# The root cause of anxiety is Capitalism



## Channe (Sep 30, 2013)

This is NOT a pro-socialism or even anti-capitalism thread. It's just my opinion that Capitalism, though beneficial in many ways, leaves men and women empty and and hollow. Anxiety results from unhappiness which is a result of not being in a society which lets the mind be in a calm state.

Back in 1994 my mother asked me what I wanted to do with my life. I was honest and said, "nothing." I was only 14, just about to start high school and I knew what laid ahead of me - bland, soulless, capitalism.

I'm 34, with a wife and two kids, house, a steady job - you'd think I'd be happy, but I'm not. While I do suffer from anxiety, I have come to realize the main problem is Capitalism. I get up and just do this job which like most has its good days and its bad, but ultimately it's done for two main reasons - 1) money to keep up with my current life, 2) company profit. 

I used to be happy - I remember having a clientele base that was giving me about $3,500/month commission. I was just keeping things on a level keel at that point - didn't want knew clients, didn't need em' to be happy. But my director came up to me one day and asked why I wasn't persuing more business. I told him I wanted to keep my quality high with the clients I had and bringing in more would lower my quality performance and, frankly, I didn't need it. 

That answer did not make him happy - "You don't want to be richer" he asked ? I didn't. Never have, never will. To me, jobs are what we do the most in life - more than sleep. But the vast majority of jobs here in the US and the Western world are capitalist based. 

The problem is, I can't really offer a better alternative - but at what cost is all this profit and technological growth ? I find myself more bored than ever before - and my anxiety increases with it.


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## Ntln (Apr 27, 2012)

I agree with you, but I don't think there's no better alternative right now. The only thing a person possibly could do is pursue a career that is not routine and makes enough money to grant them freedom from worrying about it, but you'd have to be very lucky. I'd imagine communist or even simply socialist societies would be even more routine and even more based upon hard work and labour. My parents grew up in the Soviet Union and it's not a world you'd like to live in.....


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## hitchrk (Apr 3, 2012)

Hmmm, not quite sure I get your drift here. As far as all these "isms" in life it's just a word. Look, point is, say you and your family lived alone on an island, you would have to go out and do what you have to do, hunt, farm, build shelter, irrigate, tend your wounds, etc, etc. 

When you say Capitalism you're basically just talking about living on that island except now you have more people to put some of those burdens on, you do what you are doing in your career, and some guy over here grows the food, this person learns medicine, this one carpentry, and so on. 

Obviously there will be those on that island who realize that if they do a little more hunting, they'll have more to trade, so they will strive to hunt more, you might be happy just doing enough to gain the basics, it's all your choice at the end of the day.


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## asiyaajami (Oct 2, 2013)

I understand where you're coming from, but capitalism equates _fair trade_. It doesn't have to equate American corporate life, which royally sucks. Fair trade is a win-win situation when external factors aren't trying to influence or prevent your economic decisions.


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