Human beings live in communities. Community living makes us feel comfortable because we have developed a system whereby different people in the community do other works to exchange the same with money being the medium of such exchange. For example, somebody invented and manufactured the airplane, but today anybody can enjoy the benefit of traveling by flight by paying money. Similarly, we can buy a flat, furniture, electronic appliances, laptops, fruits, vegetables, cars, and so on by spending money and enjoying the fruits of the work done by somebody else. We too work to get the money to buy all these comforts. Thus, the human civilization is flourishing and is working quite well.
However, the other side of the community living is quite dark. Money has gained disproportionate significance because almost everything has been tagged with money by the community. All the objects of material comforts have a price. A beggar on the street who does not have money will have to struggle for even food and a billionaire in the market who has earned money can spend millions to have fun and party. The worst part of this arrangement is that the rich have the capital to set up new ventures and the requisite skill set is available at a very low price because of the sheer population therefore one can make more and more money with money. A poor person has to struggle to survive and in that struggle, generally, the vigor to learn and get an education is lost. That in turn reduces the opportunities for such people in the market and they keep struggling for money almost the whole of their lives.
In a world order that is so unequal and primarily dominated by the rich, there is hardly any scope for the people to be their true selves. They have to obey the commands of the rich and people in the position of power. Since these people are large in numbers, the powerful make different rules for them to follow and instill a sense of fear in their minds to follow those rules of the community. It serves the interests of the rich and powerful that the poor follow the rules and remain "disciplined" because they need such a "disciplined" workforce to cater to their comforts and pleasures.
There are different ways and means to enforce such "discipline" and one of the techniques is time tested. First, create the temptation for different things by aggressive advertisement. Expensive soaps, perfumes, and beauty products should be sold by beautiful models (who themselves never use these products), movie actors and models should be used to sell the dreams for these people by posting their photos and videos along with the products, cold drinks should be equated to courage and dare, furniture to heaven, and mobile to your identity. People get tempted to fulfil their dreams and there is only one way to get all these dreams fulfilled and that is to earn more and more money. There is only one way to earn money and that is by putting more number of hours at work. You get some increment or promotion by doing that hard work and you can buy more of your dream products and experiences with that, and that is how all of us enter into the race and conspiracy by the rich. There is no time available for the masses to think of the meaning of life. By the time we return from the office, we are so tired that somehow we want to get to bed and sleep. And this is how the best of the herd is created by the rich and powerful to serve their purpose.
This herd has no mind of its own. It's very easy to spread any message in the herd because everybody accepts the same without any verification. Fear, temptation, ambition, and insecurity may be easily spread in the herd and the rich and powerful may manage this herd to their advantage. The ability to question and find out the truth is lost in the herd. Whatever is acceptable to the majority is truth. Thurth needs time to enquire and in a herd, everybody is busy following the mirage. If a person or few in the herd doubt and want to enquire, they are treated like the greatest fools and meet the same fate as Socrates, Galileo, and Christ met because they disturbed the sentiments of the herd by trying to show them the mirror. Since they were minorities, the herd force easily eliminated them. At the end of the day, all such people must be thinking as to whom are they fighting for because they are fighting for the benefit of the herd and being attacked and killed by the same herd. This appears to be the fundamental reality of the communities we live in and anybody who has realized this structure, will have to gather courage to get out of this mess to live a meaningful life.
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