Now convince me, and I want to be convinced, of the reason to build this project without bringing up selfishness or selflessness. If I am a human living here, right now, why fucking bother?

I have no children to think of and that also counts as selfishness if that's the whole reason.

Edit: the reason for selfishness not being brought up is because there's zero chance I see the fruition of this project in my lifetime, which as far as I can tell is all we get, and selflessness is because of the same reason.

  • Wheaties [she/her]
    ·
    2 years ago

    We are, willing or unwilling, subjects of history. Born into a story that has already begun, shaped by the pages that come before and shaping the pages to be. Today, all our actions - everyone's - combine to make tomorrow. And you can't opt out. There is no action that registers as non-participation. You can live you life as you please; but however that may be, it is as much a part of history as anything else.

    For me, picturing the arc of living through history, through this day/month/year/decade/century, and seeing it not somehow contributing to something, some event in the historical narrative; that seems like a waste. Like, if I'm here in history, I may as well be doing something in it. Something more than spending today manufacturing a tomorrow that is identical-yet-slightly-worse. As you say, socialism is the way forward for society. So, spending my time in history working towards that seems preferable to not doing that.

    Is that a selfish explanation? I don't know, I don't really understand the question.