Our current system is broken. That’s why we need to change it. But this is a long process, and meanwhile we need to survive in this system. And for that, we need a job.
Everybody hates Mondays
This article is about, how we can work in the current system without counteracting system change. How to survive work.
Do you like Mondays? If your answer is yes, what is wrong with you? It is a social agreement that nobody does. And it is the fundament of my following argument. Dare you!
Nobody likes Mondays. There are many pop-cultural reminiscences to that meme.
But why do we? Because we have to work again, and nobody likes to work.
Except those, who like Mondays and want to destroy my argument. Again, dare you.
And why does nobody, and I mean nobody, like to work. Because we have to.
We are not doing it because of intrinsic motivation. We work because we need the money to serve our basic needs.
How to survive work
Furthermore, we need to do it, to survive in this system.
If we want food, clothes and somewhere to live, we need money.
There are people who might say, this is a good deal and they have a happy life.
But for us, who see the bigger picture, it is a problem.
We want to change the system, we see that it is broken, but we are forced to live in it.
To survive, we need to work, and we have to participate in it.
This generates an inner conflict.
You may have to support something you disagree with. You may need to do a job you don’t like. You need to play a game, that you think is unfair.
Work and change the system?
So what can you do to survive and at the same time change the current system?
How can we make money without undermining our goal of changing the system?
This question is a hot topic among people who are aware of the climate crisis. They would rather not harm the planet with their job.
Many struggle when their job doesn’t fulfill them or their employer isn’t concerned about the planet as much as they do.
I was one of them.
Being pragmatic
But now I have a more pragmatic approach. As long as your job is not actively counterproductive to our goal of changing the system. You can do any job, to survive in the current system.
Meaning that, you should not work for the fossil fuel industry or actively promoting industrial farming.
Furthermore, if you can, you should search for a job that helps us to change the system.
But if you do not have the skills or your only possible work is at an oil refinery, do it. However, at the same time, try to find something different.
I resigned from my job to do this here. Because I think it is important work, and I know it is important for me.
But I do struggle financially, and it is possible I have to do some other work, just to survive.
That is the hard reality of our current system.
And it is one of the things it makes it so successful. It keeps the people busy so they don’t have time to think about changing the system. It also gives us just enough, so that many are satisfied enough to not want a change.
Cheat in the game
So, do we need to play this unfair game?
To an extent, yes.
But there are some things, we can do.
Try to find jobs, that are not completely entitled to the capitalistic system and where you can have an impact. For example, health, care, education, public transportation, NGOs, science, or arts.
And even if you work in an industry that is at the core of the current system, like finance, cars, IT or agriculture, you have possibilities. You can only trade sustainable shares, develop electric buses, build open-source communication platforms or provide sustainable cheap food.
If you can’t do any of these jobs, try to work as few hours as possible, so you have time to educate yourself and to help to change the system in your spare time.
If you have a healthy and a sustainable lifestyle, you not only do something good for you and the planet, you also save money.
You buy less, you pay less for living and food, and you don’t have a car.
This helps you work less and change the system.
Conclusion
As humans, we can adapt to hostile environments when needed. That’s what we have to do in this current system, to an extent.
To survive, we need to play the game, but we can cheat a little bit.
We have to know that we do not need money, we need our basic needs met, which are food, safety, housing, clothes, etc. In our current system, we need money to have all this. But it is actually not that much.
Generally, we want vanity and luxurious things because the consumerist system makes us want them.
Realizing that makes it easier to find a job, that is in line with our moral standards.
The good system will provide us with the basic needs, without the necessity to work.
Until then, it is a privilege to do work that is not counterproductive to our cause. Many people do not have a choice. They need to do any job to survive.
That’s why I think that those we have the privilege to do change the system are mandatory to not choose jobs, that do not manifest the current system.
My name is Ian DeBay.
I am the founder of iandebay.com. I am a content creator, blogger, podcast, YouTuber. This is my blog where I talk about system change, sustainability and other fun stuff.
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