This is what happens when we dont have basic rights like universal healthcare or stable jobs. And the “lesser evil” political party has nothing to offer besides vague phony optimism.
More and more people are being pushed to the fringe right due to the failures of capitalism.
We need better.
“There’s nothing as toxic as unmet expectations.”
Part of the problem here is that white cis hetero males are still bathed in sense that they should be on top of the pile throughout childhood and are suddenly getting dropped out of high school into a world where that’s no longer the case. Stable jobs and healthcare will help but I think this is also a situation where a cultural shift needs to happen.
I think it’s not even 100% a superiority thing, but the loss of position, purpose, place.
Stable jobs and healthcare would do so much to defuse the “I need to outcompete/hobble everyone else to WIN” grindset hustle mentality.
In my field (a “successful” one in the modern economy), the conventional wisdom is to intentionally change jobs every two years or so to get a bigger raise than loyalty yields. Other fields have either intentional high turnover or mismanagement that sabotages long-term employment. Nobody develops a pride of position and it creates more easily replacable workers. Of course this ripples to “nobody even stays in the same neighbourhood anymore” as we Grapes of Wrath ourselves across the map looking for opportunity.
If you aren’t forced to chase the ever-moving brass ring, maybe you can find satisfaction in being part of long-lived communities which encourage mutual support. If you know your needs are going to be taken care of, different faces and lifestyles are less of a risk to destabilize your world.