Apathy is capitalism’s greatest feature, and it’s tearing society apart

On living in the status quo of dystopia, and, possibly, imagining something beyond.

Recently, I had an interesting, somewhat heated, discussion with my partner. The topic of conversation was our differing perspectives regarding the capitalist dystopia we inhabit, the looming collapse of modern society, climate change, war, poverty, hunger, and so on. You know, some light banter.

Obviously, I have very strong opinions about all these issues and have studied their causes and effects to obsession and beyond. It’s why, over time, I became an anarchist (I got the tattoos to prove it), and why I will do whatever I can to help topple the capitalist oligarchy — if and when it comes down to it.

I know my partner holds similar views (albeit not nearly as radical), but somehow she seems far more reserved and, well, one could call it rational, about these issues. She is unquestionably anti-capitalist; after all, over time, every introspective, not fully propagandized person (which excludes many Americans, unfortunately) eventually arrives at similar conclusions.

Just as an aside:

In my humble opinion, the faults in the greedy system are so obvious, so significant, that it takes quite the mental effort and some serious, almost worrying, levels of delusion to not see that we aren’t supposed to live like this. If you haven’t reached these conclusions yet (perhaps you’re still young and a bit naive or overly optimistic), I recommend checking out my full archive of essays to help you along your journey of discovery.

Anyway, back to the conversation I had with my partner.

When confronted, she expressed that she does, in fact, realize how horribly fucked-up everything is, and that it does make her feel sad and angry from time to time. Yet, mostly, and this is the important part, it makes her feel helpless.

There is nothing we can do about it, she would say. Nothing we can change. So we might as well make the best of it and just… live our lives — in conformity to the systems and rules they put in place.

The system is fucked up — yes, obviously — but what can one person do about it? Trying to make the best of a horrible status quo appears, indeed, to be the rational way to exist. I’ve written about this before:

On Apathy, Impotence, and the Realization That There Is No One to Fucking Blame

Yet it gnaws, and it grinds, and it burrows, and many just cannot do it, for it isn’t human nature.

Let’s take a breath.

I’ve previously addressed capitalist realism and how it defines and limits the scope of our collective imagination. A short refresher might be in order:

Capitalist realism, in very short, is a somewhat controversial philosophical take by Mark Fisher that describes how, in many ways, capitalism marks the end of history and social development. Capital has taken over all aspects of life, sept into the holes and crevices, and marked them with its doctrines of profit, extraction, accumulation, and greed. It also severely restricts our ways of thinking.

In many ways, I underestimated its terrifying grip on us.

We are being held hostage.

Why fight against the tide when you can just join it and live your best life? It’s the far more convenient, socially acceptable, respectable, and comfortable option. Also, it’s likely to make you happier.

Being an activist or radical contrarian, on the other hand, is a sure way to make life more difficult and, truthfully, mentally and physically exhausting. The constant struggle against the tide will leave you exhausted, worn out, and depressed, for the tide never weakens — on the contrary, it has turned into a flood. A tsunami, even.

Some anecdotal observations:

And then you have those people — mostly of the Boomer generation (not all, of course, but many) — who react with anger and fury at every inconvenience presented to them in life. Every threat to their unsustainable lifestyles, rife with entitlement and lack of empathy (I apologize to those that are not like this, I know you exist), must be ridiculed and suppressed. The only attitude acceptable remains utter apathy toward the circumstances and feelings of others.

Hey, maybe we should build walkable cities that are actually worth living in — WHAT ABOUT MY CAR?!?

99% of all scientists agree that global warming is mostly human-caused — LIES! I HAVE READ AN ARTICLE ON FACEBOOK THAT…

Health insurance shouldn’t be a matter of wealth — SOCIALIST! COMMUNIST!

Corporations and billionaires should pay more taxes — YOU LOT WILL DESTROY THIS COUNTRY!

Here is some compelling evidence that… — [turns on the TV at maximum volume]

Some local anecdotal observations:

In Germany, and here in Austria (Austrians often just imitate what Germans do and then put their own spin on it, it’s kind of our thing), climate activists have become a tiny, teeny bit more radical in recent months. Some of them have undergone the long-overdue process from status-quo liberals (or rainbow capitalists) to leftists, and have caused some minor inconveniences to the general public, such as small-scale demonstrations, or gluing their hands to streets and blocking traffic for like 20 minutes.

How did the liberal and conservative (same thing, really) majority in the country react to this, you ask?

Well, they have proposed amending the constitution to allow for harsher penalties, including prison sentences, for those participating in such forms of protest. They have, on every occasion, denounced the activists and their right to protest what they (correctly) believe to be the single greatest threat to human society and global ecosystems in modern history.

How dare they cause inconvenience to our apathetic lifestyles?

How dare they bring attention to issues that go beyond my tiny bubble of individualistic hedonism?

How dare they sacrifice their own time, energy, and, sometimes, lives and make me feel useless?

HOW DARE THEY?!?

Very similar things are happening in other parts of the world, such as Britain, where the right to strike is coming under fire. Everywhere you look, (neo-)liberal, conservative forces are consolidating power.

You can probably sense some of the anger and passion that drive me to write these essays. It might feel a bit too much for you, or even put you off from reading my other works and books. You may feel that I am not rationally addressing these complex issues and that I likely write from a narrow point of view. I‘d like to address some of these concerns.

Yes, I do occasionally write in rather informal angry prose. It’s mostly because (1) to a certain degree, it’s just my style, and (2) HOW CAN YOU NOT CARE ABOUT THESE THINGS? PEOPLE ARE DYING, AND WE ARE RUNNING HEAD-ON INTO A GLOBAL DISASTER, WHILE THE RICH AND POWERFUL CONTINUE TO EXTRACT AND COMMODIFY ALL THEY CAN.

However,

I have seen the other side, and, to my shame, been a proponent of it for an embarrassingly long time. It may surprise you that I have a master’s degree in business economics and have lived the corporate lifestyle for quite a while before I became, well, like this.

I, too, used to fantasize about becoming wealthy and living in luxury; about being some sort of upper-level manager who drives flashy cars and lives in mansions with swimming pools. However, I eventually realized that those kinds of people, contrary to popular belief, are the most unhappy and lonely of us all. Happiness is to be found in purpose and community; there exists none of that in those spheres.

Some of my naive ambition stemmed from the fact that my parents fled the civil war in Yugoslavia, and I spent the majority of my childhood in refugee-appropriate poverty, my parents toiling away year in, year out to provide. I wanted to rise. To become one of those poster boys of social mobility. Talk about the power of capitalist propaganda, eh?

I did believe in the neoliberal ideology of how technology will save us, of how capitalism can be adapted and molded, bent to our will. The myth of anything actually trickling down.

But, as I mentioned, a self-reflected, curious personality (I’ve always been curious, but only rather recently started engaging in the art of introspection) will eventually arrive at some troubling conclusions. And by that point, you’re either too far gone in the system and actively choose to live with the cognitive dissonance, or you do as I did: completely turn your life around, study again (university is free here in Austria), become a teacher, realize that the school system is just another form of indoctrination and authoritarian conditioning, realize that almost every white-collar job is completely useless, and, eventually, try to become a writer while struggling to make ends meet.

And here I am.

Join me?

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I’m author, writer, and activist Antonio Melonio, the creator of Beneath the Pavement. If you enjoyed this piece, please consider becoming a paid subscriber here on Substack or over on Patreon. It’s the best way to support Beneath the Pavement and help me put out more and higher-quality content.

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