The Best We’ve Got

It’s official,
We’re in trouble.

I mean, we sort of already knew we were in trouble, didn’t we? Just look around you: the environment, Africa, AI, Tick Tock, the Middle East, Donald Trump, the fucking Ukraine — need I say more?

But this makes it official. Call your congressman, tattoo it on your ass, stick it under a fridge magnet, underline it, laminate it, frame that shit and put it above your vision board:

WE ARE IN TROUBLE FOLKS

The battery of lies — the viscus oil that runs this outrageous global flimflam —has its first (hopefully of many) empirical piece of scientific evidence against it:

We can now actually say, according to research, economic disparity — at all levels, in all countries — is a systemic problem. It is divorced almost entirely from an individual’s outlook, beliefs, biases, and indeed — incredibly — their choices and decisions.

Please take a moment and allow that to sink in.

This flies directly in the oft repeated mantra that financial success is a result of hard work. While there is of course some truth to that, it’s far from the full picture. In fact, it’s hardly a picture at all.

More like a talking point.

Yes, the truth is nuanced, and no, it can’t be discussed in an impetuous blog born of a deep, intransigent resentment for capitalism.

A few moments ago, I popped my head into the living room to see why the movie my parents had said they were going to watch hadn’t started, and I found them both on their computers.

“What’s going on? What happened to the movie?”

“We’re trying to find things to buy on Amazon.”

“What do you mean? What do you need?”

“Nothing. But it’s Amazon Prime day and there are a lot of deals.”

And there it is. Right there, explained perfectly in a benign personal annecdote. I’m sure you’ve got your own.

If this is the best we’ve got, we should be ashamed of ourselves.

Read the executive summary of the findings, or dive into the actual study for a thoroughly jaw dropping read.