If a luxury is “a pleasure out of the ordinary allowed to oneself,” then today's luxuries in America include
- Housing
- Healthcare
- Childcare
- Education
- Opportunity
- Food
- Security
In his most recent book “Poverty, By America” Matthew Desmond says, “Poverty isn't simply the condition of not having enough money. It's the condition of not having enough choice and being taken advantage of because of that.” (Page 78). From insufficient choice one is often required to defer---to yield or submit respectfully---to another to keep from falling deeper into poverty. This deference in turn is interpreted by the overseer as a confirmation of their righteousness and a justification for their thoughts and actions. And the cycle continues.
To break the cycle would require (what would be interpreted as) rebellious disrespect by a large enough number to break the system; and because we are all so heavily invested in the system, the odds of this happening are miniscule.
On page 79 Matthew Desmond says that instead of focusing on the poor by asking questions such as “Why don't you find a better job? Or Why don't you move? Or Why don't you stop taking out such bad loans? – we should be asking “Who benefits? Who is feeding off this?” And the answer, first and foremost, is the system and secondarily but all-important is the wealthy and powerful who work every possible angle to maintain and strengthen the system.
Previously, I wrote, “If the purpose of the system is to gain efficiencies in order to increase production ultimately to grow profits, and if the purpose of Humanity is a respectful, unpretentious, humble compassion for All, then the system and Humanity are at odds. Compassion is not efficient.” We fear Artificial Intelligence, yet we embrace this entrenchment / entrapment in a system that more and more each day robs us of our Humanity and reinforces our roles as heedless, docile automatons. If our humanity is too far gone, I would prefer artificial intelligence over the unthinking intelligence currently enforced.
Just saying…