What intrigues me about this counter-argument is the implicit assumption that there is nothing intrinsically or inherently compelling about our lives within the structures of society. If we must be artificially enticed to want what society has to offer then either people or society must be deeply flawed. How is it that we continue to believe that it is we who are bad and wrong? What encourages us to believe simultaneously that the rewards on offer are unarguably desirable and that we wouldn't work for them if we felt we had a "choice"?
Somewhere in there, to my mind, is a belief that not only are we bad, but that so is life. Life is, according to this premise, not desirable on its own terms. If it were, context-driven approval and external motivators wouldn't be necessary. So that begs the question: what would be needed if we wanted to wake up each morning with the belief that both we, and life, were beautiful?
Picture courtesy Pixabay