General Discussion
In reply to the discussion: Americans are the loneliest, most isolated people [View all]tblue37
(65,227 posts)Last edited Tue Mar 18, 2014, 11:42 AM - Edit history (2)
First, workers must be movable and interchangeable, so tightly knit families and neighborhoods would interfere with being able to get workers to go where the corporations need them to be. Then, if the worker is cut off from his support system, and if there is not much of a social safety net available, he can be pressured to work insane hours for job security and money to survive on. And if he has few close friends or family nearby, and little time or energy to nurture close relationships, his work can become his whole life.
Yes people have spouses/SOs and friends, but they have little time or energy for them, and even if we do get a free moment, there are soooo many forms of distraction and entertainment that lead us into isolation (like this one here!), and we are sooooo drained from work that we tend not to spend enough time or energy on those relationships.
Our culture, values, and expectations are shaped by mass media, under corporate control, and with parents working so much, mass media and peer groups heavily influenced by mass media are raising kids to be even more like this.
ON EDIT: I should have specified--it is unregulated, unconstrained capitalism that is the main problem.