This is a problem of a culture that is lost in the woods. We are incredibly divided, you're probably not going to know or have much in common with your neighbors. The world seems small, and you're just holding on. We are functionally going down the same cultural road as Russia, with a "fuck it" sort of cynical attitude that leads to excess seeking of dissociation and alcoholism. I have many friends who do absolutely nothing but work, play games and drink.
There are many countries where people have to work with their hands to put food on the table, who are quite happier with their lives individually than people in the US are. There's plenty of ways to look at the problem and actually study the differences from culture to culture - I'd love to see a few of them. My hypothesis is one of the causes is a lack of dynamism caused by economic insecurity. There's n ot a whole lot thats new because there's little appetite for risk. We still have the same 8 restaurants in malls that we've had since the 90s because incumbents make it too difficult to succeed. This is super rambly I admit, but in the US its so fucking depressing.
There are many countries where people have to work with their hands to put food on the table, who are quite happier with their lives individually than people in the US are. There's plenty of ways to look at the problem and actually study the differences from culture to culture - I'd love to see a few of them. My hypothesis is one of the causes is a lack of dynamism caused by economic insecurity. There's n ot a whole lot thats new because there's little appetite for risk. We still have the same 8 restaurants in malls that we've had since the 90s because incumbents make it too difficult to succeed. This is super rambly I admit, but in the US its so fucking depressing.