Darkover
Archangel
- Jul 29, 2021
- 5,578
Life is often described with poetic reverence or blind optimism, but beneath the illusions and distractions, the raw truth is hard to ignore: the world is a shithole. Not metaphorically. Not emotionally. Materially, intellectually, biologically, ethically—the world fails its inhabitants in nearly every measurable way. This is not a complaint born of cynicism, but a rational assessment of the conditions into which sentient beings are thrust. What follows is a breakdown of the various ways in which the world—by design or by accident—is a fundamentally hostile, broken, and unjust system.
Material Deprivation
The material world is defined by scarcity and unmet needs. Hunger, thirst, shelter, and safety are not guaranteed. Millions suffer without clean water, medical care, or protection from violence. Even those in wealthy nations often live with constant stress, insecurity, and lack. Needs are endless, while resources are hoarded. You're born into a system where you must constantly struggle to obtain the basics of survival, and even when you do, they can be ripped away by disaster, misfortune, or illness. Comfort is fleeting. Loss is inevitable.
Cognitive and Intellectual Limitations
The human brain is a fragile, outdated processor trying to navigate a world far more complex than it was evolved to understand. Most people live and die without ever grasping the full nature of their environment, their society, or even themselves. Misinformation spreads faster than truth. Ignorance is incentivized. Education is uneven, often weaponized, and rarely prepares people for the existential and systemic crises they must face. In a universe governed by cold physical laws, the conscious mind is under-equipped, overburdened, and ultimately powerless.
Computational and Physical Constraints
Even at the level of physics, the universe itself imposes harsh restrictions. The speed of light, often romanticized in science, is agonizingly slow when measured against the scale of space. It sets a hard limit on communication, travel, and coordination. Processing information across vast systems is inherently limited. Entropy ensures that everything decays. Even the brightest technological vision is throttled by delay, friction, and breakdown. The very structure of the cosmos is one of isolation, loss, and decay.
Biological Fragility
You are born into a body you did not choose, one that demands constant upkeep and suffers endlessly from injury, disease, and degradation. Pain is a default feature. Aging strips away function, identity, and independence. The body is vulnerable to even the most mundane threats: a fall, an infection, a mutation. And yet this fragile machine is the only vessel through which you experience life. You are enslaved to its needs, and it will ultimately betray you.
Emotional Suffering
The emotional landscape is one of deep instability. You are capable of immense attachment, yet everything you love is temporary. Grief is guaranteed. Loneliness can persist even in the presence of others. Relationships often hurt more than they heal. Trauma accumulates without a reliable way to undo its damage. Emotional pain can be just as debilitating as physical pain, yet it's often dismissed or hidden. The mind can become a prison as much as a refuge.
Social and Cultural Dysfunction
Human societies are riddled with division, deception, and domination. Borders divide people arbitrarily. Hierarchies enforce inequality. Culture often promotes conformity over truth, spectacle over substance, and punishment over compassion. Kindness is often seen as weakness; cruelty as strength. You are born into roles and expectations that rarely fit your nature. Success is largely determined by birth, not merit. Systems built to serve the few exploit the many.
Economic Exploitation
Survival is not free. You must earn the right to exist. Everything—time, labor, energy, even attention—has a price. The poor are punished for their poverty, and the rich are praised for their exploitation. Most work is meaningless, even harmful, yet it dominates life. Economic systems reward selfishness, short-term gain, and manipulation. Those who cannot produce are discarded. The idea of unconditional security is treated as a fantasy, even though it should be a basic right.
Existential Tragedy
You are born without consent into a system that demands constant struggle, with no clear meaning or escape. You are aware enough to suffer, but not powerful enough to prevent it. You are told life is a gift, yet all gifts eventually rot, break, and are taken away. Everything you build will crumble. Everyone you love will die. Meaning must be invented, but suffering is real and unavoidable. The only certainty is death—and it may not even be peaceful.
Ecological Brutality
Nature is not peaceful or harmonious. It is violent, indifferent, and predatory. Every organism survives by consuming others. Parasites, disease, natural disasters—all are features, not bugs. The Earth is beautiful, yes, but its beauty is layered over relentless cycles of birth, suffering, and death. Evolution produces efficiency, not kindness. Even the planet itself will eventually become uninhabitable. No sanctuary is permanent.
Moral and Ethical Failure
There is no cosmic justice. Suffering is not fairly distributed. Good people suffer; bad people thrive. You can live a life of compassion and still be broken. You can do everything "right" and still be discarded. There is no inherent reward for virtue, no divine balance sheet. Ethics, when they exist, are often overridden by power, fear, or survival instincts. This world does not reward goodness—it consumes it.
Conclusion
To be conscious in this world is to be aware of its many failures. Materially, intellectually, emotionally, physically, and spiritually—the systems of existence are broken. The world is a shithole not because people are weak, but because the structure itself is hostile to their needs. What's worse is that you are expected to call it good, to be grateful for it, to suffer in silence and smile.
But calling it what it is—a failed design, a brutal mechanism, a trap of flesh and mind—is not pessimism. It is honesty. And only in truth is there any hope of clarity.
Material Deprivation
The material world is defined by scarcity and unmet needs. Hunger, thirst, shelter, and safety are not guaranteed. Millions suffer without clean water, medical care, or protection from violence. Even those in wealthy nations often live with constant stress, insecurity, and lack. Needs are endless, while resources are hoarded. You're born into a system where you must constantly struggle to obtain the basics of survival, and even when you do, they can be ripped away by disaster, misfortune, or illness. Comfort is fleeting. Loss is inevitable.
Cognitive and Intellectual Limitations
The human brain is a fragile, outdated processor trying to navigate a world far more complex than it was evolved to understand. Most people live and die without ever grasping the full nature of their environment, their society, or even themselves. Misinformation spreads faster than truth. Ignorance is incentivized. Education is uneven, often weaponized, and rarely prepares people for the existential and systemic crises they must face. In a universe governed by cold physical laws, the conscious mind is under-equipped, overburdened, and ultimately powerless.
Computational and Physical Constraints
Even at the level of physics, the universe itself imposes harsh restrictions. The speed of light, often romanticized in science, is agonizingly slow when measured against the scale of space. It sets a hard limit on communication, travel, and coordination. Processing information across vast systems is inherently limited. Entropy ensures that everything decays. Even the brightest technological vision is throttled by delay, friction, and breakdown. The very structure of the cosmos is one of isolation, loss, and decay.
Biological Fragility
You are born into a body you did not choose, one that demands constant upkeep and suffers endlessly from injury, disease, and degradation. Pain is a default feature. Aging strips away function, identity, and independence. The body is vulnerable to even the most mundane threats: a fall, an infection, a mutation. And yet this fragile machine is the only vessel through which you experience life. You are enslaved to its needs, and it will ultimately betray you.
Emotional Suffering
The emotional landscape is one of deep instability. You are capable of immense attachment, yet everything you love is temporary. Grief is guaranteed. Loneliness can persist even in the presence of others. Relationships often hurt more than they heal. Trauma accumulates without a reliable way to undo its damage. Emotional pain can be just as debilitating as physical pain, yet it's often dismissed or hidden. The mind can become a prison as much as a refuge.
Social and Cultural Dysfunction
Human societies are riddled with division, deception, and domination. Borders divide people arbitrarily. Hierarchies enforce inequality. Culture often promotes conformity over truth, spectacle over substance, and punishment over compassion. Kindness is often seen as weakness; cruelty as strength. You are born into roles and expectations that rarely fit your nature. Success is largely determined by birth, not merit. Systems built to serve the few exploit the many.
Economic Exploitation
Survival is not free. You must earn the right to exist. Everything—time, labor, energy, even attention—has a price. The poor are punished for their poverty, and the rich are praised for their exploitation. Most work is meaningless, even harmful, yet it dominates life. Economic systems reward selfishness, short-term gain, and manipulation. Those who cannot produce are discarded. The idea of unconditional security is treated as a fantasy, even though it should be a basic right.
Existential Tragedy
You are born without consent into a system that demands constant struggle, with no clear meaning or escape. You are aware enough to suffer, but not powerful enough to prevent it. You are told life is a gift, yet all gifts eventually rot, break, and are taken away. Everything you build will crumble. Everyone you love will die. Meaning must be invented, but suffering is real and unavoidable. The only certainty is death—and it may not even be peaceful.
Ecological Brutality
Nature is not peaceful or harmonious. It is violent, indifferent, and predatory. Every organism survives by consuming others. Parasites, disease, natural disasters—all are features, not bugs. The Earth is beautiful, yes, but its beauty is layered over relentless cycles of birth, suffering, and death. Evolution produces efficiency, not kindness. Even the planet itself will eventually become uninhabitable. No sanctuary is permanent.
Moral and Ethical Failure
There is no cosmic justice. Suffering is not fairly distributed. Good people suffer; bad people thrive. You can live a life of compassion and still be broken. You can do everything "right" and still be discarded. There is no inherent reward for virtue, no divine balance sheet. Ethics, when they exist, are often overridden by power, fear, or survival instincts. This world does not reward goodness—it consumes it.
Conclusion
To be conscious in this world is to be aware of its many failures. Materially, intellectually, emotionally, physically, and spiritually—the systems of existence are broken. The world is a shithole not because people are weak, but because the structure itself is hostile to their needs. What's worse is that you are expected to call it good, to be grateful for it, to suffer in silence and smile.
But calling it what it is—a failed design, a brutal mechanism, a trap of flesh and mind—is not pessimism. It is honesty. And only in truth is there any hope of clarity.
