THE MEANING OF LIFE AND THE WELFARE STATE

There is a meaning to life, which the welfare state can do nothing but destroy.

When I speak of spirituality and God, I do not mean religious institutions.

There is a meaning to life, whether we believe in God and explain it spiritually, or we don’t and we seek scientific answers. We evolved and have been programmed to either seek enlightenment or to aim at the survival of our genes across time. As both require great effort, idleness has not been wired into our DNA. A life of comfort achieves nothing but the destruction of our body and soul, which is what the welfare state does. The welfare state offers its constituents an “easy life” paid for by others. In doing so, it promotes and encourages helplessness, thus, shattering what Viktor Frankl calls the will to meaning.

For thousands of years the question regarding the “meaning of life” was addressed religiously. The meaning of life was usually a “higher” one; there was a meaning and a purpose that went beyond the self. It was something along the lines of “the evolution of the soul, or the attainment of enlightenment”. God reigned and men (who are created in His image) had a higher purpose and destiny as visioned by its Creator. That was until the Enlightenment or the Scientific Revolution, where science became the forefront and center of society. Gradually, all explanations were sought through the scientific method, rather than through religious or spiritual inquiry. Including the question of life, which is now often dismissed or at best explained through biology and evolution. It is undeniably a challenging task, to view and understand the world through the scientific lens, requiring reason and logic, and to be able to incorporate the spiritual element into it, which requires intuition and faith.

In reality, when it comes to the question of the “meaning of life”, the spiritual and scientific answer overlap. When both subjects are studied at depth, it can be found that far from being opposites, they often intersect. Specially, when trying to explain the meaning of life. Spiritually, men’s purpose is to attain enlightenment and reach “paradise”, which is only possible through the evolution of our soul in the material realm (the world). That is, our purpose lies in the constant betterment of the self and the pursuit of truth until enlightenment is reached and we are metaphorically able to enter “paradise”. Scientifically, the answer is much simpler. Men’s purpose is to pass on and to ensure the survival of our genes – our children. Thus, from both the spiritual and the scientific point of view, there IS a purpose to life, which requires a great deal of effort and commitment.

While to many, spirituality and science appear to be diametrically opposed, when it comes to the answer of this central question, it can be seen that “opposite extremes have much in common.” Thus, both those who believe in God and atheists, should agree that their purpose in life is to commit to the improvement of the self as the only means to guarantee their entry into Paradise, the achievement of enlightenment, or the passing on and preservation of their genes. My argument here, is not so much about religious beliefs, or scientific theories, nor is it about which one is right or which one is better. The argument here is that whether you believe in God and/or you believe in science, there is a “meaning to life” and that meaning can only be found in the adoption of responsibility and the commitment to the improvement of our character, thus our life. To achieve the ideal, to achieve our potential and lead the best life possible, requires a great deal of effort and commitment.

These apparently opposite subjects, thus, have much in common at the extreme. As Jordan Peterson puts it in his wonderful new book “We who wrestle with God,” the meaning of life is to be found in sacrifice, which is a synonym of work. The sacrifice of who we are, through work, for who we could be. And who we could be, the unrealized potential within us, can only be found in devoting what is best within us to the highest possible purpose. In other words, it is only through the adoption of responsibility that life is worth living. It is only by taking risks, in the pursuit of a worthwhile adventure, an adventure that is above our current potential, that we can find meaning and fulfillment. To embark upon such an adventure requires the betterment of the self, in order to face and deal with the uncertainty inevitably associated with it. It requires the embracing of a life committed to the development of good character. The meaning of life, spiritually and philosophically, can be found when, as put forth by the Stoics, men to adhere to the four cardinal virtues: Courage, Temperance, Wisdom, and Justice. Similarly, and most accurately, the meaning of life may best be described by Viktor Frankl’s Man’s Search for Meaning. To Frankl, the striving to find a meaning in one’s life is the primary force in man, it is the will to meaning. Such meaning is unique and specific and it must and can be fulfilled by him alone. The meaning of life is to be found in right action and right conduct; in taking responsibility to find the right answer to its problems and to fulfill the tasks which it (fate) constantly sets for each individual. Philosophically or spiritually, the meaning of life is to be found in the adoption of responsibility and the pursuit of truth and a worthy goal that will result in the evolution of our soul.

Scientifically speaking, such a meaning cannot be proven. Thus, the meaning of life might be no other than the survival of our genes. In other words, the meaning of life might only be to strive for “fitness,” which is the probability that a given organism will leave offspring. Such meaning, or goal so to speak, requires not dissimilar commitments from us humans. To leave offspring, we require nothing less than a willing partner to engage in such venture, which unlike other animals requires nothing less than a couple of decades commitment. Women, because they can only reproduce so often and are left vulnerable once with child, evolved to be highly selective about who they mate. Thus, they are more attracted to men who are ambitious, dependable, and intelligent. Likewise, women often chose partners who have high(er) social status and have access to economic resources, since it increases a man’s ability to take care of her and her offspring. Men on the other hand, place much more importance in physical appearance and are generally attracted to women who are or appear fertile (a.k.a. young and beautiful) so that they may carry their offspring. Similarly, men generally prefer women who are nurturing and caring towards them and their child. To successfully bring children into the world, who in turn will bring more children, and so forth, requires a great deal of effort and commitment both from men and women as they need to attract and retain a worthy mate. Not to mention all that it takes to sustain a rewarding long-term relationship. That means, even scientifically, that life HAS a meaning , to ensure the survival of one’s genes across time.

While the spiritual meaning of life, which requires a commitment to a righteous life and the development of character, might be a more abstract concept, the scientific perspective is much more straightforward. Men, to win a worthy mate and ensure the survival of his genes, must be able to acquire sufficient resources to be able to provide and take care of his family. A man who is unable to take care of their family, will more likely “fail” in the game of life. Thus, it can be said that men’s meaning of life requires the same virtues as previously mentioned. For a man to obtain high social status and enough economic resources to attract a partner, he must be disciplined, honest, courageous, wise, dependable, and so forth. If he is to ensure the survival of his genes in the long term, he must also be a present husband and father, he must be committed to his family and to the flourishing of his children, with all it entails. It is no easy task. Women, likewise, are required to develop virtues such as compassion, caring, nurturing, honesty, courage, and so forth if they are to ensure the survival of their children and genes across time. Moreover, women devote much more energy and resources to their physical appearance in order to attract a worthy mate and are obliged to take care of themselves physically as their health matters a great deal while pregnant and afterwards. They also must have an extraordinary commitment to their home and their children, if they are to raise healthy and strong children that will carry on the family genes (the argument does not change if a woman chooses to pursue a professional career above family, or a man chooses to take care of his family). A child cannot survive on its own, it needs sensible parents to be raised in the proper manner, if at least to ensure his ability to find a mate in the future. Thus, even if we are “only” survival machines, the meaning of life, scientifically speaking, requires a great deal of effort and commitment if it is to be achieved.

It is therefore obvious that there is no “free admission” into Paradise, nor is there a “free pass” that guarantees the transmission and survival of our genes. Spiritually speaking, humans must seek the evolution of their soul. Scientifically speaking, men evolved to be hunters and providers while women evolved to be gatherers and nurturers, they both evolved with a strong sense of purpose, which after thousands of years has been wired into our DNA (whether we agree with it or not is another matter). Hence, we have been programmed to pursue not what is expedient, but what is meaningful both from a spiritual and evolutionary point of view.

There is no school of thought that promotes idleness (not to be confused with being calm) as a means to achieve enlightenment. Again, life’s meaning and one’s fulfillment is directly proportional to the amount of responsibility and adventure one is willing to embrace. Or, as Joseph Campbell put it, what we’re seeking is an experience of being alive, so that our life experience on the physical realm will be in harmony with our innermost being. Only then, will we feel the rapture of being alive. It is for that reason that super hero movies are amongst the highest grossing, because we all crave a hero story to inspire us, and a hero to look up to. It is also for that reason that Ironmans and ultra-marathons exist and keep getting harder with time, because a human body, mind, and soul that sits still will disintegrate. Because we’re wired to push our limits to find out just how far we can go. Similarly, it is why some athletes train for years and years on end just to compete for a couple of minutes at the olympics, and why they often suffer from depression upon retirement, because their body and soul were trained and programmed to seek and achieve greatness. It is also why businessman understand that we were born to pursue eternal improvement, not to retire into comfort after making a couple of million dollars (with which they could live not happily but in comfort ever after). They do not retire because they understand that it is in their work that meaning is to be found.

If the human species were instead built for comfort, we would still be living as neanderthals at best, or would have long been extinct at worst. All that has ever been achieved has been a result of man’s search for meaning, of man’s hard-wired sense of curiosity and need for improvement, and their drive to survive. Thus, meaning and fulfillment is not something we merely want, it is something we need. This is the reason why wealthy parents who give everything to their children and spoil them, completely destroy them. Because a child that meets no obstacles but is instead given everything (materially), will never have a chance to prove what he is capable of, he will never develop a sense of worth because he was not given the chance to struggle and overcome (watch succession and you’ll see what I mean). A spoiled child will never understand the joy that comes from honest achievement and will never strive for it. Such a child has been deprived of the greatest of gifts, the gift of having a dream, of pursuing and achieving it. This pattern is not unlike an overprotective mother or father who never allows her children to grow up. Whether it be conscious or unconscious, what such parents achieve is the complete dependence of their children on them. A parent’s duty is to raise strong children who will become productive and independent adults, who (although painful) will not need them. A parent that fails to achieve such goal, has failed.

The welfare state is no different than the overprotective and overindulgent parent. A devouring mother (Oedipus Complex) interferes with a child’s wish and need to grow beyond what he already is, so that she will not be left alone and behind. Unconsciously, or consciously, she makes her child dependent on her. So it is with the parasites that promote the welfare state, whose citizens become dependent on them. What the welfare state achieves is having a population that behaves like children, vulnerable, reliant on their parents, and devoid of the necessary virtues to succeed in life. Thus, they are in ever need of assistance and will never “leave” those who provide the means for survival. They become fragile, as Taleb would say. They will most likely fail to raise a family, create a home, or have a career. Just like a spoiled child who never learned to be on his own, whenever achieved anything by himself, so the citizens of a welfare state become accustomed to having their needs met without putting in the necessary work and enduring the necessary struggle. Thus, they are deprived of the basic and most important human need of finding meaning in their lives.

We evolved physically and spiritually to seek and pursue what’s meaningful, failing to do so will destroy us from within. That is precisely what the welfare state is after, to demoralize its population through helplessness, which is sold as “assistance”, “support”, “aid”, and whatever other term appeals to people’s (specially women) emotions. The parasites promoting government assistance and “free stuff” (nothing is free, it is just paid someone else’s money), pretend to be selfless charitable souls who care about other people’s well-being. Thus, they promote all kinds of social programs that will supposedly relieve the recipients from the burden of having to work and take care of their own. Unfortunately, when a person agrees to being taken care of by a third party, he loses the ability and motivation to work, loses the opportunity to improve personally and professionally, and is unable to find meaning and flourish. Hence, Milton Friedman’s quote that “nothing is as permanent as a temporary government program.” Because once someone has become accustomed to obtaining something for nothing, he will hardly go back. He will remain there, comfortable and apparently safe, because it is easier than the everyday struggle of survival, easier than the struggle to pursue his dreams with all the challenges it entails.

What the welfare state does is promote survival, not meaning. It pretends that humans need their basic needs covered and then will be alright, that they will need naught more. Mere survival (provided by someone else) and meaning are two diametrically opposed pursuits, there is no glory nor fulfillment in mere survival, that is not what we were born to do. We were born to transcend, to overcome our current circumstance and to become as great as we can be. Obtaining something for nothing, dissuades us from seeking the ideal. Because once we have become comfortable, we lose the incentive to pursue what’s meaningful, which necessarily involves risk and uncertainty, yet rewards us with excitement. That is why there are about a thousand quotes on the dangers of the comfort zone, because any worthwhile goal lies beyond what is comfortable and certain, beyond our current abilities and skills. The parasites promoting the welfare state believe that they can “help” others by fulfilling their basic needs by stealing other people’s money (through taxes). What they achieve instead, is an aimless population devoid of virtues, with no meaning, with no purpose, and with no aspirations nor the fire to purse them. What they achieve is the destruction of the soul through the privation to pursue a meaningful life.

What the welfare state promotes is learned helplessness, it promotes a mindset of victimhood in which they convince the most vulnerable that they are unable to succeed on their own, thus, need the help of the state without which they will not survive. It tells its citizens that they are oppressed, that life is unfair, that they are victims of the circumstances with no fault of their own. The state promotes and celebrates the victimhood mentality, and then sell themselves as the saviors knowing quite well that they will achieve a complete dependency of their “subjects”. Once they have achieved such dependency, they can remain in power for as long they want, because their “believers” will only grow in numbers and will become ever more dependent. That is why the welfare state does not release its grip from public education, because that is where this victimhood mentality is taught. It is also where a population can most effectively be ruined, a sub-standard education will render students incapable of facing the “real world”, thus, will inevitably seek help. An uneducated population can be easily controlled, which is why many religious institutions forbade (as some still do) the education of the masses. The parasites at the helm are well aware of this dynamic, it is those who vote for them that apparently are not.

This dynamic is indistinguishable from the devouring mother who convinces her child of his inability to survive on his own and fails to prepare him for adulthood. She does this, as does the state, out of false compassion. Which is the opposite of what a loving parent would do. A loving parent would convince his child that he can achieve whatever he sets his mind to, he would convince him that the world was at his feet and that as long as he is a virtuous person, he will succeed in whichever endeavor he chooses to pursue. The welfare state does not comprehend or recognize that our soul craves a meaning, that it yearns for a purpose and a life well lived. It does not understand either, that our DNA has also been programmed to be active and programmed to fight for our own survival and improvement. At no point in history, were humans able to settle for comfort, the environment did not allow it. That is why we find it so hard to sit still, why we need to “do something.” We evolved to be active and productive because it was our only means of survival, which has been coded into our DNA. These facts the state fails (or perhaps it does) to understand, thus its “solution” is a poison that kills the soul and mind gradually, yet very painfully.

The dangers of the welfare state go far far beyond economics, which is a topic on its own. The greatest peril of the welfare state and the expansion of government intervention is the effect it has on the human body and soul. Again, both the spiritual and scientific point of view insist that we were born to find our purpose and meaning in life, not to be protected and “safe”. Whether it be through work, in relationships, or in suffering, as suggested by Viktor Frankl, we are meant to adopt responsibility and lead an adventurous life. By our own definition, and according to our own inclinations. It is a fact of life that meaning cannot be granted by someone else, it has to be earned. The soul cannot accept a free lunch, because a free lunch is no achievement, thus, it offers neither fulfillment nor honor. A life worth living is a life in which purpose is pursued and meaning is found, it is a life in which responsibility is adopted voluntarily. Such is the spiritual goal, as is the scientific one. The welfare state denies just that, it offers an easy path devoid of effort and of reward. A person without purpose cannot be enlightened and reach paradise, nor a person living off of the state can ensure the survival of his genes across time. There is a meaning to life, which the welfare state can do nothing but destroy. The state can do nothing but destroy a man’s will to meaning.

Jordan Peterson – We Who Wrestle with God

Marcus Aurelius – Meditations

Viktor Frankl – Man’s Search for Meaning

Jordan Peterson – 12 Rules for Life

David M. Buss – The Evolution of Desire

Joseph Campbell – The Power of Myth

The Weight of Gold – HBO Max

Oedipus Complex - https://medium.com/@Bigphaze/oedipus-complex-99dd75facdb0