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The Railroads of Life

By Marco Gutierrez —

Some weeks ago, I came across a video that struck me deeply. I deem the topics covered in the video important enough that I should devote at least one article to it. The video is titled: China’s Youth Broken, Crying! Can’t Find Jobs, Top University Diplomas Turn Into Toilet Paper.

I can't help but feel for these poor people, especially given the part of my life I'm going through right now. But instead of just having our emotions shaken, let's try to bring some light into the situation. What exactly is the real problem here? Is there someone to blame? If so, how does that help everyone reach a solution?

Why Should You Care?

I know some of my readers weren't even thinking about it. But it is a fair question, even if it's harsh. Remember that, at least in a capitalist society, no one is really irreplaceable. Being jobless and without funds is no fun at all. I'd even say it takes a toll on you like a strange type of torture, a mental and emotional one. What if you were the next to experience it?

It's nice and comforting when we plan for things to go right in our lives, like when we'll be able to get a promotion or afford that trip we always wanted. Yet planning for the worst may prove more useful. If you were the next to be laid off, wouldn't you want your society to have collectively taken care of the problem in advance, even if just by laying out a strategy for you? This is my attempt and contribution to remove most of the suffering from this awful situation.

What is the Problem?

What exactly is the problem? Of course, if there is really one and only culprit, it must be attributed on an individual basis. But largely speaking, I attribute this problem to humanity's disproportionate advancements in wealth and technology. In other words, this isn't the fault of one particular government. It's not the fault of capitalism per se. And it's certainly not the fault of hard-working young individuals who are just looking to make a living. This overall situation is the natural consequence of the collective decisions the world has taken up to this point. The good part? In my eyes, it's not so much a problem as it's an opportunity.

The problem is that societal growth has yet to catch up to the world's current technology and wealth. The problem is not that there aren't enough resources for most people (hopefully everyone) to enjoy a good life. It's that we don't know how to organize ourselves (and our minds) so that we actually enjoy all this, now that we finally have it. I covered this in my previous article: Jobs, Meaning, Happiness & Direction (3/6): Making a Difference. There is no reason to think that the 15-hour work week shouldn't be possible today. And yet, 40-hour work weeks are still the norm. Why? Anthropologist David Graeber argues that a lot of the work in the modern world has been created to find meaning because most people identify their self-dignity with what they do, even if a lot of people indeed hate their jobs.

I don't believe it's crazy to think these young individuals can't find jobs because they are simply not needed anymore. Not on the currently existing economic activities, at least. And that should be a good thing! Had we come at it from a different angle, we would be celebrating this! But instead, people are suffering immensely for it. For me, this is proof that there's something we don't know and/or that we are doing something wrong. I like most how Dr. Jordan Peterson has phrased it at some point. Paraphrasing him, "If you are suffering and you are miserable more than is absolutely necessary, that is a sign there is something else for you to discover, something else that could let your life be better".

It's just that the world didn't see this situation coming so fast. The questions that were left unanswered were: "Are you completely sure that what I'm preparing for will have a realistic destination by the time I'm done?" and "Have you ever thought about how much wealth is enough wealth?". Instead of answering these in time and with due care, the world was seduced by technological progress and a general increase in wealth.

The problem is the rules of the game of life we have collectively and individually set up ourselves and that we are operating under. And I want to be very careful here. I'm not saying we should ditch capitalism, take out our current leaders with a revolution, and go try something else immediately. We should all take any easy approach with utmost care, for if something is easy, there's usually a catch. I want to emphasize this, for I see the following being mentioned in the video for today's topic:

I feel like I really can't find a job. Today, I want to share my thoughts with everyone. Ever since I've been unemployed, I've spent over half a month sending out resumés every day on sites like boss and 51 job... I even spent over 60 yen to get a membership refreshing my resume every day. But it's all been in vain.

What will I do when I go home for the holidays? But I'm even more worried about not finding a job after. What if the situation doesn't improve and I'm still jobless? I can't help feeling resentful. Did all those years of hard study lead to unemployment?

I fear the day that the world will accumulate too much of this resentment and decide to rerun the societal experiments of the 20th century once again. Quite ahead of this article's time, philosopher Slavoj Žižek explains this best, I think:

I like to describe this overall situation (that of the suffering of young individuals when failing to find jobs) as the failure of the railroads of life. You know, this "formula" for life is universally known and accepted: You are born. As you grow up, you study until you graduate from college. You get a job. You get married, have children, and have a family. You keep your job until you retire. Finally, you are ready to leave this world. I don't think this plan is particularly bad. I just think it's not cutting it anymore.

The (Proposed) Solution

So what should be done about it? This is an opportunity. An opportunity to cease action, and to think instead. A chance to set sail in the right direction. First, let's go over the change in the mind/soul and then the change in the physical world/body.

Solution for the Soul

What made you get up this morning? Was it really the things you could buy with your upcoming paycheck? Was it the excitement of what you would be doing today? I think what made most of the individuals in the video wake up every day is the same thing that had them push through college and what is causing them to suffer: A burning desire to be enough, the wish to be accepted by those around you. I don't believe this desire is bad or wrong. I think it's good and natural. But problems come when we never talk about it and we let it drive our lives.

Note: Of course, I'm not saying absolutely all the suffering comes from the desire to be enough, to be accepted. Some people are really struggling with their financial situation and all they need is some sustenance. But some are still getting by, all their necessities are getting met, yet they suffer nonetheless.

I'm most certain that if the right expectation had been set, the suffering wouldn't be manifesting. Mainly because everyone around the new graduate wouldn't ever think something was wrong with them. Unfortunately, it's easiest to just assume that they aren't trying hard enough because they haven't achieved it yet and some people have got it.

Whenever something horrible like this happens, I always ask myself: "Why did this happen? What did I/the people suffering do to deserve this?". I refuse to believe problems manifest out of thin air. Maybe getting to the bottom of it is impossible, but that's different than thinking there's no reason for any particular thing. By all means, I don't think these graduates deserve what they're getting. But I've come to realize that approaching any situation as if you caused it is the most useful way to go about it because only then can you do something about it. Being forced to guess, I'd say maybe this is life's odd way of punishing us after we have postponed an important conversation with our friends and family.

If you are struggling with finding a job, recognize there's a really good chance that it's not your fault, that you are enough. You just came into this problem that you didn't cause, but you shouldn't be resentful and/or take it out on anyone. This should help you heal and move on. If Impostor Syndrome is what is getting at you, I highly recommend that you watch the following video from Dr. Orion Taraban:

Quoting from the video, remember that...

Society is a conglomeration of imperfect people imperfectly helping each other.

Remembering this should not only help people approach others with greater patience and compassion but allow people to treat themselves with greater patience and compassion.

And that...

Authentic confidence is the consistent felt experience of success

It's no wonder that new graduates have a lack of confidence increasing their impostor syndrome. You are not a failure or a disappointment. You are human! And that's a difficult thing to be. Always remember that and don't let others convince you otherwise.

Solution for the Body

I'd have to get to know you deeply before I could make a really good recommendation about what exactly to do next (if you are unemployed and struggling). Reading my first set of articles Jobs, Meaning, Happiness & Direction (1/6) may prove useful. But as general advice and as per the following news video...

I'd recommend that you give manual labor a try. It'd certainly be easier to get an opportunity at a local woodwork shop than at a big tech company. Who knows? You may fall in love with the craft and find a new part of yourself. Maybe then you'd even be grateful that you were laid off or that you couldn't find a traditional office job. I'm certainly excited to give masonry a try :D

The good thing about these jobs is they seem more secure than computer work, as they'd be much more difficult to replace with automation. And never underestimate the human potential for creating new, ingenious, and ad-hoc solutions to problems. Maybe the world doesn't need you in the railroads of life. But we all need each other every once in a while. Give yourself some time to think: "How could I help so my time here would be worthwhile for everybody, including myself?".

Thank you for reading today's post! As always, If you find my articles valuable and you'd like to support me, you can do so by...

Thank you and have a great week ahead!