Money is a PSYOP. How They Keep You Working
Money isn't real bro
Americans are addicted to their own struggle.
I know plenty of people who are either house-poor or car-poor because they want to keep up with the Joneses.
For me, the best years of my life were when I sold everything, packed a bag for Oklahoma, and settled into a modest apartment with nothing but a bed and a stack of books. I never spent a dime on anything besides going out on dates ... and booze—total economic freedom.
That said, if you can survive without money, bravo. But most people can't or won't choose that life. It didn't work for me either. As soon as I moved back to the capitalist bacchanal that is New York City, the impulse to buy stuff was too strong to resist.
Before we get going it’s not that I’m anti-materialist.
But I do want to give you three redpills to remind you why money is a PSYOP.
1. Gen Z are the biggest luxury spenders
By 2026, Millennials and Gen Z will dominate the luxury market, making up 75% of total buyers. And we wonder why we can't afford a house...
Here in Lower Manhattan, one of our more popular dishes is avocado toast.
Think about that. If you order a two-ingredient item instead of just making it yourself, you are fucking terrible at life. If you are traveling, okay, you gotta do what you gotta do. Otherwise it's just a waste of money.
On a serious note, LA and NYC are the epicenters of these hypebeast fashionistas and sneakerheads cultures. But don't discount ultra-poor countries, poorer than even the US is.
A lot of this hype culture is driven by people who can least afford it — and that's something to think about.
2. Feminism is capitalism’s BFF
What kind of liberation is it to go from being a housewife to 9-5 wage slavery?
It reminds me of the famous Charles Bukowski line:
"How in the hell could a man enjoy being awakened at 6:30 a.m. by an alarm clock, leap out of bed, dress, force-feed, shit, piss, brush teeth and hair, and fight traffic to get to a place where essentially you made lots of money for somebody else and were asked to be grateful for the opportunity to do so?"
A husband has been traded for a boss and housework for an office where an average American woman now spends 40 hours a week. It's a cruel twist of fate for a movement that first criticized capitalism’s ugliest traits.
And it's not to say women shouldn't be afforded the opportunity to have a corporate career if they choose, but for many this "freedom" is just another dogmatic treadmill to make money, spend it, and die.
It's like living in New York City in a weird way.
Everyone seems wildly creative and unique but then you realize everyone shops at the same stores and looks the same. And to be fair, I don’t think it’s just feminism that’s been coopted —you should find it weird when any social cause is co-sponsored by big banks.
3. The real reason for money
Look up the Prussian education system. Modern Western schools are modeled after that. The point isn't to educate, but to mold you into a compliant citizen.
After losing to Napoleon, the Prussians overhauled their school system in the 1800s. They conveniently blamed "free thinking soldiers" for their loss. It all boils down to what former King of Prussia Frederick the Great once said: “If my soldiers were to begin to think, not one of them would remain in the army.”
People do not work to 'contribute to society' or any of that drivel that politicians say. People work to get money to live. That's the bottom line.
And for many, the money has turned to shit and work runs their lives.
People feel unfulfilled because they expected the system to give a semblance of meaning and purpose but it didn't. And that's because it was never meant to.
Final Thought
The answer is to choose career over job.
A job is a means to obtain money.
A career is for a better life that's lived on your terms to the greatest extent. Plenty of people fight for and win a career worth living.
The path to a good career is full of mistakes. Don't be the gold miner who drinks away each day's haul. Don't be the person who spends money on luxury and puts themselves into debt. If you're taking a wage, leave when you stop learning new skills - the money is there to make you sell your career to someone else.
Best of luck out there. Keep your wits about you, stay the course.
Thanks for reading Yard Couch and have a great day or night wherever you are!
This cracked me up ... haha "It's like living in New York City in a weird way".
BRILLIANT. Truth hurts.