Have you noticed how people at your workplace are fearful? We hide it quite well though but I have certainly noticed it. And I think we have become fearful because we are too immediately dependent on a complex social structure we don't understand. Think about it, how many of the things that we use and consume on a daily basis can we really provide fully for ourselves. Probably very few. And if we are living in a city, maybe even none. May this undermine the trust we have in ourselves and the world?
When we buy things, we rarely know where they are coming from or how they are made. Yet we also depend on many of those things for our survival. Deep in our psyche, this creates a big hole in our worldview. We are surrounded by many things, we actually don't know much about. We live in a world of many unknowns. And all unknown things come with a sense of unease or even anxiety.
Not only this, but the ways in which we earn money are also very mysterious to most people. We do something we never need ourselves, yet, magically, this activity pays all our bills. Work is almost always integrated into a larger social network, in which our own contribution only provides a piece of the puzzle. And this makes us anxious. We fear to drop out of this social structure. And with that lose our ability to survive.
In our history, I think, this was much less the case. We had much smaller social structures, which we could actually understand and each individual was known to us. We provided for most of our own needs and understood how those things came from the raw materials nature provided. There were many other unknowns, sure, but those unknowns were maybe not as visible to us. And our worldview seemed to have fewer holes in it. The ground we were standing on seemed more solid.
I don't think our interconnected social structure is a negative thing. It has created a great diversity of work, art, and knowledge. We are much richer because of our collaboration across the globe. Yet, I also believe, that on an individual level, we should understand how things are provided for us and become a little more independent.
As we exchange goods and services through the monetary system, I believe we should seek to reach a certain level of independence in this area. This provides us with a greater degree of freedom and a sense of security in our interactions with others, especially in the work environment. That means not having to rely on the next paycheck to stay afloat, taking responsibility for our life-long financial situation, and understanding the role money really plays in our modern society.
If we all took our financial situation more seriously and ran our own finances as we would run a company, we would all be a little bit more content knowing that we are in a good position. Maybe we would also be happier because of a stronger position in our work environments.