What with robots, computers, and all the other “help” we’re creating, not to mention jobs going offshore and/or “cheap labor” coming in from offshore, not to mention whole industries (manufacturing, mining) imploding, it looks as if it won’t be long before a goodly portion of the jobs will have disappeared. When three-quarters of working people can’t find a job in countries like Australia, surely we can’t rely on the old solutions of throwing them (us) a little dole money and calling them (us) bludgers (or leaners, if we’re being polite). Is it even possible to restructure the economy so that people can live well without working (or inherited wealth)? What would that look like? How would we get there?
Knowing ourselves seems to be the foundation for everything. It is important to question, and be critical of the thoughts, actions and beliefs that resonate with us. Such contemplation is crucial to continual self-development and sanity. Thus, madness can be partly seen as obliviousness, or in history it was highlighted as forgetting. If we forgot what had made us happy, are we mad?
I’m asking this question because it is, without doubt, something that most of us want to have happen, and I would like it to be both possible and to be brought about. However, I’m wondering if thinkers who have had more experience of life and of thinking, than I have, believe that it is actually possible. It matters to me because I see peace as enabling any person to experience a positively richer experience of life, and for this reason, I view it as being something that should matter to all of us.
Every day the world grows smaller. Slowly but steadily, it’s becoming easier to exchange opinions, ideas, and culture. Sure, there’s a strong argument for identity, economic growth, and security, but perhaps it is equally as important to recognise that we are all humans on the same team. Especially in light of the recent refugee crisis, are borders becoming redundant, and is the idea of a country really necessary?