The irony of the rat race explained

[TLR1138]

I came across this recently and thought it really sums up what's wrong with the Western mindset versus the so-called "developing world" that needs to become like us because they're doing it all wrong.

The irony of the rat race explained.

A boat docked in a tiny Mexican village. An American tourist complimented the Mexican fisherman on the quality of his fish and asked how long it took him to catch them.

"Not very long," answered the Mexican.

"But then, why didn't you stay out longer and catch more?" asked the American.

The Mexican explained that his small catch was sufficient to meet his needs and those of his family.

The American asked, "But what do you do with the rest of your time?"

"I sleep late, fish a little, play with my children, and take a siesta with my wife. In the evenings, I go into the village to see my friends, have a few drinks, play the guitar, and sing a few songs...I have a full life."

The American interrupted, "I have an MBA from Harvard and I can help you!

You should start by fishing longer every day. You can then sell the extra fish you catch. With the extra revenue, you can buy a bigger boat. With the extra money the larger boat will bring, you can buy a second one and a third one and so on until you have an entire fleet of trawlers. Instead of selling your fish to a middle man, you can negotiate directly with the processing plants and maybe even open your own plant. You can then leave this little village and move to Mexico City, Los Angeles, or even New York City! From there you can direct your huge enterprise."

"How long would that take?" asked the Mexican.

"Twenty, perhaps twenty-five years," replied the American.

"And after that?"

"Afterwards? That's when it gets really interesting," answered the American, laughing. "When your business gets really big, you can start selling stocks and make millions!"

"Millions? Really? And after that?"

"After that you'll be able to retire, live in a tiny village near the coast, sleep late, play with your children, catch a few fish, take a siesta, and spend your evenings drinking and enjoying your friends.

[mtlouie]

Excellent!   

[rockatanski]

ha, nice.

[Mr. Bones]

Beautifully written.

[TLR1138]

I've thought about printing out a bunch of copies and leaving them on cars in parking lots and pasting them on walls everywhere. If you think about it, it's a really subversive message in our society. It goes against the whole "Build, Develop, Consume, Buy, Throw Away, Do More, Produce More, Drive More" brainwashing we've received.

[pamela]

Oh I just love that!!!
that made my day!

I had read an article years ago about how people used to live just like that.
The PTB of the time, couldn't get people to work for them so, the church made sloth into a sin and told the people they would go to hell if they didn't basically work themselves to death for the PTB.
Ta Daaaaaa...
modern capitalism was born!

[DoomNymph]

That was wonderful, TLR.

[jmhpolar]

I came across this recently and thought it really sums up what's wrong with the Western mindset versus the so-called "developing world" that needs to become like us because they're doing it all wrong.

The irony of the rat race explained.

A boat docked in a tiny Mexican village. An American tourist complimented the Mexican fisherman on the quality of his fish and asked how long it took him to catch them.

"Not very long," answered the Mexican.

"But then, why didn't you stay out longer and catch more?" asked the American.

The Mexican explained that his small catch was sufficient to meet his needs and those of his family.

The American asked, "But what do you do with the rest of your time?"

"I sleep late, fish a little, play with my children, and take a siesta with my wife. In the evenings, I go into the village to see my friends, have a few drinks, play the guitar, and sing a few songs...I have a full life."

The American interrupted, "I have an MBA from Harvard and I can help you!

You should start by fishing longer every day. You can then sell the extra fish you catch. With the extra revenue, you can buy a bigger boat. With the extra money the larger boat will bring, you can buy a second one and a third one and so on until you have an entire fleet of trawlers. Instead of selling your fish to a middle man, you can negotiate directly with the processing plants and maybe even open your own plant. You can then leave this little village and move to Mexico City, Los Angeles, or even New York City! From there you can direct your huge enterprise."

"How long would that take?" asked the Mexican.

"Twenty, perhaps twenty-five years," replied the American.

"And after that?"

"Afterwards? That's when it gets really interesting," answered the American, laughing. "When your business gets really big, you can start selling stocks and make millions!"

"Millions? Really? And after that?"

"After that you'll be able to retire, live in a tiny village near the coast, sleep late, play with your children, catch a few fish, take a siesta, and spend your evenings drinking and enjoying your friends.

Looks like the ending got cut somehow:

Then the Mexican says, "Silly Gringo, why would I want to do that?"

And the Amercan replies, "So that investors, bankers, and other middlemen like me who do nothing but count other people's money and watch interest rates and stock quotes all day can get rich from your efforts."

[Russ]

I've thought about printing out a bunch of copies and leaving them on cars in parking lots and pasting them on walls everywhere. If you think about it, it's a really subversive message in our society. It goes against the whole "Build, Develop, Consume, Buy, Throw Away, Do More, Produce More, Drive More" brainwashing we've received.

Now that is one of the few good ideas I've heard in recent times.

Along with: stop buying crap you don't need; don't use credit cards; get your money out of the bank and into a credit union; toward a general debtors'/consumers' revolt. (I've been thinking, how ironic it would be if hatred of the banks finally accomplished what environmentalism and energy activism could not: to get people to question consumerism itself. Talk about capitalism containing the seeds of its own destruction.)

These are some of the most subversive ideas, and they are getting out there, little by little. It's happening more often that at more conventional blogs and websites I see stuff where I say, "that coulda been said at LATOC". (And I don't feel as "out there" when I say them myself.)

[Harcken]

I don't think people in general will ever question the rat race, or if they do, they'll give it a passing thought and get back in it. I think the system will just have to run itself down and destroy itself before the idea of 'rat race' goes away.

[Bruce]

Talk about the truth. That truly sums up the stupid rat race. Let's email a gazillion copies to wall street................................Bruce

[kathleen]

That is perfect! I get really annoyed at those chain type e-mails that people at work insist on sending. I think I might send that story to them as my revenge. I wonder if they would even read it?
You're right, if that kind of material is really given adequate consideration, it is very subversive.
My teenage son was complaining that he didn't have anything good to read during a study hall class so I gave him an article by John Taylor Gatto. I told him it was the most subversive thing anyone probably ever read at that school.