Ambitions of a Dream
While discussing social policy, that is the policies which shape the way we interact with the governed world, it is incredibly important to remember a very simple (yet somehow neglected) idea. Social policy aims to benefit the vast majority of people, while harming very few outside that majority. Social policy should never be made against a population, it’s a waste of time to persecute. This is my firm belief, and an expected moral position.
However, social policy remains a function of the government, which, being a very pathetic demographic, largely ignores the modern morals of the common man and reinforces antiquated beliefs. This is mostly why I’m eager to be involved in politics, to remedy this.
A very simple and effective solution is to divide the responsibility of law between economics and social science, and then to put the burden of social policy onto pure democratic counsel (which means everyone is entitled and expected to create legislation regarding our society.
The very fact that this is not the case, that laws can be passed against a population, to dictate the very way we live, is a crime against the social evolution of people. It defies nature.
Now here’s the tangential rant part, ignore this if you will. I’ll just be talking about ideas.
I think the amount of time we work is disproportionate to the actual value of that work. I’m not saying your job isn’t important, I’m more so saying our satisfaction of life is not often associated with longer hours.
Consider this: you work a 9-5. You get up at 6 or 7 or 8, prepare breakfast for half an hour or shorter, get dressed, and drive to clock in at 9.
Oh my, your morning is gone. And that’s excluding taking care of any kids. How fun.
I hope you have some good work friends or your job isn’t too demanding, but businesses are often greedy so I wouldn’t count on having a good time. But at least you’ll get an hour or so for lunch. Maybe stop by your favorite cafe, chat with the clerk.
The day goes by, and you clock out. If it’s winter, the sun’s almost down.
You either go home or run errands now, running errands could take an hour off your time. You think better of it, already having food in the fridge and gas in the car. But several days from now, that will change. Life goes on after all.
You get home at 5:30 or 6, assuming you didn’t work overtime and your commute isn’t simply horrendous. Once you get home, parking in a garage or a stall, you might sit in the car and decompress for however long the day was.
The door swings open, you toss your keys aside and find yourself planted in front of an open fridge looking for what dinner might be. You’ll make a quick meal or order takeout and finally spend some well earned time to yourself. Maybe you’ll go out with friends, or go on a date with your partner. When that’s all said and done, you take a glance at the dim-starred sky, and head to bed at 10 or so for a proper night’s rest.
It begins again, unless its the weekend.
Time, it seems, is a precious resource. The middle hours of the day are spent pursuing a career which become a means to an end. Money to eat and sleep. You will be told that this is necessary, work is necessary, your life—dedicated and spent—is necessary for society to function. Helping companies produce a software for other companies, or charge people for the day the die, or when their house burns down.
In my wandering as a writer, I question this life. More importantly, I question the allocation of our time to these vain and pointless corporations. Some certainly provide comforts and luxuries we love to see, but others are systems that serve only to abuse an exploitative system for capital gain.
Now, I’m all for new businesses, but I’d prefer these new businesses to provide meaning to individual lives. Starting a cafe or a restaurant builds the founder’s passions, and aids the development of a community if it’s local. Developing new technology leaps our society forward. And some work is genuinely necessary; maintenance of homes, construction, civil systems, all quite needed in our lives. This work matters. It builds a future
I simply don’t think these service companies like tax agencies or insurance providers are an asset to our lives, especially when we can make a government where those services become redundant.
Bleh, this is my rant.
Signing off,
Thatcher A. Longman
