Why are we working so hard but only succeeding in heading towards ecological disaster?

Question

Why are we so busy. It doesn't matter whether you come from a rich or poor country. We all seem to work so hard. With all the available technology these days, there's no reason why we shouldn't be living lives with far less work than we do and far more time for leisure.

And what makes me really confused is that all this labour goes towards making a relitively small group of people ultra rich while they rip the planet to peices trying to make more money and exploit more people.

And the bit that really sickens me is that as a result of all of this there may well be no planet left for anyone to live in 100 years or so. And it's not just the nutter wearing the sandwich board that thinks so, there are some very well respected scientists that are of that opinion.

What's gone wrong?

Answer 1

We (average folk) in the western "civilized" world are busier than ever, but we're not as busy as those in developing nations (or in our own) who have to struggle to stay alive - no thinking "what will we see at the pictures this evening?" for them ! We all want things at the cheapest price because we don't earn as much as we'd like to. what do we actually NEED though? Shelter, food, a little company, not to be taken advantage of. Those who are getting labour & materials at the very cheapest price (cheapest by wage & cheapest by environmental spill / knock on effect) ARE taking advantage in order to give us the cheapest price we demand - thus WE are unwittingly taking advantage pretty much every time we spend on anything. This now happens in a globalized economy - worldwide. Maybe people will reassess their priorities as we reach a global economic / environmental danger point -could be too late by then who knows? Survival of the fittest applies, and maybe greedy overdeveloped monkeys deserve to get wiped out & the cockroaches & scorpions can have their day. Maybe not such an appealling thought (not that I'm squeamish about insects & arthropods) - but all of us ought to try to do something positive to stop that from happening

Answer 2

Sorry, but I can't fully embrace the question you pose, because your position is too left of centre for me. It could come directly from a Guardian reader, a left wing lecturer, a BBC employee, or a member of the present government. I don't agree that we all work so hard, there has never been so many people on benefits, for various reasons. We have become a nation of borrowers and spenders. Both we and the government are living beyond our means. Your comment that all this work goes to make the rich, even richer, is straight out of the Labour Parties 'politics of envy' compedium. It is language that is at least fifty years past its sell by date: the world simply isn't like that anymore. There isn't unanimous agreement, even amongst scientists working in the field, that global warming, if it exists at all, is caused by mans activities. I am not talking about pollution here. It is well known that many anti capitalists are enviromental zealots in disguise. Methane emissions from the sea bed and toxic gas emissions from volcanoes dwarf anything that man is doing. Sun spots are also a factor.

I seriously think that you should be far more concerned with what the government is doing to this country. It won't be long before you won't be able to call it 'this country', because it will be a state within Europe. AGAINST OUR WISHES.

Answer 3

The first thing that I want to tell you is that everyone has a craving to have everything in the world. Secondly, the Earth still has 40 Billion years to go. You do put a great point that why can't we live a simple life and have simple things and stay happy and not work hard. Well, it is because people who worked hard and invented things for our benefit deserve to get paid for their brains and hard labor. This can be priced very high and very low... Some people want those as they can afford it and some dont. The people who actually buy the best things in the world don't actually work hard. It is the people who cant afford them but WANT them, and hence keep trying to get it.

Answer 4

Waste not, want not. The present world is running on empty. So cut off your credit cards and back to the past. Live a simple life and enjoy the final days of our earth or otherwise.

Answer 5

Well if I tell you I got to where your mind (and point) is at, way back in the early 1960s... when I was a first time mum... and my family and friends just took the pee at me every time I opened my mouth to speak about these things... so, when you find the solution that I never could, in making people care enough to alter their behaviour... I for one, will shimmy up your flag pole and cheer;-)

old sage

Answer 6

I am working like crap, you are working like crap, yes we probably do enjoy far superior life styles to our fellow human beings in other countries, but in the country, do you not think that we are carrying a lot of dead weight along with us, in the guise of unemployed, immigrants, the list is endless!

There is a lot of effort and energy, but human and scientific that is simply wasted down to greed and ignorance.

Answer 7

not every one is working hard and i don't mean unemployed immigrants they are not polluting the earth the material that pollutes the earth was produced by some of the hard working people and some of them invented stuff like the car (exhaust) nuclear power stations (contaminated waste)etc so we are not all working hard for the right reasons

Answer 8

Stop listening to the doom mongers. Enjoy your life, stop worrying about things you are not paid for.

Answer 9

Nothing has gone wrong..
Don't panic..
The sky is not falling...