Fifteen years ago, or so, the scales fell from my eyes and I looked at the world anew. What I saw was insanity; a society – at least here in the industrialised world – hell bent on mindless never-ending growth, at the expense of both its own well-being and the health of our small, vulnerable, planet and its sensitive ecosystems. I am pretty certain that this revelation is something to do with getting older, although growing maturity is no guarantee of its appearance. Some recognise the madness in the way we live while still in the classroom. Others journey from cradle to grave without once questioning the lifestyle they have been conditioned to accept. Unfettered capitalism – a system predicated upon private ownership of the means of production and its operation for profit – has arranged things so that we live to consume; so that we work to earn money that we can spend on ever more stuff, regardless of whether we need it or not; a pizza oven, the latest i-phone.In a crazy, vicious circle, some of us work to afford child care, so that we can go to work. Others buy to feel good; to experience that little – if brief and ultimately unsatisfying – buzz that comes with a shiny new purchase. A buzz that rapidly fades in the face of the relentless struggle that is modern life. We are aided and encouraged in our consumerist efforts by a constant bombardment of adverts. Everywhere we look, the message is buy, buy, buy. So immersed are we in this environment, so caught up in the lifestyle, that we can't see the wood for the trees; can't see that it is a way of living that is simply absurd; a way of life that leaves us exhausted, unsatisfied and unfulfilled. It has taken quite a while to get to where we are today.                                                                                                                      The roots of capitalism go back at least as far as the 16th century, when land began to become concentrated in fewer hands and merchant-driven global trade started to burgeon. Only since World War Two, however, has it really taken off. This period - defined as the great acceleration - saw the explosive growth of technology and a wide range of other human activities, which continues today. This was driven largely by private capital and required a parallel explosion in consumption in order to maintain the seemingly unstoppable juggernaut. No-one born since the second world war can recall anything different, and can't even imagine any other way of passing the time between the maternity suite and the cemetery. Astonishingly, so ingrained, now, is the obsession with consumption that – instead of agitating for change – many of those with minimal disposable income, who are struggling at the bottom of the economic pile, are completely in thrall. Refusing to recognise that the system is failing them, they instead insist on being part of it and are often the most vociferous in dismissing any alternative, more progressive, way of living. Rather, their hopes and aspirations are focused on a lucky break, perhaps a lottery win, that will shower them with the cash they need to big up their contribution to the consumerist society and join those higher up the greasy pole. The truth is that we are all in a rat-race [and only the wealthy can afford it!]                    https://billmcguire.substack.com/p/it-doesnt-have-to-be-like-this?token=eyJ1c2VyX2lkIjozODQ4ODM1NCwicG9zdF9pZCI6NTMwOTA2ODYsIl8iOiIvVXZJVyIsImlhdCI6MTY1MTQzNDQ2NiwiZXhwIjoxNjUxNDM4MDY2LCJpc3MiOiJwdWItMjQ2ODU1Iiwic3ViIjoicG9zdC1yZWFjdGlvbiJ9.Qa5vRu3noBfsk_uM-y7QlEImG_H3zhe0IRRN30dgGs8&s=r