We are all part of a massive game.
Although it isn’t real, somehow, it controls our lives. We are born into it, and then we can’t stop playing — for our survival depends on it. Not only is the game not fun, but it is also unsustainable — soon, we have to stop playing, and we must do so before it’s too late.
It’s time we played something else.
Society is built on games. We act and cooperate based on fictions we create.
Much of what we do is based on fictions.
Money, corporations, and countries don’t actually exist. They only exist as figments of our imagination.
Physically, we are a bunch of hairless primates, barely different from one another. If we put the president in front of a chimpanzee, the chimp would only see a well-dressed ape. But, in the game, we are employees, managers, CEOs, kings, and billionaires — and to symbolize our in-game status, we wear suits, watches, and crowns. Similarly, a “dollar” is only a dollar because some primates in Washington say it is, and we listen to them because we’ve decided they are a “government.” If we handed a dollar to a chimp, it would only see a useless piece of paper.
Like kids on the playground, we come up with rules, roles, and objects and then act according to what we’ve invented. The only real things are the players and the world they interact with. And it is through our actions that the game influences our lives.
Even though the game is fictional, its consequences are real — for us and for the world.
Most people play because they have to — not because they want to. This is why dissatisfied players sometimes turn violent.
We continually bicker about which game to play.
We disagree on the rules, argue over who should be who, and complain about what’s fair and unfair — just like the kids do on the playground. And if we don’t reach an agreement, we sometimes turn violent.
Adults take the game very seriously because, for us, the stakes are high. An unhappy child simply stops playing, but if an adult does the same, their very survival is at risk. The game may cause them to starve, lose their shelter, be imprisoned, or even be killed. Whether we like the game or not, our best option is to play, so the best we can hope is that the game goes well. Many, myself included, fantasize about quitting the game — but if we do, we may not be able to return. So, instead, we place our hopes on getting promoted, to earn more in-game currency, or to improve the rules.
Adults play a game where the players are held hostage. They can’t opt out, and changing the game is difficult. Consequently, many players turn to violence as a last option if the game goes poorly.
For adults, the game is real — so real they are willing to kill for it.
We can’t keep playing the current game. It is unsustainable, causes poverty, and makes us work more than necessary.
The current game is going to kill us.
It’s not only causing needless suffering, making us work more than necessary, and making us do bullshit to survive. It also can’t be sustained: it’s destroying our ecosystems, which means it has to stop at some point.
This leaves us two alternatives: either we change the game ourselves, or Nature is going to force us — and Nature will not be merciful. The good news is we have the technology and skills — all we have to do is change the game. The problem is knowing and agreeing on what to play. Historically, we have either done so by chance, or we have not considered how the game will be played by real people. To succeed, we must not only speculate but also experiment — we must test new games with real people in real situations.
Whatever we do, and however we do it, the game must be changed. Unfortunately, the players who benefit from it don’t want it to change.
They are going to block our attempts at every step.
They’ll try and convince us there are no alternatives. When they do, we must remember that it is only a game — one of many we could play.
And this game is neither fun nor sustainable.
So, let’s play something else.
