Throughout my adult professional life, I’ve encountered people who have a (to me, at least) very curious way of interacting with other people. They look at individuals as ‘resources’ and relationships as ‘transactions’. Picture a spider’s web of contacts where ‘Bob’ is replaced with ‘has tools I can borrow’ and ‘Melissa’ is replaced with ‘can get me into my favorite club without a cover charge’.
I’m trying my best to articulate this. It’s like these people only create relationships based upon what material gains it can offer them. They aren’t really interested in the PEOPLE so much as the ADVANTAGE a relationship with them affords. Does that make sense?
Now to me, this is very bizarre. I just don’t think this way, but I’m told that it’s quite common - almost ‘the norm’. Is this true? If so, I’m really bewildered by it. What do y’all think?
A well integrated personality in our so wonderful capitalist societies?
In this model, humanity is merely more than a tool and/or a resources to be transformed using said tool, like any other natural resources. As a tool, we may very well be on the verge of being severely demoted (thx to AI and robots). And as a resources, in a pure capitalist logic, we should not have any rights (certainly not to decide of anything) but the right of being used by the ones able to exploit and transform us into more wealth (for themselves).
It’s even more obvious when observing the active (and enthusiastic) demolishing of any form of spirituality/morality which were the only real limits one could us in order to restrain that relentless logic…
Following that logic we should not even be considered citizens of our respective countries anymore, not any more than a lump of coal or a cow grazing. Could this exactly be what is coming for us? Nah… Obviously, I’m just being silly here. Good question, though.
Psychopaths.