3 Concepts In Modernity That Cause Unfairness
Updated: Mar 28
The modern world is complex and difficult for many people because it is based on three main values that are unfair: capitalism, alienation, and fame. These values promote inequality, corruption, injustice, and apathy towards the unprivileged and the unfortunate. Those who are privileged are more merciful and fortunate, while those who are not are left to suffer.
Capitalism is the most common type of economy in the western world. To quote Britannica:
Capitalism is the dominant economic system in Western countries. In comparison, fewer countries use socialist economic systems. As of 2020, only Laos, China, Cuba, and Vietnam claimed to follow the principles of socialism as dictated by Marxist and Leninist theories. More often, however, it is difficult to label countries as solely capitalist or socialist. Many have mixed economies that operate under both capitalist and socialist principles.
It promotes a free market and large wealth gaps between the rich and the poor. Those who are rich have the fortune to survive and prosper with minimal (financial) worries. On the other hand, those who are poor are usually left unsupported or minimally supported by the government, unless they're on some kind of welfare program. This is because capitalism does not promote equality and social justice, but rather personal wealth, private grip on national economy, and economic progression on the expanse of the lower socio-economic classes of society.
Capitalism is by definition unequal because it promotes the societal application of a class hierarchy based on capital. And when I speak of "capital" it's important to understand that not all capital, or asset, is financial.
Non financial capital include, and not excluded to:
Vehicles
University degrees
This very blog.
Being part of a network or managing it (Social capital).
When you normalize an entire planet to value people by their capital, AKA, on what they have, and not on the fact that they are humans deserving and capable of love, you further contribute to inequality. That's because in capitalist mindset, the human element does not matter has much of what that element has to offer. Humans are reduced to "human resources", and the quality of this "resource pool" is presented by their functionality; By the worth of them being an asset.
In such a world you only matter as far as you go as an asset, and not by the fact that you're a human being. Given that different people possess different talents at different qualities, inequality is sure to be created and maintained in capitalism.
Alienation
The idea of alienation has been around since the beginning of the industrial revolution. With the modernization of technology, science, entertainment, and industry, feelings of loneliness and lack of empathy have begun to emerge on a constant basis. Entire communities were disbanded in the name of modernity and personal success, slowly evolving a general feeling of apathy towards each other in a planet that becomes more and more populated and metropolitan in nature.
Living in the city can feel far lonelier than living in smaller, if not more intimate, communities.
And I quote the World Bank website:
Today, some 56% of the world’s population – 4.4 billion inhabitants – live in cities. This trend is expected to continue, with the urban population more than doubling its current size by 2050, at which point nearly 7 of 10 people will live in cities.
This apathy, which sometimes can be very cruel, is but a normalized, ever-increasing phenomenon in our hyper-connected, parasocial world. It's phenomenon that shall only thrive as we become more addicted to technology, and more disconnected from each other on an emotional level. Simping, a contemporary problem, stems from people's problem to form genuine relationships with others emotionally. And their loneliness is exploited for revenue.
Today, it is unlikely that your neighbors would care about you, or the common pedestrian to help you in time of need. This is exemplified by drivers not stopping for pedestrians, capable of running them over and fleeting the scene.
This is the age of the ego. Altruism becomes less and less less common, not because it is valuable as a rarity. It's but because it becomes less and less frequent in application, as people prefer to be validated over giving additional value as content creators (as nowadays anyone can be one). Philosocom's an altruist's venture, but I digress.
Loneliness therefore becomes a common problem and many people are questioning if their lives have any meaning, thus also leading to the common phenomenon of depression. It is only natural in the historical evolution humanity has set for its future and ideals.
Alienation is an expression of unfairness because some people are more liked and even loved than others. Incel communities are built up across the world as they are alienated by the world. Being moral matters less to many people than, well, having capital. And it's not that being who you are that will gain you the adoration of people. Many people are instead attracted to power, status, and dominant personalities.
You won't necessarily be respected for being a human. You will be respected under the fulfillment of expectations of others. Offer no relevance and you'll be casted aside by many, only to either contemplate death...
Fame
Even though apathy is a common theme in our urbanized times, the human being still remains tribal by nature. By calling the human "tribal" I mean that many have, or search for, a definitive social frame and belonging. Fame thus emerges when people want to feel they belong to the aura of the famous person or group, which also replaces common sympathy and empathy for one another, in favor of people regarded on the historic scale.
The more famous a person is, the more they become favorable. The more favorable they are, the more people gather around them and actually care for them even at the superficial aspect. It's all a product of the horrible herd mentality potential within many humans.
I once wrote a comment to a voice actor's video of Dr. Eggman, a character whose philosophy I covered. Mike Pollock replied to me as well. But as a philosopher I am well aware that the fame of voicing a classic character is not as all as important than other issues in this existence. We must not fall so easily to the idea that certain objective value exists just because we feel it exists. In the real world Mr. Pollock is a voice actor doing his job to earn a living like any other working man or woman.
Stefan Karl Stefánsson, a deceased famous actor, suffered from cancer and received plenty of donations in order to support him. On the other hand, there are plenty of more people who suffer from unfortunate things, such as cancer, starvation, and extreme poverty, and they are barely being assisted or supported by the world simply because they are not famous enough.
This isn't an expression of whataboutism because this article discusses unfairness, with fame giving people access to more help from others, than people in lesser known countries. We won't either way bother much with those living in more-obscure places, unfortunately. They don't necessarily matter to us as much as people who appeared in our favorite fictional media.
This is why the famous may be more fortunate and loved than the infamous or the less known people. They have this “aura” around them that, allegedly, "justifies" them as being more worthy than other people.
Final words
This is our world, where the fortunate minority prospers over the less fortunate or the unfortunate majority. If there is something to blame, then it ought to be human nature, which is the root of unfairness, corruption, power games, and apathy.
However, human nature is not all that black. It also possesses some positive traits, such as kindness, altruism, and consideration. Even with the injustice of today, let us not give in to negative bias.
But as long as we ignore what's normalize to ignore, we may be enabling the same concepts we despise with our submission. To quote Mr. John Duran:
