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This is an era of unprecedented material abundance. Global food production could easily feed twice the current population, automation has replaced most repetitive labor, and the cost of accessing information approaches zero. Yet somehow, life has become increasingly difficult. The most absurd part is that it's not just impoverished regions struggling—the more developed the area, the more people feel they "must fight tooth and nail just to maintain a basic standard of living."
Why is this so absurd?
This bears a striking resemblance to the predicament faced during the Industrial Revolution. The difference lies in the fact that our productivity has increased further, yet our lives have deteriorated further. Technological progress has not automatically translated into enhanced human well-being; instead, it has been absorbed and transformed by existing social structures and power relations, ultimately forming a more sophisticated system of oppression. In the past, it was factory owners maximizing profits; today, it is the system's demand for infinite growth.
The object of our relentless striving is no longer mere "survival," but a meticulously designed set of "social survival game rules."
Ultimately, we will discover that in this civilization game driven by desire, no one is to be blamed, but everyone is guilty. This is civilization's selection: a civilization blindly driven by desire will inevitably collapse, just as blindly, into desire's dead end.
The Survival Game of Society
Modern society no longer exists to meet basic survival needs, but to constantly create and intensify false demands—all to satisfy the desires and needs of others.
The baseline is inflating, and the definition of a "decent life" keeps rising faster than actual income growth:
A mere shelter is insufficient—it must be in a "prime location, school district, and upscale neighborhood." Education that teaches you who you are is irrelevant—it must involve "early childhood development, talent competitions, and prestigious school credentials." Even healthcare that merely "cures illness" falls short—you must pursue "preventive wellness, genetic optimization, and anti-aging management."
Yet society offers no margin for error. Education, healthcare, retirement, unemployment—any life disruption can hurl you over the fragile edge of "decent living." We must live in constant dread, frantically stockpiling vast reserves to "weather the storm," lest we be told we're "on the brink of disaster."
This burden alone is crushing, yet society relentlessly stokes and magnifies our desires and fears. Premium resources are engineered as scarce commodities, breeding structural anxiety. Competition shifts from a contest of ability to a race of investment (time, money, energy). The true scarcity isn't the resources themselves, but the "security of not being left behind."The "advanced" players in society leverage their understanding of human nature to stoke your desires and fears—all to satisfy their own cravings and alleviate their own anxieties.
Biological Instinct: How Desire Functions as a Fundamental Driving Force
To grasp the deeper logic of this game, we must return to humanity's biological essence. Desire is not a social construct but an evolutionary code embedded in our core.
We know desire is signaled by dopamine, and we've long called for resisting dopamine—yet most remain unclear on the details. Dopamine isn't "pleasure" but pure "desire" itself; it rewards not "possession" but "pursuit"; it is the "difference between anticipated reward and actual gain," the "derivative" of the joy you experience.
Emotion takes precedence: The endpoint of rational calculation is always some form of emotional fulfillment, whether it's so-called "base" desires or "higher" spiritual pursuits.
Comparison-Driven: Satisfaction primarily stems from the comparative difference between "better" or "exceeding expectations."
Minimum Energy Consumption: The brain favors energy-efficient methods like emotions, biases, and conformity.
Diminishing Adaptation: We rapidly become desensitized to steadily acquired pleasures, requiring stronger stimuli.
These biological traits make us perfect "fuel": perpetually craving more, perpetually feeling inadequate, perpetually willing to pay more for "better."
This creates a positive feedback loop: the information age satisfies our desires, then we taste desire's sweetness and unconsciously crave more fulfillment. This drives us to trigger others' desires to satisfy our own, accelerating the system's descent into desire's trap until everyone struggles within it, oblivious—just as we did during the Industrial Revolution.Technological progress has given us ever-better tools to stimulate and satisfy desire. This is an era of unprecedented advancement—and thus unprecedented danger. Unless someone steps in to halt it, the system can only slide toward inevitable collapse and destruction.
Then, who, is to be blamed?!
During the Industrial Revolution, we could pinpoint a target: the factory owners who exploited others to fulfill their own desires. But now, in the Information Age and the era of globalization, we can no longer find a single "villain" to vent our anger upon and walk away satisfied.Your competitors share your desires and hopes; your fellow citizens each bear their own ambitions and responsibilities; your nation strives to develop so its people won't lose their homes and livelihoods. This is a vicious cycle of desire. Within this loop, everyone is driven and swept along by their own or others' ambitions. You cannot blame anyone, for their aspirations are no different from yours.
There is no one to blame. This is a system of pressure woven from both the bottom up and the top down.
The bottom-up chain of desire: Individual desires → Interpersonal competition → Class formation → State apparatus → War and conflict
Top-down pressure transmission: State-level vicious competition → Accumulation of state power → Class pressure → Individual burden
This system lacks a central controller yet possesses a powerful self-reinforcing logic:
Individual desires are captured, amplified, and redefined by commercial systems.
Corporate desires (profit growth) require constant stimulation of individual consumption
Capital desires (infinite appreciation) demand maximized labor output
National desires (international competitiveness) demand the maximum mobilization of internal resources
The anarchic nature of the international system forces nations into perpetual competition
Once entangled, escape becomes impossible; collective failure drags down every individual, compelling each to join this accelerating cycle of destruction. Those who resist are condemned: "Every citizen bears responsibility for the nation's rise or fall," "Lacking collective honor and responsibility."
The outcome is evident: within this closed loop, everyone is both a victim and a participant; they bear the burden of pressure while also fueling the system. The most terrifying part is that no one is aware of this cycle of destruction, forced to endure the ever-tightening grip of pressure, fearing being left behind by the times. Now we know: No one is to be blamed, but everyone is guilty.
An Infinite Loop: The Endless Pursuit of Desire Leads to Ruin
The core issue lies in the fact that the desire mechanism driving all this is inherently an infinite loop. This isn't something that can be solved by enduring it out, nor is it something where waiting for the other side to collapse will lead to liberation.
The mathematics of desire fulfillment: Your satisfaction = Your current state - Your benchmark
The root of desire lies in comparison. The system perpetually raises the benchmark (others' lives, idealized advertising, social media displays) to create perpetual gaps; technological progress expands this comparison from neighbors to the globe, from reality to the virtual realm.
The trap of adaptation cycles:
Acquire something new → Dopamine release → Fleeting joy
Rapid adaptation → New thing becomes the new normal → Joy fades
Need for renewed stimulation → Intensified pursuit
The system offers more enticing targets → The cycle continues
The terrifying aspect of this cycle is that progress doesn't end desire; it merely raises the baseline for desire. We are climbing a mountain that grows taller as we ascend, with the only outcome being collapse along the way.
The Pitfall of Civilization: Are Humans Still Driven by Primitive Desires?
Despite millennia of human civilization, rapid technological advancement, and evolving institutions, the core code driving our behavior remains stuck in the Stone Age.
The modern incarnation of primal desires:
Survival instinct → Financial security anxiety
Desire for status → Social media likes and career hierarchy
Desire for Display → Consumption Symbols and Lifestyle Performance
Tribal identification → Brand loyalty and ideological camps
We have created complex institutions, advanced technology, and sophisticated cultures, yet remain driven by the most primal desires; we employ rational tools to serve irrational goals; we develop under the banner of conquering nature, only to use the technologies we've mastered to satisfy our most basic urges.
Modern humans believe themselves freer than their ancestors, yet they merely inhabit more refined cages; they believe themselves more rational than their ancestors, yet they merely rationalize instinctive impulses through more complex means.
The End of Primitive Desires, the Beginning of "Evolution"
This is far more than a side effect of technological progress. Technology merely amplifies humanity's primal desires, coldly exposing the flaws of instinct. We will gradually realize this is a new wave of evolution and selection: civilizations capable of mastering instinct and emotion will evolve, while those mired in outdated desires will self-destruct.
We have always lived guided by emotion, yet we never scrutinize its irrational aspects. We habitually mystify and sanctify emotion, calling it "humanity's last dignity," but is this not also a self-indulgence driven by emotion? Undoubtedly, emotion is a product of evolution, a capability acquired through evolutionary advantages in survival; from a purely logical perspective, the sole purpose of emotion's existence is to adapt to survival.Evolutionary theory not only reveals our common origin with other animals but also shows that emotions share the same roots as logic. This inevitably leads to another painful demystification—one that is both necessary and inevitable.
Feeling and cherishing emotions is perfectly justified—it is the privilege of consciousness—yet it can also become a constraint. Emotions accumulated over billions of years are gradually becoming ill-suited to our rapidly changing present, as technological advancement pushes once-balanced instincts to extremes. Survival of the fittest is nature's norm; whether we face destruction or evolution in this new environment depends on our attitude.Human uniqueness lies not in emotion, but in formidable reason: reason enables us to analyze and comprehend all things, thereby guiding our actions rather than relying solely on unchanging emotional patterns.
Perhaps we stand at evolution's threshold: to master and transcend the shackles of misaligned emotions, or to comfortably abandon thought, yielding to instinct and desire—marching toward ruin.
We cannot make choices for civilization as a whole. But when facing destruction, remember: Although no one is to be blamed, everyone is guilty.
The ultimate truth is:
We strive so hard to maintain the form of "being alive," yet in the process, we drift further and further from the essence of "being alive"—experience, feeling, connection, creation.
The greatest irony of striving so desperately to live is this: we believe we are fighting for life, yet we are actually exhausting ourselves to sustain a performance about life, draining our existence in an endless cycle of desire.
The way out begins with a simple decision: While we must keep running, we refuse to let the designers of this race define its meaning entirely.
We can choose to be conscious stewards of our desires rather than blind followers; to be critics of the system's rules rather than unconditional adherents; to be the givers of meaning to our own lives rather than outsourcing that responsibility.
Desire is born from us, felt by us, and ultimately—and only—controlled by us. This may be humanity's sole viable third path between technological self-destruction and ecological collapse.
We have arrived at the threshold of evolution. Civilization can no longer develop by unconsciously yielding to primal instincts. Technological advancement represents both the path to transcendence and the potential for destruction. This may well be civilization's final opportunity.
This is an era of unprecedented material abundance. Global food production could easily feed twice the current population, automation has replaced most repetitive labor, and the cost of accessing information approaches zero. Yet somehow, life has become increasingly difficult. The most absurd part is that it's not just impoverished regions struggling—the more developed the area, the more people feel they "must fight tooth and nail just to maintain a basic standard of living."
Why is this so absurd?
This bears a striking resemblance to the predicament faced during the Industrial Revolution. The difference lies in the fact that our productivity has increased further, yet our lives have deteriorated further. Technological progress has not automatically translated into enhanced human well-being; instead, it has been absorbed and transformed by existing social structures and power relations, ultimately forming a more sophisticated system of oppression. In the past, it was factory owners maximizing profits; today, it is the system's demand for infinite growth.
The object of our relentless striving is no longer mere "survival," but a meticulously designed set of "social survival game rules."
Ultimately, we will discover that in this civilization game driven by desire, no one is to be blamed, but everyone is guilty. This is civilization's selection: a civilization blindly driven by desire will inevitably collapse, just as blindly, into desire's dead end.
The Survival Game of Society
Modern society no longer exists to meet basic survival needs, but to constantly create and intensify false demands—all to satisfy the desires and needs of others.
The baseline is inflating, and the definition of a "decent life" keeps rising faster than actual income growth:
A mere shelter is insufficient—it must be in a "prime location, school district, and upscale neighborhood." Education that teaches you who you are is irrelevant—it must involve "early childhood development, talent competitions, and prestigious school credentials." Even healthcare that merely "cures illness" falls short—you must pursue "preventive wellness, genetic optimization, and anti-aging management."
Yet society offers no margin for error. Education, healthcare, retirement, unemployment—any life disruption can hurl you over the fragile edge of "decent living." We must live in constant dread, frantically stockpiling vast reserves to "weather the storm," lest we be told we're "on the brink of disaster."
This burden alone is crushing, yet society relentlessly stokes and magnifies our desires and fears. Premium resources are engineered as scarce commodities, breeding structural anxiety. Competition shifts from a contest of ability to a race of investment (time, money, energy). The true scarcity isn't the resources themselves, but the "security of not being left behind."The "advanced" players in society leverage their understanding of human nature to stoke your desires and fears—all to satisfy their own cravings and alleviate their own anxieties.
Biological Instinct: How Desire Functions as a Fundamental Driving Force
To grasp the deeper logic of this game, we must return to humanity's biological essence. Desire is not a social construct but an evolutionary code embedded in our core.
We know desire is signaled by dopamine, and we've long called for resisting dopamine—yet most remain unclear on the details. Dopamine isn't "pleasure" but pure "desire" itself; it rewards not "possession" but "pursuit"; it is the "difference between anticipated reward and actual gain," the "derivative" of the joy you experience.
Emotion takes precedence: The endpoint of rational calculation is always some form of emotional fulfillment, whether it's so-called "base" desires or "higher" spiritual pursuits.
Comparison-Driven: Satisfaction primarily stems from the comparative difference between "better" or "exceeding expectations."
Minimum Energy Consumption: The brain favors energy-efficient methods like emotions, biases, and conformity.
Diminishing Adaptation: We rapidly become desensitized to steadily acquired pleasures, requiring stronger stimuli.
These biological traits make us perfect "fuel": perpetually craving more, perpetually feeling inadequate, perpetually willing to pay more for "better."
This creates a positive feedback loop: the information age satisfies our desires, then we taste desire's sweetness and unconsciously crave more fulfillment. This drives us to trigger others' desires to satisfy our own, accelerating the system's descent into desire's trap until everyone struggles within it, oblivious—just as we did during the Industrial Revolution.Technological progress has given us ever-better tools to stimulate and satisfy desire. This is an era of unprecedented advancement—and thus unprecedented danger. Unless someone steps in to halt it, the system can only slide toward inevitable collapse and destruction.
Then, who, is to be blamed?!
During the Industrial Revolution, we could pinpoint a target: the factory owners who exploited others to fulfill their own desires. But now, in the Information Age and the era of globalization, we can no longer find a single "villain" to vent our anger upon and walk away satisfied.Your competitors share your desires and hopes; your fellow citizens each bear their own ambitions and responsibilities; your nation strives to develop so its people won't lose their homes and livelihoods. This is a vicious cycle of desire. Within this loop, everyone is driven and swept along by their own or others' ambitions. You cannot blame anyone, for their aspirations are no different from yours.
There is no one to blame. This is a system of pressure woven from both the bottom up and the top down.
The bottom-up chain of desire:
Individual desires → Interpersonal competition → Class formation → State apparatus → War and conflict
Top-down pressure transmission:
State-level vicious competition → Accumulation of state power → Class pressure → Individual burden
This system lacks a central controller yet possesses a powerful self-reinforcing logic:
Individual desires are captured, amplified, and redefined by commercial systems.
Corporate desires (profit growth) require constant stimulation of individual consumption
Capital desires (infinite appreciation) demand maximized labor output
National desires (international competitiveness) demand the maximum mobilization of internal resources
The anarchic nature of the international system forces nations into perpetual competition
Once entangled, escape becomes impossible; collective failure drags down every individual, compelling each to join this accelerating cycle of destruction. Those who resist are condemned: "Every citizen bears responsibility for the nation's rise or fall," "Lacking collective honor and responsibility."
The outcome is evident: within this closed loop, everyone is both a victim and a participant; they bear the burden of pressure while also fueling the system. The most terrifying part is that no one is aware of this cycle of destruction, forced to endure the ever-tightening grip of pressure, fearing being left behind by the times. Now we know: No one is to be blamed, but everyone is guilty.
An Infinite Loop: The Endless Pursuit of Desire Leads to Ruin
The core issue lies in the fact that the desire mechanism driving all this is inherently an infinite loop. This isn't something that can be solved by enduring it out, nor is it something where waiting for the other side to collapse will lead to liberation.
The mathematics of desire fulfillment: Your satisfaction = Your current state - Your benchmark
The root of desire lies in comparison. The system perpetually raises the benchmark (others' lives, idealized advertising, social media displays) to create perpetual gaps; technological progress expands this comparison from neighbors to the globe, from reality to the virtual realm.
The trap of adaptation cycles:
Acquire something new → Dopamine release → Fleeting joy
Rapid adaptation → New thing becomes the new normal → Joy fades
Need for renewed stimulation → Intensified pursuit
The system offers more enticing targets → The cycle continues
The terrifying aspect of this cycle is that progress doesn't end desire; it merely raises the baseline for desire. We are climbing a mountain that grows taller as we ascend, with the only outcome being collapse along the way.
The Pitfall of Civilization: Are Humans Still Driven by Primitive Desires?
Despite millennia of human civilization, rapid technological advancement, and evolving institutions, the core code driving our behavior remains stuck in the Stone Age.
The modern incarnation of primal desires:
Survival instinct → Financial security anxiety
Desire for status → Social media likes and career hierarchy
Desire for Display → Consumption Symbols and Lifestyle Performance
Tribal identification → Brand loyalty and ideological camps
We have created complex institutions, advanced technology, and sophisticated cultures, yet remain driven by the most primal desires; we employ rational tools to serve irrational goals; we develop under the banner of conquering nature, only to use the technologies we've mastered to satisfy our most basic urges.
Modern humans believe themselves freer than their ancestors, yet they merely inhabit more refined cages; they believe themselves more rational than their ancestors, yet they merely rationalize instinctive impulses through more complex means.
The End of Primitive Desires, the Beginning of "Evolution"
This is far more than a side effect of technological progress. Technology merely amplifies humanity's primal desires, coldly exposing the flaws of instinct. We will gradually realize this is a new wave of evolution and selection: civilizations capable of mastering instinct and emotion will evolve, while those mired in outdated desires will self-destruct.
We have always lived guided by emotion, yet we never scrutinize its irrational aspects. We habitually mystify and sanctify emotion, calling it "humanity's last dignity," but is this not also a self-indulgence driven by emotion? Undoubtedly, emotion is a product of evolution, a capability acquired through evolutionary advantages in survival; from a purely logical perspective, the sole purpose of emotion's existence is to adapt to survival.Evolutionary theory not only reveals our common origin with other animals but also shows that emotions share the same roots as logic. This inevitably leads to another painful demystification—one that is both necessary and inevitable.
Feeling and cherishing emotions is perfectly justified—it is the privilege of consciousness—yet it can also become a constraint. Emotions accumulated over billions of years are gradually becoming ill-suited to our rapidly changing present, as technological advancement pushes once-balanced instincts to extremes. Survival of the fittest is nature's norm; whether we face destruction or evolution in this new environment depends on our attitude.Human uniqueness lies not in emotion, but in formidable reason: reason enables us to analyze and comprehend all things, thereby guiding our actions rather than relying solely on unchanging emotional patterns.
Perhaps we stand at evolution's threshold: to master and transcend the shackles of misaligned emotions, or to comfortably abandon thought, yielding to instinct and desire—marching toward ruin.
We cannot make choices for civilization as a whole. But when facing destruction, remember: Although no one is to be blamed, everyone is guilty.
The ultimate truth is:
We strive so hard to maintain the form of "being alive," yet in the process, we drift further and further from the essence of "being alive"—experience, feeling, connection, creation.
The greatest irony of striving so desperately to live is this: we believe we are fighting for life, yet we are actually exhausting ourselves to sustain a performance about life, draining our existence in an endless cycle of desire.
The way out begins with a simple decision:
While we must keep running, we refuse to let the designers of this race define its meaning entirely.
We can choose to be conscious stewards of our desires rather than blind followers; to be critics of the system's rules rather than unconditional adherents; to be the givers of meaning to our own lives rather than outsourcing that responsibility.
Desire is born from us, felt by us, and ultimately—and only—controlled by us. This may be humanity's sole viable third path between technological self-destruction and ecological collapse.
We have arrived at the threshold of evolution. Civilization can no longer develop by unconsciously yielding to primal instincts. Technological advancement represents both the path to transcendence and the potential for destruction. This may well be civilization's final opportunity.