Great post... I would add this: there aren't enough Americans suffering enough yet. Even those struggling from paycheque to paycheque still have jobs and are still *getting paid.* The homeless are still a very small minority and the working class (even the poorest) still don't identify with the homeless as much as they do with the billionaires. It's all about those numbers.
In other words, there's still too much hope... or actually, hopium, left in America. Give it a few more years and we'll see.
Interesting read! I know the US represents the height of overconsumption and consumerism, but I’m curious in what ways Sao Paolo and Brazil differ culturally such that the working class doesn’t fall prey to the same distractions that we do?
this actualy reminds me of the Nordic countries. People call them democratic socialist or social-democratic, and my impression is they’re just less obsessed with constant buying than the U.S. Maybe I’m generalizing, but it feels like there’s less status-chasing through stuff, and less pressure to buy an identity.
In America, everything gets turned into a product. Healthcare, education, housing, even basic social life. That’s what extreme capitalism does. It doesn’t stop at the workplace. It follows people home and turns daily life into one long transaction. All this can be a form of social control. This keeps people busy, broke, and distracted. maybe this is one of the reasons. I need put more thoughts on this.
Easy to answer, in Sao Paulo, there is no middle class as in the USA, the social unevenness is worst and more visible!
You have mansions and manors (Morumbi) in one neighbourhood, where the people go to work by helicopter or Mercedes-class (bulletproof) and in the next suburb, you have a favela ( shanty towns) with no utility services, such as sewage, electricity or drinkable water (Brasilandia)
That is the sad reality of my country for the last 200 years at least, and the mass culture, led by media and news conglomerates, makes sure the people will be entertained and distracted enough to tolerate itt
Great post... I would add this: there aren't enough Americans suffering enough yet. Even those struggling from paycheque to paycheque still have jobs and are still *getting paid.* The homeless are still a very small minority and the working class (even the poorest) still don't identify with the homeless as much as they do with the billionaires. It's all about those numbers.
In other words, there's still too much hope... or actually, hopium, left in America. Give it a few more years and we'll see.
Interesting read! I know the US represents the height of overconsumption and consumerism, but I’m curious in what ways Sao Paolo and Brazil differ culturally such that the working class doesn’t fall prey to the same distractions that we do?
this actualy reminds me of the Nordic countries. People call them democratic socialist or social-democratic, and my impression is they’re just less obsessed with constant buying than the U.S. Maybe I’m generalizing, but it feels like there’s less status-chasing through stuff, and less pressure to buy an identity.
In America, everything gets turned into a product. Healthcare, education, housing, even basic social life. That’s what extreme capitalism does. It doesn’t stop at the workplace. It follows people home and turns daily life into one long transaction. All this can be a form of social control. This keeps people busy, broke, and distracted. maybe this is one of the reasons. I need put more thoughts on this.
Easy to answer, in Sao Paulo, there is no middle class as in the USA, the social unevenness is worst and more visible!
You have mansions and manors (Morumbi) in one neighbourhood, where the people go to work by helicopter or Mercedes-class (bulletproof) and in the next suburb, you have a favela ( shanty towns) with no utility services, such as sewage, electricity or drinkable water (Brasilandia)
That is the sad reality of my country for the last 200 years at least, and the mass culture, led by media and news conglomerates, makes sure the people will be entertained and distracted enough to tolerate itt
Our elites have learned some history lessons well. "Panem et circenses."