General Discussion
In reply to the discussion: Why do we have to "Work so Hard" to make a living? [View all]glowing
(12,233 posts)what you may or may not see as far as cars people are driving and restaurants that are open and full.
As far as smart phones and one's girth determining "stuff" or value and comparing that with Europe, isn't exactly the same. There is less land space in Europe..... its more like comparing it to NY city... The United States is quite large with land space. The homes did get quite large... But now, they are sitting un-used and will more than likely begin being chopped up and made into duplex living types of spaces OR families will combine together and put multiple generations under the roofs of the larger homes.
These are just symptoms of the large issue which to me is finding the direction we wish to see towards the future. What type of world do we want to live in? What is "enough" and how do we create if fairly for everyone now that we are so globally connected?
AND "working hard" to "get ahead" for what? Shouldn't work contribute to the betterment of humanity? and shouldn't that work reward at the very least the basics of home, food, clean air, clean water, access to health care, and enjoyment in one's life of friends, family and personal downtime? And doesn't every human deserve at least these essential basics?
These are more philosophical based questions that are needed to be dealt with on a larger collective basis. They won't be solved in a day or maybe even a generation, but we could begin with some basic fairness.... Like Fair Trade, where all people who work in any country have the basic essentials of safe working conditions, limited amount of time to work, a living wage, and environmental protections implemented. Another basic fairness would be access to health care when one is sick. Food that is nutritious and gained in humane manners. There are things we can do to address certain areas that will help us to answer the bigger questions that 7 billion of us really need to think about if we expect to continue on as a species on this planet.