Welcome to New World Same Humans, a weekly newsletter on trends, technology, and society by David Mattin.
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We talked a lot, in 2020, about the implications of the pandemic for us as a collective. Just a brief shock, or the start of system-wide change? A pause, or Great Reset?
But we’ve talked less about how the crisis presents the same challenge, in miniature, to each of us as individuals. Lockdown shattered daily routines and patterns of thought. That meant personal challenges. But also the chance to step back from our own lives, and reassess.
Here in the UK, nearly 30% of people say they plan to make ‘big life changes’ – such as quitting a job or ending a relationship – when the crisis is over.
This week, reflections on that. My argument in short? The consumer societies we live in trap us inside a limited version of ourselves. The big opportunity, then, for the 2020s? Empower people to break free.
Go ahead; hit play!
If you prefer to read this week’s instalment, go here for the text version of New World Same Humans #50.
Links in this week’s instalment
1. Here in the UK, nearly 30% of people say they plan to make ‘big life changes’ – such as quitting a job or ending a relationship – when the crisis is over.
2. Back in NWSH #34, I wrote about how the Global North runs on a model of humans as rational choice machines.
3. There’s established evidence that materialism of the kind encouraged by the consumer society makes us unhappy.
4. The vast, profitable, and mostly useless self help industry will soon be worth $13 billion a year in the US alone.
Flying high
Thanks for reading this week.
Pretty soon we’ll get to see whether millions of people really will seek a new relationship with the Unlimited Self in the 2020s.
In the meantime, we members of the New World Same Humans community are on a mission of our own.
We started out as a small tribe back in January 2020. Now, there are over 14,000 of us – founders, designers, coders, policy makers, and more – on a shared journey to imagine, and help build, a better future. If you know someone – a friend, relative, or colleague – who’d make a great addition, why not forward this email and encourage them to sign up? Alternatively, share New World Same Humans across your social networks with a note on why you find it valuable. Remember: the larger and more diverse our community becomes, the better for all of us. Just hit the share button!
However many we number, your membership of this community means a lot.
I’ll be back on Wednesday. Until then, be well,
David.
New World Same Humans #50 – Audio Version