- The “Investment” – In a Ponzi scheme, people invest money with the promise of high returns. We “invest” our time, energy, and often our mental and physical health into jobs that promise us financial security and career growth.
- The Returns – Ponzi schemes promise returns that seem too good to be true, and they usually are. Similarly, we're sold on the idea that if we work hard enough, we'll achieve financial independence, success, and a comfortable retirement.
- The Pyramid Structure – At the top of a Ponzi scheme, there's a small group of people who actually benefit from it while the rest suffer.
- The Unsustainability – Ponzi schemes eventually collapse when there aren't enough new investors to pay the old ones.
- The Illusion – Just like a Ponzi scheme, the system we're living in requires us to buy into the illusion that it's a fair and just way of organizing our lives. We're told that if we just work hard enough, we'll succeed, and those who don't are simply lazy or unmotivated.
So again, tell me how we aren't just living being forced to work in an elaborate Ponzi scheme backed by make-believe pseudoscience?