Part of the social contract with capitalism, at least post new deal, is the prospect of comfortable retirement. The massive issue we’re facing right now, which has been fueling private equity and corporate greed, is that we have the largest generation in history trying to retire, almost solely using 401k’s and dividend stocks, which directly suck the value of all of our labor. Giant pension funds get parked at hedge funds that exist by bankrupting and/or devaluing healthy companies that employ thousands. We’re at a point where capitalism has demanded so much growth that there’s effectively no way the younger generations can retire, while the older generation is completely dependent on siphoning value from the stock market and collecting rent as landlords.
Which begs the question: what the hell am I doing this for? Why am I working myself ragged, fueling a machine that destroys not only our environments, but our societal fabric, when I won’t get to benefit in the long run? I truly don’t think capitalism can coexist with the internet much longer, it’s the most effective tool ever made for sharing human experience and information. We know the extent that people suffer now. We can no longer feign ignorance at mass suffering, and it seems more and more people want to end the madness every year.
I’ve talked to countless boomers who are clueless as to how hard younger generations have it, and how there’s no incentive for us to perpetuate the system. They have no idea that the federal minimum wage hasn’t gone up since they were in their 40’s and they all seem shocked when I talk about how unsustainable it all is. I almost never say the quiet part out loud though, that they’re probably not going to be able to retire peacefully after devoting their entire lives to this system under the guise that it would offer the same deal to their kids.
How do we snap them out of this kind of thinking? I don’t think hitting them over the head with this point is the way to change hearts and minds, but we can’t be subtle about it either. We’re going to need them to pitch in en masse, somehow, if we’re to reap the full value of our labor and free ourselves from the shackles of capitalism.
Thoughts?