We Cannot Amuse Ourselves to Death
Our respect for the truth is at odds with the entertainment economy
“Americans no longer talk to each other, they entertain each other. They do not exchange ideas; they exchange images. They do not argue with propositions; they argue with good looks, celebrities, and commercials.”
— Neil Postman, Amusing Ourselves
The world economy is a myth—or at least that’s the point made by Yuval Harari in his landmark success Sapiens. His broader argument is that our species came to dominate the earth not due to superior intelligence or physical prowess but because of our unique ability to create and share myths, like religion or the economy.
As Harari points out, there is roughly $10 trillion circulating in the world economy, and yet only $1 trillion of that actually exists. This is sustainable because of credit. Banks and other financial institutions will lend out money that does not yet exist with the calculated understanding that by investing in the future, they will make money, and the economy will grow. Humanity has, consciously or not, created and shared the myth that the economy of tomorrow will be larger—as…
