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Comment by perfunctory | Hacker News Reader

I like to draw the connection between the climate change, natural world destruction and the epidemic of loneliness [0]. They all have the same root cause I believe. We are working our ass off chasing illusory happiness of material goods, while not spending enough time with our friends and family.

Take a break. Take a day off. Or two. Go see your friend you haven't seen in a long while. Go for a walk in a park. Good for climate, endangered species and your mental health.

[0] https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=20116699

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I can take a few days off for no reason. Most people cannot. 40% of American households cannot afford a $400 expense. That means they're at the whim of their employer as to whether they ever get a break and if they do they're going to take the overtime instead. Most people aren't simply chasing the money either, they're just trying to live.

Leisure is a commodity that is out of the reach of many people now. It is no longer a part of life. This will not change through individual choice, it requires a coordinated reorganization of our society.

Source: https://www.federalreserve.gov/newsevents/pressreleases/othe...

The "good news" is that most people (those 40% of American households) are not the biggest emitters. One of the biggest emitters are us, the HN crowd, people who can afford to "take a few days off for no reason". Let's start with us.

I think it's moreso that we are forced into working our asses off in a system of perpetual growth and concentration of wealth. I think many of us would love to take days off and take breaks but most people cannot afford to.

I also believe many people would be happy to consume less or at least consume in a more sustainable fashion but the option to do so is often not available to us. The system favours business that produces disposable things that don't last and promotes a fashion of always having something new and different.

So the change really needs to happen on a systemic rather than an individual level. We need to change the incentive structures under which we are all living and operating. Unfortunately, those with the most power right now have the most to gain by keeping things the way they are, so they would have to be deposed in some way first.

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