survey wished they had not spent so much time 'on a treadmill of a work existence'.
You have to wonder whether we are going the right way. More and more people are forced to enslave themselves in jobs they don't enjoy simply to make ends meet. Many are being overworked, others are choosing to work more time for the benefit of capital. For some reason, we seem insistent that there is a perfect work-life balance, and that that involves four or five days work followed by a couple of days to relax.
That is something that society has conditioned us to believe. A Utopian world is one where everyone does not work, but instead their job is their hobby. They do this hobby not because it pays well, but because they enjoy it. Everyone enjoys their primary "job", yet has time to partake in other hobbies such as exercise, art or music. It is Utopian for a reason. We are way beyond the point of implementing that, and human nature would have to be trusted to do the jobs no-one wants to do, the undesirable jobs.
But it is worth taking a moment to think about why people take on boring high-paid jobs. It is because that high-paid work allows them to do what they want in their free time. All work should be like that, it should be driven by a passion, and if not that it should at the very least allow you the opportunity, financially, to enjoy pastimes that make your mind happy.
The hunt for a COVID-19 vaccine is going to be incredible focused in the next few months, such are the lives it will save. Whilst we are doing that, can we find a vaccine for our obsession with work?
That will save many lives too. It will allow people to enrich their lives as their minds desire, which should be our primary reason to be on this planet in the first place.
Our sociopolitical and economic system revolves around the idea of doing as much as you can, in as short a period of time as possible. Economic strength is measured through GDP, the value of economic activity in a specific time-frame. Having a "good" social life is an indicator that you partake in many activities, with many different people. To be "well-travelled" is to have visited awide plethora of different places and cultures.The more, it seems, the better.
That constant endeavour for various personal pursuits was always going to be highlighted in a global pandemic that has brought the ever-evolving world to a complete standstill. Yet alongside that, it has illuminated the fragility of societies that need to constantly develop to increase their power and the need to change our behaviours as a result.
It is somewhat crude to comment on the economics of a global pandemic, in my opinion, whilst people around the world are sadly perishing, but it is necessary to articulate this point. Whilst we are in the early stages of what experts anticipate will be a pandemic with long-term ramifications, one only has to look at the countries who are struggling the most to come to terms with a full lockdown. They are the busiest, most interconnected ones.
It speaks volumes that the US, Japan and most of Western Europe have the clearest group of dissenters resisting the need for a shutdown of the world. Activists in the the more conservative parts of the US have protested at their "right to freedom", and resisted calls for a lockdown, incomprehensibly supported by their temperamental President. The Japanese opted for a 'partial' lockdown, like many developed nations have, but are reluctant to put a full one in place, and the virus is predicted to spread rapidly. Whilst many states in Western Europe have undertook pretty severe lockdowns, the million-dollar question has already turned to how long we can cope economically with these restrictions in place.
Throughout these most developed countries, there is anguish that we cannot live life whilst isolating and social distancing. And these countries have a clear theme - we are some of the most co-dependent countries in the world.
These countries need communication to operate. We are blessed with technologically advanced systems, but want to maintain economic production as much as is possible. The production of non-essential goods and services are what drives our society and even a one-month pause to this has sent global markets crashing and jobs vanishing.
We need global travel to operate. The idea of being stuck in one country for many in our globally-connected society seems absurd, let alone one house. Business trips are so common to help secure global deals. Travelling abroad is seen as refuge away from working for the many whose work is domestic, a break from the busyness of work that would otherwise engulf your weekly life.
Globalisation is embedded firmly into our lives. There is a reliance upon other countries to fuel our needs, whether that be through foodstuffs, electricity or materials, that is vital for the Global North to function. The richest countries are struggling, the pandemic has startled us and shown the limitations to our society that we carelessly thought we never had.
None of this is to say that lower-income countries will not be affected by COVID-19. The impact upon their societies will be perhaps more marked, but for different reasons. Many will not have the ability to social distance, such are the bleak conditions they are forced to live in. Should they even try to social distance, many other diseases will impact them disproportionately worse. For example, social distancing in African countries where malaria has been endemic, will only stop the distribution of mosquito nets, and possibly kill more.
Hygiene levels in lower-income countries are also virtually non-existent. Many cannot afford to social distance and stop working; it is perhaps a choice between catching COVID-19 and starvation resulting from social distancing. Make no mistake about it, as much as I emphasise this problem for the developed world, far fewer people will face the deadly physical and economic effects than those in absolute poverty.
Perhaps this pandemic is changing the interconnected world whose hectic nature is driving us towards insanity. Technological advances have enabled us to hold important work meetings, study sessions and social contact from our own homes. Perhaps this will be carried into the future, and our lives won't consist of so much travelling to conduct business and events that we can participate in from literally anywhere.
Using quotes is often misleading and I try to avoid it, but Oscar Wilde's "work is the refuge of people who have nothing better to do" is poignant in this time. I have spoke about a universal basic income before for reasons of security, but if we give people security, we have to give them opportunity to explore whatever they desire. Working 5+ days a week isn't something we should be proud of.
We should be creating a world in which work is seen as rewarding, where people all love the jobs they do and even if they don't, they should have sufficient time and economic security to spend their free time doing what they enjoy. Pursuing hobbies is the most important thing in our lives.
Bronnie Ware's 2012 book titled 'Five Wishes of the Dying' is based off a survey of dying people who were asked what they wished they'd done. One of these was "I wish I hadn't worked so hard", another was "I wish I had let myself be happier". Most of the people she nursed in palliative care when she was doing this survey wished they had not spent so much time 'on a treadmill of a work existence'.You have to wonder whether we are going the right way. More and more people are forced to enslave themselves in jobs they don't enjoy simply to make ends meet. Many are being overworked, others are choosing to work more time for the benefit of capital. For some reason, we seem insistent that there is a perfect work-life balance, and that that involves four or five days work followed by a couple of days to relax.
That is something that society has conditioned us to believe. A Utopian world is one where everyone does not work, but instead their job is their hobby. They do this hobby not because it pays well, but because they enjoy it. Everyone enjoys their primary "job", yet has time to partake in other hobbies such as exercise, art or music. It is Utopian for a reason. We are way beyond the point of implementing that, and human nature would have to be trusted to do the jobs no-one wants to do, the undesirable jobs.
But it is worth taking a moment to think about why people take on boring high-paid jobs. It is because that high-paid work allows them to do what they want in their free time. All work should be like that, it should be driven by a passion, and if not that it should at the very least allow you the opportunity, financially, to enjoy pastimes that make your mind happy.
The hunt for a COVID-19 vaccine is going to be incredible focused in the next few months, such are the lives it will save. Whilst we are doing that, can we find a vaccine for our obsession with work?
That will save many lives too. It will allow people to enrich their lives as their minds desire, which should be our primary reason to be on this planet in the first place.
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