We have energy problems. We have air, land and water pollution problems. We have health problems. We have social problems. We have a lot of problems.
99 problems but a profit ain't one.
As I have said many times over the years, the quest for profit at any costs is the thing that drives us to have so many of the problems we face, whether it be war or pollution, obesity or depression. Everything is affected because it is all part of the supply and demand chain, and we are conditioned in ways that keep us consuming to enrich the suppliers, even though what we consume is what is causing the majority of the problems we face. Simply put, if we demanded different, things would change, but the incentive isn't there. If the incentive was aligned to health outcomes in order to make profit, then things would change, because suppliers would then be driven to condition us to consume what makes us healthy, rather than what makes us sick. That includes what destroys our environment, which is obviously a key influence on our health.
But I was wondering, as I often have, what if the world was a bit different. For instance, what if instead of all the mental and material resources that go into making machines of war, the same effort was put into designing machines that cleaned the environment.
For random examples, what if every new large building had a filtration system that sucked in air and filtered it of the unwanted particles, and pumped out filtered air. The filtered solids could be dried, bricked and then contained or used in some way. Or what if large desalinators were invented that could provide filtered water to create wetlands or hydroponic greenhouses in the deserts starting from the coast. And what if these were powered by clean energy resources, or nuclear fission, or something that hasn't been invented yet?
My point is, that instead of building what we are currently building that we know harms the environment and humanity, but we feel we need to build it for our defence, but the only reason we have to defend is because of the terrible economic system we are supporting, we built differently? Yeah, I know that it will never likely happen, because humans are ridiculous creatures, but essentially the only thing stopping us having a high quality of life, with high levels of health and wellbeing across the entire earth, is our own ridiculous nature.
That is pretty sad isn't it?
What if instead of making wealth from war and harmful activities, we could only make profit from generating health. How many current companies on earth would actually be profitable? Now, some of these companies are not necessarily unhealthy by design, but they promote or support unhealthy usage. Like Facebook, TikTok, X and all the rest. The algorithms and amplification mechanisms they use incentivise poor behaviours, bad habits, mental illness and a host of other related problems that are all part of a knock-on effect in the chain of all the other issues we face in the world, like pollution and social disorder and loneliness and poverty.
It isn't just the rich and powerful, they are just part of the machine.
The machine parts of governments and corporations, combined with the machine parts of social structure and order we have created, are structured in a way that promotes negative outcomes at the micro and macro level of society. Individuals weaken, communities weaken, and everything just falls apart at the hands of the profit-incentivised people in control. But those people are symptoms of the broken system, not the causes. Once they have more power, they can influence the machine to do more harm, but that is the design of the machine.
It will never get a continually improving outcome.
There is room for so much innovation in all fields of study to improve our human outcomes, but the problem is that this kind of innovation is fringe and relatively unsupported, even though it should be the *most supported majority of all innovation. Instead of finding ways to support our behaviours to become healthier individuals as a whole, there are tens of thousands of behavioural economists working out how a platform or game can squeeze a little more of our attention from us. Instead of using the energy to clean the water and air, we use it to generate AI girlfriends to ease our loneliness.
The thing that people need to remember is that it doesn't cost more to be healthy, nor does it cost more to be green. Because an economy doesn't actually worry about the cost of anything, it adjusts accordingly. The "cost more" comes from the current economic situation, where the status quo is not only cheaper due to having more time in the market, but it is also cheaper to do things that have negative impacts on the environment and humanity. But "cheaper" doesn't mean that there isn't profit in it, because the consumer is paying to both pollute, and clean up the pollution, get fat and for weight loss medication and a personal trainer, to start a war and to end it.
The economy wouldn't change much if all the business activities pivoted to health-focused innovation and supply, but our outcomes as a species would shift radically. Everyone would have a better life, except people who believe that other people shouldn't have a better life. And those kinds of people, well - do you want them to be the ones who make all the profits? Because they are the ones making it now. They might not be doing it directly or even consciously, but they are profiting from the machine that is designed to cause suffering.
The ultimate weapon.
A killing machine powered by all of us.
Taraz
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I have been wondering this exact thing and I feel like it boils to personalities. What kind of personality the people have who create and design things? Cold. Narcissistic. Greedy. Self-centered. They have no emotional capacity due to traumas or other issues and it leads to this where we keep creating destruction. It also explains why we keep voting the most horrible people on power. Because most voters ar unhealed and unbalanced
I am not sure of the designers are even that conscious of what they are doing, they just align themselves to the incentives on offer. If you want to make money, then harming society is the best way to do it at the moment. Yet, most don't think that what they are doing is harming - at least to begin with.
Only positive think is that in oil usage is about to peak and companies are transferring to green energy as it's the next big thing with AI. But for climate, it might be too late.
There is just far too much hate in the world and greed. It's likely never going to change in our lifetime.
Yep - it makes me sad. I am not sure if I am suitable for this world.
Sometimes we assume that moving from a harmful system to a healthier one is a no brainer. But history often shows that transitions even into better states, can be destabilising. People are not very much prone to change even if it favors them long term .If societies suddenly tried to dismantle profit models built on addiction and the shockwave wouldn’t just hit corporations, it would hit people the most who may yet again turn to unhealthy methods of copism yet again and then some corporation will seek to capitalise on that again and we are back full circle . and We like to think we are victims of these systems and in many ways we are but we are also participants who have adapted to them
Yes. It is a "better the devil you know" approach. Stay in an abusive relationship, rather than be alone.
We are definitely participants. However, I will also argue that we are conditioned participants, influenced to maintain the status quo, at our own expense.
Thats because we’ve been conditioned to think there are no angels😅
I don't think we will live long enough to see these types of changes, but if humans survive for another hundred years, who knows it may come...
Humans surviving another hundred years shouldn't even be a question, right? Yet, it is. We might kill ourselves well before that.
Negative impacts yet we consume, most times we don't even look at the negativity, we just look at the benefits, why
Because most people are either poor, suffering, or don't just care, a divide the system created that also makes us believe that we need fill.
The consumer ends being the prey in all this,
If only we understand that the system is designed to play us, we make better choices. But we're made to believe a lie, that we can only measure up if we can meet the standards it has set for us, a standard only meant to be a trap.
As was stated "an inconvenient truth" - and we love convenience.
We have built entire industries around sickness and pollution, now it seems nearly impossible to go back. We have got self driving cars and AI that can write researches, but millions still breathe toxic air and drink unsafe water. Advancement is sprinting in every field while basic human welfare is crawling. If we can launch satellites to map Mars, we can build affordable tech to monitor air quality and find a solution for it (as smog is taking over as usual) or provide clean water to the deprived millions. The problem is not capability, it is priorities. Surely, it is time to build machines that heal, not just generating capital or to entertain. Because, right now, we do not need flying cars; we need breathable air and affordable healthcare. But before we start this initiative, let the big powers — the U.S., Russia, China and their proxies — test some nukes, otherwise, they won't be able to breath 🤡.
Btw, thanks for entrusting me with the delegated HP, it truly means a lot. I will do my best to use it for the benefit of community. Peace 🕊
And that AI is being used by kids to make naked images of their peers at school to bully them. All that processing power used, and we use it to create silly images?
Entertainment. Comfort. Looks... we prioritise the wrong things consistently.
Testing nukes, rather than building nuclear reactors to provide cheap electricity.
And you are welcome for the delegation :)
Humans are one species that claim to be doing so much for it self but hurting itself in return.
The profit mindset is what has caused most of it.
But like you rightly said, we could focus this energy on producing better things that would improve our safety and health.
Our government cannot be that thoughtful enough, yes because they are blinded by profit motives, and those who own the machines answer to them as well.
A relief that is only temporary and most times such relationship will deteriorate and end up becoming harmful because these machines only bring out what they're fed in.
Thank you so much for the HP delegation. I really appreciate it, it'll really help me begin my hive journey.
It is like self-mutilation.
Use it well!
For some strange reason I look at your random examples and feel like picking them apart.
It is okay to pick them apart. In a thousand words, I try to keep things pretty simple :)
And that helps drive engagement. Those examples are perfect for picking apart. That's what I noticed.
And I could go into talking about them. Just not sure what I'd do with those thoughts later. Save the world? I quit cigarettes. Did my part. lol
Made me shiver. I don't generally consider "everything" to be that bad, so I don't really like being reminded 😉
Yes. It is far better to just ignore the fall into the abyss :)
For as long as we can!!
I've given this a lot of thought.
There's a widespread concern among leaders that slowing population growth rates could trigger societal collapse.
However, I hold a different perspective and see several potential benefits:
Environmentally, it could lead to cleaner air and a much-needed reduction in the exploitation of our natural resources.
Socioeconomically, it might also help decrease the economic gap between the rich and poor.
Socially, it could foster a society where farmers finally receive the respect they rightly deserve.
Yes, because it will be the poor that are exterminated :)
Truly, the economic or business activities won't pivot that much if only focused on health related products and supply but I think at this stage and how alarming this pollutant substance is rapidly increasing, it is paramount, mane I would suggest as every nations strive more in production and supply it should take consideration on it waste product either for recycling purpose or immediate incinerator. To the development of machines that contribute to the pollution impact I think the government should rather be a conversion kind of machine so it won't harm the ecosystem. @tarazkp if the business people or will I say the whole nation is well progressing but her citizens faces several health challenges often of what benefit then? Health is very vital and should be taken into consideration at all time
If society and health are failing, then government and business are failing too - or that is how it should be. But it isn't.
The leaders of nations of the world and captains of industries need to reorder their priorities. That's the only solution I see. The change won't come from the masses. The only part the masses can play is to agitate for better living conditions, but if the leaders do nothing, nothing changes.
I suppose people would pay as much for things that change their lives as they do the ones that don't. But it's a matter of what is presented to them. What they see regularly via TV and social media ads is what they will most likely purchase. If healthy products were advertised more and the market for the unhealthy ones were reduced maybe things will change.
The agitation will happen, but instead of creating change, the agitators will face increasing aggression too.
If businesses were encouraged to develop healthier products and practices, we could improve our society significantly.
The existing system is obviously not working for us, and it’s time for a shift.
It has been time for a very long time already, yet we keep procrastinating, because we like the security of what we know, even though what we know doesn't work.
Hmm, we humans are the most difficult and unpredictable being on earth. We earth on our emotions and what is best for us personally. I believe most of the sickness and diseases are often caused by human action, whether directly or indirectly. The part that every organisation wants to make a profit at all costs without considering yhe implications of it on humans. It's easy to see organisations talking about how to maximise profit off their product even when they started well.
It’s true that many of the problems we face, from pollution to mental health issues, come from the way our economy and society reward profit over wellbeing. I like how you pointed out that if profit came from making people healthy instead of making them consume harmful things, the world would look very different.
I’ve noticed this myself in everyday life, so many products and services seem designed to keep us hooked or unhealthy rather than truly helping us particularly this part of the world where adultered medicine and chemical preserved food flood the market.
If humans can think about a way to make the world a better place for all of us and the leader come together in harmony without any segregation, which I doubt will ever happen. Competition and who control the major resources and the most powerful nations of the world is what majority are fighting for.
And the economy would still work.
We aren't wired to do what is actually best for us, and that is being leveraged to make profit.
Yes, I could argue completely. Much human talent goes into industry that don't help anyone, while the real solution sits on the sidelines. Imagine if the same energy used for all addictive apps or pollution was used for cleaning the air, growing food and improving well-being. We won't even recognize the world. It's sad that we limit ourselves because of the global system.
But posts like this keep the hope alive.
When you walk around your neighbourhood tomorrow - think about all the things that could be better if energy and effort was diverted from where it is currently spent.
I must say, you made a powerful point.
The issue is not lack of ideas or technology, it's like incentives driving everything. We are encouraged to consume things like that make us sick, lonely or stressed while the companies keep profiting twice than the effort they are putting from the harm and the cure. If society rewarded health and clean living we would all benefit. It is somehow crazy that we accept the opposite as "normal".
Remember, we live in a world of body positivity, that has normalised being obese as a healthy choice. And people think they are making their own decisions...
This post really highlights how upside down our world is. We pour our brilliance into weapons, distractions and harmful system instead of solving the problems that are destroying us.
It's true that if profits depend on health, we'll see a different planet in one generation. The sad part of this is that solutions are possible, but the system keep blocking them. And still, conversation like this matters because it pushes us to imagine better, and that's life.
So, how brilliant are we if we can't prioritise our own wellbeing?
Our problems are endless. But I think this problem is not created by us. These problems are mostly created by developed countries. They are building everything from sophisticated war equipment to high-rise buildings to prove themselves in the modern world. As a result, they are polluting our environment. The harmful effects of which are directly affecting the citizens of underdeveloped countries like us. However, it is not like the people of developed countries are being spared from this. However, if your imaginary ideas were implemented in reality, it would really benefit us a lot and the world would become a much more beautiful place. Because many people in the world are suffering from health problems due to pollution and war. But countries are using harmful chemicals to show their power and their effects continue until the post-war period, which we can still see in Hiroshima and Nagasaki in Japan.
If every person in the world made a conscious effort to reduce pollution, contributing in whatever small way they can, it would go a long way toward healing our planet.
It doesn't matter. Same air is breathed. And if the roles of the past were reversed, then the developed countries that are currently underdeveloped, would be doing it. Human nature doesn't change.
This is a thoughtful post and I appreciate what you said about innovation that are safe for humanity,the air filtering system is inspiring,just like you said it will help filter unwanted particles from the air.
This hits hard really. Humans really are species that pride themselves on progress, yet we keep creating systems that harm us more than they help us. The profit-driven mindset sits at the center of it all, pushing us toward behaviors that weaken our health, our environment, and our communities.
And you’re right, if even a fraction of that energy went into building solutions that actually clean, heal, and protect us, the world would look very different. But expecting governments or the powerful to lead that shift is almost impossible when they’re tied so tightly to profit themselves. Currently here in the Philippines it's very chaotic. The government says they don't want corruption but the leaders are the real corruption masterminds.
Yes to that! it DOES make even economic sense to NOT go the pollute route so to save on the not having to pay for clean up.. good point.. so why di big companies like disney choose to create such pollution then pay for charities or whatever, to combat that.. why dont they just go green like some countried have shown it IS possible?