We have unprecedented ability to choose a job or profession, but down-sizing, temping and short-term contracts now mean that the average job lasts 4 years only. If you have children and a mortgage this makes for a stressful and very un-Epicurean life. Moreover, modern jobs are increasingly dull and unrewarding. Studies have shown that two thirds of all workers are dissatisisfied with their jobs. Automation and the digital revolution held out promise of more leisure and a higher standard of living. Instead, work is taking up just as much of our time as ever, and increasingly uselessly. (Richard Cohen, The Washington Post)
Mankind has inhabited, and dominated, the planet for several thousand years, but is now no wiser than it was when it found its way out of Africa. We still have the ruthless, the selfish, the short-sighted, the violent, and the egotistical among us. Those who want to live simply, modestly and economically in thoughtfulness, kindness and empathy for others are, as ever, in the minority. But virtue is its own reward. We have to sigh, tolerate the unpleasantnesses, keep a sense of humour, and live the best lives we can, without regrets.
I know I’m young, but I’m not this pessimistic. Wages are higher now, and the variety of jobs you can do is greater. Although manual labour has declined, this has been replaced by more intellectually demanding jobs, especially in science and technology. As a History & Politics graduate, there are more jobs in my desired career (public policy research) than at any point in the past. Moreover, economic globalisation makes it easier for me to move abroad to work, particularly within the EU. People are more intelligent and more interconnected now, which leads to peace and prosperity. Of course there may be some bad people here and there, but I don’t believe they’re the majority, as you seen to suggest. I’m generally very sceptical of nostalgia and golden-age rhetoric- they’re often exploited by demagogues like Donald Trump and Marine Le Pen.
Yes, I agree that short-sighted, bottom-line economic thinking (or more truthfully, “only-line-that-counts” assumptions) is wreaking havoc across the globe and is driven by neoliberalism in the West. Still, I second Owen’s sense of hope in some ways and do not think it’s the case that “Mankind. . .is now no wiser than it was when it found its way out of Africa.” H.G. Wells, said something close to; “Humankind is in a race between socialization and catastrophe.” The destruction of the means of socializing the young is as powerful a force as blinkered economic “theories” of neo-liberalism.