Philosophy Now Forum

every single day, we have contact with other people...
a relationship one might say... I go into a store and buy
some shampoo, I then take it to the clerk who rings it up..
what exactly is that relationship? I hand that clerk some money
and I get my product in return.... what is the focal point of that
"relationship" ...the money exchange... now think of how much
of our current human relationships are based on this exchange of
money... I do some "work" at a company, and in return, I get some
payment, usually money... that is the extent of our relationship..
I work and I get paid for that work... my relationship with
work is economic, for money...

and my relationship with the state? Again, it is based upon money..
I pay, with taxes, and the state provides services... the reverse
of what happened at work... but still the relationship is based on
the transfer of wealth, money...

Now think about your "significant other" be it as in my case, a wife,
but it could be any relationship with another person that is your
most important relationship.. (non child version) is that relationship
an economic/money relationship? In terms of my relationship with my wife,
money plays a role to be sure, but it is not the most important aspect
of my relationship with my wife... Our relationship is predicated on
our personal dynamics, I love her, and I assume she loves me...
and in fact, even after 30 years of being together, I still like her..
which I believe is more important than love... anyway, our relationship
is based on how we feel about each other, it has little or nothing to do with
money or wealth.. that is not to say, that all relationships between people
are based on how one feels about another... that there are husband and wives
relationships that are solely based on the economics, the money..
for me anyway, I find that to be a pretty poor reason to be in
a relationship with another person... for a relationship with another
based on money/wealth, is not a relationship that is strong or worth
having... for relationships that are based on money, don't fulfill the
some of the basic criteria of Maslow pyramid.. the bottom level,
of seeking food, water, shelter, education, health care are met,
but to become human, we must achieve some of the higher values
within the Maslow pyramid... that of love, esteem, safety/security,
belonging... and a monetary relationship with someone, doesn't fulfill
the higher levels of that pyramid.. we are left empty because
the higher levels of being human are not being met.. the bodily
needs must be met for sure, but the higher level of the needs of
human beings in terms of psychological needs are not met, in the
cash base relationships of today... can work, a place that is based on
the money for work relationship be a place where we can meet
our psychological needs? for example, can we find love in the cash
basis of our relationship with work? we might find, might find,
esteem, or safety/security within work but having worked for
over 40 years, I can say with experience, that work/businesses work
hard to prevent employees from feeling esteem or safety/security..
I have been, in various jobs, threaten with being fired from practically
the very first day of work... and that, until the pandemic, was the operating
standard for companies... workers are told incessantly, they are expendable..
there is no other connection between workers and businesses if they are
told everyday how expendable they are...

At my current big box company, practically every day I was, either directly or
indirectly, told that I was expendable, and I could lose my job at any time...
and how does translate into meeting my psychological needs?

It doesn't....

part of being human, is to meet both our bodily and psychological
needs.. and if working fails to met our bodily and psychological,
perhaps we might do well, to walk away from a system, capitalism,
that fails to met our needs.... let us rethink our current relationships,
economically, politically, socially, philosophical, if they fail
to meet our needs, physically, emotionally, psychological...

for in a real sense, what is the point of existence, if our basic
biological and physical needs aren't being met?

Kropotkin

in terms of the failure within society/state to meet our needs,
either politically, socially or economically, I suspect
that when either individually or collectively, our needs
are not being met, that we become/are disconnected, discontentment
alienated... for example, when I am hungry, biological need, is not met,
I can become annoyed, angry, hostile, discontented, alienated...
and this is true if any number of needs, be it biological, emotional,
or psychological need, are not met.. and what true of us individually,
is true of us collectively.. within a society/state if needs are not being
met, we can collectively become discontented, angry, alienated...
if we think about the past, and it looks and feels like the state/the society
was stable, calm, it means that, that for whatever reason,
the state/society was able to met the needs of its people,
either bodily or emotional or psychological... the periods of alienation,
discontentment, unhappiness within a people or a society,
brings about a collective alienation, discontentment...

we see this today, where we can see both individual and collective
alienation and discontentment today... and this is brought about by
a failure in the society/state to meet some or all of our needs..
bodily and/or psychologically/emotionally...

We can look at modern state/society since say 1850, and conclude that
our modern alienation and discontentment, rise from the failure of
the modern state/society to meet our needs, both bodily and emotionally/
psychologically....and we shall continue to be unhappy, alienated,
discontented until our needs are met, bodily, emotionally, psychologically...

we can now see what drove the various revolutions of the last 500
years, the political.. the American, French, Russian revolution..
and the philosophical revolution, the economic revolution.. the rise
of capitalism, to the rise of the technological world
and the rise of the social world we live in... all attempts to
met needs of some sort, bodily, socially, politically, economically,
and philosophically...... we no longer believed in the gods,
systems, beliefs of the past because they no longer fulfilled our
needs... we "killed god" because we no longer need that to met
our needs...we respond to the changing world by changing how
we respond to that change.... if we no longer need god or religion,
to meet our needs, why hold those beliefs? If we no longer need
to believe in monarchs, why hold that belief? The modern world
no longer needs certain beliefs because our world has change
and our needs are no longer being met by the old world beliefs
and values... to believe in god in 1800 made sense because was
a need that was being met by the state/society... today it makes no
sense to believe in god or religion because our needs are no longer
being met by that belief in god or religion...the state/society
has changed enough to make that belief in god/religion no longer
necessary...

but some, some still have their needs met by god or religion, these
people are still stuck in the old ways... they haven't changed their
outlook to becoming "modern"

"What was good enough for my father and grandfather"
is no longer good enough for us because we live in a different
world then they did... our needs are not being met in this modern society/state
with the old style beliefs and values...

and thus we are angry and alienated and discontented.... look at our
society/state and try to tell me that people are happy and content with what
is going on in our state/society today?

No, very few are actually happy and that is because their needs are being
met, but for the vast majority of us, our needs are not being met and
the society/state will remain in discontentment and alienation will continue
until we change the society/state to meet our needs...

Kropotkin

perhaps in this attempt to meet our needs, both individually and
collectively, we can see much of the actions and beliefs
of most people...

you might ask, what prompted the creation of science, history,
economics, philosophy, biology? I may be able to answer that it
lies in our attempt to meet our needs... in seeking to meet our needs, we
have created science, history, philosophy, economics... so on....

Much of what is human, is the search for how to meet our needs, biological,
social, economic, political and philosophical...needs...

I want to be loved...so I might become an actor... that is one way that we act
to meet our needs.... I want to be fulfilled.. I attempt to meet that need by..
what action would be able to met my need for being fulfilled?

I want safety/security... so I support the police and armed forces..
that would be one way to meet my needs.. another way would be
to buy guns and weapons.. in this way, we can see how certain actions, beliefs
can be understood to be a means to meeting our needs.. bodily, emotionally,
psychologically...

Kropotkin