Ask HN: I am losing hope in humanity. What should I do?
Is losing faith/hope in humanity something others experience as well? Is it due to the way i perceive things (i.e. my entourage)? Am I in a bubble and I don't see it? How do I get out? Should I be in a bubble to keep my sanity? How do I build those filters?
Please let me know your thoughts and how you're handling it.
Things that are making me lose hope:
- climate change or how society/corporations/governments are destroying the environment and/or are barely doing anything. All I think about sometimes is how we'll begin to see famines spreading across poor countries until it's all too late... Yet Elon buying Twitter is still in the news till this day.
- social inequality is rising year on year. inflation is a killer for poor families that are barely making ends meet. Yet most corporations are announcing lots of profits and they barely give a sh*t about their workers.
- workers: all I hear is there's a shortage of workers. shortage, shortage, shortage. But they rarely talk about salaries and wages being so low.
- billionaires: ugh, enough about these megalomaniacs.
- media: it's feeding people rubbish all the time. All. The. Time.
- corruption: it's so wide spread, people have become desensitized. war... famines... I could go on...
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[ 2.4 ms ] story [ 158 ms ] threadThe mentioned «programmer», "person matching individual", is responsible for his actions as well - though it is not clear how such mention of the «programmer» fits the context.
If with the original post you wanted to stress that "things are not as clear-cut as it seems (and it's best to refine one's views instead of prematurely embracing position and emotion)": I would surely agree - that's what I also noted in my earlier post.
Corporations are creations of government, if they don't serve a public purpose they should not be permitted to exist.
I don't really see the value in having millions of entities working on a goal such as changing the course of climate change in their own (and thus inefficient) way. I think it's much better to let these entities focus on what they do best, and then take money from them, and use it to further these goals in a much more optimal way.
That “financial bullshit” is specifically “liability for unlawful harms to other people caused by actions undertaken for the benefit of those granted the special protection”.
If the laws providing liability are bullshit, they ought to be eliminated.
Life has always been hard for most people most of the time. There is nothing about the premise of existence that promises it will be easy or comfortable.
The past 50-80 years have been incredible in terms of advancement, poverty (lowest ever globally), health.
Turn off the news, get off social media. These things are not designed to give you a balanced perspective. They are designed to drive advertising revenue.
Go and live.
If you want to feel better about the world, go and do something that improves the lives of others.
Certainly there are things to feel outraged about. But with some news sites it feels commercially manipulative.
On the one hand, ignorance of reality by avoidance just postpones the problem;
on the other, there is sufficient difference here, and from a public of comparatively discreet selection (potentially actually quite high), to show that "losing faith about humanity" is a statistical and stochastic phenomenon - facts do not show only "pure doom".
I find that spending time with people, getting to know them as individuals, lets you appreciate the value each one of us has. We're almost all pretty decent people who happen to get caught in bad patterns when we get together in larger groups especially because there are a few bad eggs who spoil the mix. The more you appreciate us all as individuals, the more you can separate our societal flaws out as problems we need to solve without writing off humanity along with the problems.
And remember that whenever you're "being connected with" by a company (and some people), it's not an even deal: they're attempting to co-opt your mental capacity for their own ends.
If you imagine every corporate message you see, from adverts to tweets to emails are from an acquaintance deeply into an MLM scheme who wants to talk, you won't be far from the mark.
Avoid unproductive worry, but if you want to actually participate in organized efforts to improve things, that's good. Accept that there are only one or two problems you will be able to focus on, ignore the rest.
If God exists, presumably all will work out as he wills. If not, nothing matters beyond enjoying an ethically lived life, so enjoy life, be ethical, and know you've done your part for others.
Stop consuming media that draws your attention to things you are doing nothing about. If you participate in organized efforts to improve things, then you may consume some related media to inform your efforts.
Seriously, just push the off button. This will not hinder your ability to vote or support worthy causes. A limited amount of research before voting or taking on a new project is enough. You don't need to look at that stuff every day.
“[John] von Neumann gave me an interesting idea: that you don’t have to be responsible for the world that you’re in. So I have developed a very powerful sense of social irresponsibility as a result of von Neumann’s advice. It’s made me a very happy man ever since. But it was von Neumann who put the seed in that grew into my active irresponsibility!” — Richard Feynman
"God, grant me the serenity to accept the things I cannot change, courage to change the things I can, and wisdom to know the difference"
Even as an atheist, the sentiment is crucial for navigating a complex world full of both beauty and horror.
If you have no power to change anything, you're helpless and it's also hopeless, but for the opposite reason.
In between, there's a balance. Do the best you can to help with what you can. Let the rest go - you can't fix it, so you can't try to carry the responsibility for it.
As a theist, I'm trying to find and maintain the same balance as s1artibartfast. Especially "wisdom to know the difference"...
No individual can fix the world, it is foolish to think you can, but just as foolish to feel helpless and ineffectual.
You can still do good in the world. It wont fix it, but maybe you can leave it better than it would have been without you.
But that’s not the way of it with the tales that really mattered, or the ones that stay in the mind. Folk seem to have been just landed in them, usually – their paths were laid that way, as you put it. But I expect they had lots of chances, like us, of turning back, only they didn’t. And if they had, we shouldn’t know, because they’d have been forgotten. We hear about those as just went on – and not all to a good end, mind you; at least not to what folk inside a story and not outside it call a good end. You know, coming home, and finding things all right, though not quite the same – like old Mr Bilbo. But those aren’t always the best tales to hear, though they may be the best tales to get landed in!
I wonder what sort of a tale we’ve fallen into? ’‘I wonder,’ said Frodo. ‘But I don’t know. And that’s the way of a real tale. Take any one that you’re fond of. You may know, or guess, what kind of a tale it is, happy-ending or sad-ending, but the people in it don’t know. And you don’t want them to.’‘No, sir, of course not. Beren now, he never thought he was going to get that Silmaril from the Iron Crown in Thangorodrim, and yet he did, and that was a worse place and a blacker danger than ours. But that’s a long tale, of course, and goes on past the happiness and into grief and beyond it – and the Silmaril went on and came to Eärendil. And why, sir, I never thought of that before! We’ve got – you’ve got some of the light of it in that star-glass that the Lady gave you! Why, to think of it, we’re in the same tale still! It’s going on. Don’t the great tales never end? ’
‘No, they never end as tales,’ said Frodo. ‘But the people in them come, and go when their part’s ended. Our part will end later – or sooner.’‘And then we can have some rest and some sleep,’ said Sam. He laughed grimly. ‘And I mean just that, Mr. Frodo. I mean plain ordinary rest, and sleep, and waking up to a morning’s work in the garden. I’m afraid that’s all I’m hoping for all the time. All the big important plans are not for my sort. Still, I wonder if we shall ever be put into songs or tales. We’re in one, or course; but I mean: put into words, you know, told by the fireside, or read out of a great big book with red and black letters, years and years afterwards. And people will say: “Let’s hear about Frodo and the Ring! “ And they’ll say: “Yes, that’s one of my favourite stories. Frodo was very brave. wasn’t he, dad?” “Yes, my boy, the famousest of the hobbits, and that’s saying a lot.”’
‘It’s saying a lot too much,’ said Frodo, and he laughed, a long clear laugh from his heart. Such a sound had not been heard in those places since Sauron came to Middle-earth. To Sam suddenly it seemed as if all the stones were listening and the tall rocks leaning over them. But Frodo did not heed them; he laughed again. ‘Why, Sam,’ he said, ‘to hear you somehow makes me as merry as if the story was already written. But you’ve left out one of the chief characters: Samwise the stouthearted. “I want to hear more about Sam, dad. Why didn’t they put in more of his talk, dad? That’s what I like, it makes me laugh. And Frodo wouldn’t have got far without Sam, would he, dad? “
’‘Now, Mr. Frodo,’ said Sam, ‘you shouldn’t make fun. I was serious. ’‘So was I,’ said Frodo, ‘and so I am. We’re going on a bit too fast. You and I, Sam, are still stuck in the worst places of the story, and it is all too likely that some will say at this point: “Shut the book now, da...
Suggested Read "A guide to the Good Life" by William Irvine
Personally, I’m very lucky/fortunate/happy: great family and friends, in a longterm relationship, a stacked social calendar, good job and generous pay, a home I like in a city I love, and the luxury of financial security.
Even still, I can’t help that think the world is falling apart at the seams, or at least heading in that direction. It sounds bleak, but I really have absolutely no faith in elected politicians, billionaires, corporations, the media, our system of democracy, really anything institutional. This isn’t based on some political ideology or a pendulum swinging to the right/left, or some “both sides”/“run to the center” plea (Maybe controversially, I think the “center” is only good at maintaining the status quo, and I think the status quo is not sustainable).
I’m only in my 20s, I am more than personally fulfilled, yet I can’t shake that feeling that everything in the world is going to collapse spectacularly.
No matter who advocates for change, it seems modern society has adapted to either selectively sideline it or co-opt it, with no real change in either direction (see: healthcare in the US for an example; both sides dislike the current system completely, which itself was a compromise around keeping the existing private system, and we’re still in the same mess with even less political will to fix it). My opinion is that polarization is not a “cause” of all of this. It’s a symptom. Nothing is changing and most everyone is unhappy with the way things are.
What I’ve found helpful is making peace with that, in the same way that life itself is temporary. We’re only here for a short time, and so are our institutions. It’s still not a solution, and I still fear for the future, but accepting there’s only so much I can control ( / aspire to control) has helped. It doesn’t feel so much like “giving up” so much as “being practical”, or so I’ve convinced myself.
But hey, if/when the world gets even worse or outright collapses, at least I won’t be too shocked.
"War..famines". Again, go back and you can find many examples of these over the last few decades. In fact, I would argue that we have less wars now in general (Can you imagine surviving during the era of World Wars?).
I think it is mostly the fact that we have all our basic needs met and now we can think about the problems in the world. I am in a similar situation where I want to do something for others and best way to start small and help others with whatever you can. Volunteer for causes that you care about and go from there.
There is a lot of joy in helping others and we sometimes just forget that as we are so tied up in our own little bubbles.
That song is effective for me because those are events one learns about independently but, absent the song, I would never have thought of them unfolding before my eyes.
Don't forget the line towards the end: "But when we are gone / It will still burn on and on...".
This is a gross misunderstanding of the issues we are facing, especially with regard to climate change. This is not just "bad things have always been happening", but change on the level the planet has not see in literally millions of years https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/5/5f/All_pala...
Just one quick example: look at lake Mead right now http://mead.uslakes.info/level.asp
We are already having energy issues in the US and we're looking at a near term future where there is not enough water to run the Hoover dam. This is already impacting people in the US and it will get worse.
Within our life time we will very likely see an ice-free arctic. The blue ocean event will have major impacts on weather patterns and we currently can't really predict exactly how this will pan out, but there is a lot of extreme risk here.
Complex systems, such as our climate and our economy are remarkably resilient. Just like the human body, a lot of unexpected change can happen and it can still function shockingly well. However there are limits and once things start to breakdown the escalate quickly. What we're seeing know is just a tiny, tiny preview of what's to come.
Let's ignore climate. We are still part of the 6th largest mass extinction event in the history of life on this planet: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Holocene_extinction
Let's ignore the biosphere. First of all your examples of "it's happened before" are all in the last century, a blink of an eye on species level time scale. While you are correct that there has always been war, and plenty of examples of extremely destructive war, we are a very close to potential global nuclear war.
The "this is fine" meme dominates HN thinking, but this is largely because the HN crowd cannot accept the existential terror that is involved in facing these issues. In the long run I still hold that this deep denial is more psychologically harmful that working towards acceptance.
Don't worry, there's always somebody who's lost much more than you.
Generally considered the 'doomer' political circle. No proper political alignment, often seen as purple or populist. Also not necessarily a pessimistic world view.
>s it due to the way i perceive things (i.e. my entourage)?
Most likely yes, but can be independently derived.
>Am I in a bubble and I don't see it? How do I get out? Should I be in a bubble to keep my sanity? How do I build those filters?
Everyone is in a bubble. Imagine a venn diagram of things you know and things you dont know. That's your bubble. Being in a bubble isn't inherently bad. Being in an echo chamber is bad and the probability you are in an echo chamber is very high. To evaluate if you're in an echo chamber, pretend to say something you dont agree with inside your echo chamber just see how it's reacted to. "climate change is false for X reason"
>- climate change or how society/corporations/governments are destroying the environment and/or are barely doing anything. All I think about sometimes is how we'll begin to see famines spreading across poor countries until it's all too late... Yet Elon buying Twitter is still in the news till this day.
Climate change is often the first one in the doomer field lately. Take extinction rebellion for example, or the maya calendar or y2k doomers. They are all climate change now. Their climate change echo chamber is quite problematic.
All this 10 years left or various ultimatums are absurd. They've been saying it'll be 10 years for decades. We're on take 5 or so. In reality climate change is never going to properly threaten human life. We are going to do what is right at the right time and it'll be solved.
We have probably 30-40 years to solve this problem without any major controversy.
>- social inequality is rising year on year. inflation is a killer for poor families that are barely making ends meet. Yet most corporations are announcing lots of profits and they barely give a sh*t about their workers.
Totally a problem. Will inflation lead to mass death or something? No. Social inequality is a problem that is really hard to solve. It derives heavily from the ability to take of debt. "credit score" disallows the peasants from taking on debt and therefore end up missing out on a force multiplier that leads to social inequality. How do you fix this? Given poor people debt? We saw how that worked out after glass-steagal repeal.
No society in history has ever had a system that eliminated social inequality and frankly I don't think there ever will be for quite some time. If someone got into fights in high school, got their 51% and gets blackout drunk every day after their mcjob. Their outcome in society must be less than a doctor who did all the extra work to be qualified to be a doctor and saves lives. It builds an incentive system to build people into doctors and not mcjobs.
>- workers: all I hear is there's a shortage of workers. shortage, shortage, shortage. But they rarely talk about salaries and wages being so low.
This actually has to social equality measures.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Unemployment#/media/File:US_La...
In the 1950s before equality ~85% of men were employed. 35% of women. Overall about 60% of society were employed. Today men are around 65% and women are 55%. Yet still around 60% in total. So what happened was we displaced useless men into homelessness and took useful women and told them not to have babies. Which happened within a generation. Birthrates in 1950 compared to 1980 is night a day bad.
Tons of benefits from doing this. We have a more productive and more useful population. Egalitarianism was tremendously successful and the few countries that dont do this ...
Some could have suggested: "less news and more analysis".
Problem: history is far from encouraging for people diffident on humanity. :)
In fact, I was tempted to write some work about "Progressive history". This is, on the contrary, encouraging.
And compared to most humans that lived before us we can basically enjoy life on easy mode, so be thankful for the unique times we live in. If reincarnation is a thing I figure I must have done something spectacular in a previous life to be rewarded with this incarnation.
I may not have faith in humanity, but I do have faith in evolution. I see progress as driven by energy and our earth as a giant battery that humans found a way to tap. This discovery has led to great gains and placed us in the perch of privilege we now enjoy, but as the battery runs low we will certainly experience the harsh effects of deprivation. We will have to make changes in the way we live while the battery recharges, and before it is charged again we will have gone. But someone will come after us and the game of life will progress.