Collective rationalization has imprisoned the individual

We devise societal institutions to make our lives simpler, make processes more efficient and preserve our values. These technological, organizational and efficiency institutions are a direct product of our wisdom and rationalization, but they are ultimately imprisoning us. In rationalized populations, a capitalist system emerges through which every element of society is measured through the lens of returns on investment. While societies streamline labor and improve decision-making, they pursue efficiency for efficiency’s sake. In the pursuit of maximum returns on investment, values fall by the wayside and the individual is trapped in the machine of efficiency. ^[1] This is visible in the development of modern societies. When humans developed from hunter-gatherer societies to pastoral societies in which rationality played a central role in decision making and efficiency was prioritized, food surpluses resulted in the emergence of different economic classes. Along with the emergence of economic classes came slavery, patriarchy and other repressive organs in society.

[P1] Societies strive to make the individual more efficient. [P2] The pursuit of efficiency is irreconcilable with the preservation of human values and the wellbeing of the individual. [P3] Therefore, societies create a prison in which the individual cannot escape.