The Game of Survival

[Written by Paul Antony, edited by Raizel]

Physical strength used to be an essential requirement to survive once upon a time. The stronger you were, the more you were respected. You needed it to fight animals and gather food. Eventually, people started settling down and began farming to ensure their survival. This was safer and easier for humans who were physically weak. Farming needed a different set of skills - the knowledge of weather and plants. 

A different kind of strength came to be needed–the strength to get more land and grow more food. Physical strength was no longer the only asset needed to survive. More human beings were born and they were able to survive and spread out. Human beings figured out that they could do other jobs when they realized they could trade for an item that they didn’t grow. So more occupations became available and they were used by people to survive.

The Game of Survival

The story of survival continued, and eventually people realized that there was no standard way to identify the value of their hard work’s products. So they introduced the concept of money. One could buy anything if one had the money for it. Initially, the main asset was physical strength; then, it was the ability to grow plants, and then at this point in time it became all about who had more money. 

Survival has always been the need of humanity. People will go after any tool that helps us survive. This tool that we call ‘money’ changes based on demand and supply instead of just hard work. Many have grasped this fact and have become really good at survival, while some are still stuck working hard instead of working smart. The ones that grasp the need of the hour will become better at this survival game.

Slowly, people realized that the more land they had and/or the more people under their control, the more resources they got. This translated to more money–implying better survival. Therefore, to survive, the race of occupying lands and exploiting other humans took off at an accelerated rate. War followed naturally, and to inspire people to war, there might have been various methods used. But the root cause was always the same–survival. 

Once there was no more land to occupy, people then started exploring the world. The race of the adventurers started. People found new land that was left unexplored or forgotten due to various reasons. Remember, all of this was to survive. [Raizel’s note: Also probably a pinch of greed:(]

When all the available lands were marked, occupied, and the respective humans exploited, people finally (Raizel’s note: and belatedly)  realized that exploiting other humans wasn’t right –and a new social norm developed.That of altruism.

Social norms have always existed for survival. If that's the case, did people suddenly become self-sacrificing and start thinking about the good and survival of others? That doesn’t make sense nor does it fall under the pattern that has existed for several millennia. Or is this another brainwashing that is benefiting someone? Let us explore this with a hypothesis.

What happens when people are freed and everyone is able to earn money? Throughout history, the people who owned slaves and indentured laborers were the group which had the majority of a very precious resource: people. Which leads us to an uncomfortable question. Were people freed because of altruism and basic humanity? Or were they released with an ulterior, more dangerous motive in mind? Humans who didn’t have people resources were able to get them if they had enough money. This could lead to an organization of such humans. An organization which seduces and then feeds on people earning money will get more money (think of the minimum wage principle). This leads to better survival for these organizations and in turn, the people running these organizations. [Raizel’s note: This is an interesting question. I still think that basic humanity played a fairly significant part in reducing evils like slavery, indentured labor and casteism. That said, your argument of ‘the game of survival’ is very strong. Human beings (especially the so-called powerful ones/or the ones with money, as you mentioned) are very much capable of tweaking social norms according to evolving needs. If they thought that paying people money might make them a more grateful and productive resource, they have largely succeeded.]

While this happens, the game of supply and demand still exists, so all people get various choices to survive better. They could join these organizations and become core members of it. They could work for these organizations and take care of their immediate needs. They could identify the existing demands and supply those demands. This literally translates to politicians, workers, and entrepreneurs. Now that we have the much needed context of what's happening, what role do you want to take in this race to survive?