THE VISCIOUS CYCLE OF MODERN SOCIETY

People have been socially-engineered into being addicted to consumerism.

Such is the society that we live in today.

THE ILLUSION OF SCARCITY

The illusion of scarcity is a common sales tactic used by many commercial entities.

"While stocks last!" (Scarcity)

"Three days only!" (Time)

"First 500 customers only!" (Priority)

"You will be getting this item worth $500 for free!" (Greed)

People are made to believe that many resources are scarce, and thus businesses make use of this illusion to jack up the prices. Petroleum companies fearmongered that oil would be running out for decades. Worthless stones called diamonds are made to be believed to be rare, and the quantity is slowly released into the market to create the illusion of its scarcity. Water is made to be believed to be scarce when industries were pilfering from the people's drinking water. Land is made to be scarce when people are being cramped into cities when there are available land for usage.

THE LUXURY SCAM

Many skilled artisans produce quality handmade products, made painstakingly with their skill, effort & time. These are the products worth your money.

Luxury brands often have overpriced products that are well above the cost of material, the quality of design, and the the value of craftsmanship.

What's worse is that luxury brands pay their workers low salaries in comparison to the price of the products that produce. Some brands rather burn and destroy their unsold products than to sell them at discounted prices in order to maintain the scarcity and value of the brand. Unknown to many consumers, most of what they paid for were to the celebrities who endorse that brands than for the value of the product.

TARGETING THE YOUNGSTERS

From a young age, we are being brainwashed into believing that in order to be considered "successful", we need to have fame and status.

We need to possess material possessions such as branded luxury items, big houses, fancy cars etc.

We need to have a huge following, and be liked by others.

The definition of a successful life was defined as the 5Cs: Cash, Career, Credit Card, Car & Condominium.

Youngsters are being brainwashed by TV and media that it is possible to get easy money, and have a luxurious and easy lifestyle within a few years.

While it is indeed not impossible, what is not made known to them is the time and effort that one has to put in to achieve the same results.

However, celebrities and influencers make youngsters think that improving one's mind & skills, and putting in effort, are not necessary.

You just need to start a YouTube channel, gain followers and their Likes, do something stupid, go viral, and become famous worldwide.

A luxurious lifestyle, to them, is of utmost importance, and proof of them being considered "successful".

The other group is being duped into believing that academic achievements are of utmost importance.

They use up their savings, take loans, just to "further their studies".

There is not guarantee that having good results will guarantee a good paying job, not to mention even getting a job.

And thus, they put themselves in debt even before they start earning anything.

TARGETING THE WORKING ADULTS

For the middle and lower income workers, and those who have not sold their souls for success,

many of them are forced by circumstances to settle for jobs that they may not like, whether be it due to family commitments,

or the debt trap sets by Big Bank and the financial machinery.

Even with inflation and rising costs of living, workers are being exploited, to work longer and do more work than what was stipulated.

Salaries have been stagnant for decades, as people do not dare to speak up or do anything about it,

If not, they will be replaced by cheaper foreign workers who are willing to even risk their lives to work overseas in such dire circumstances.

Employers know that their employees need to provide for their family, to pay their bills (and to maintain their image).

Employers basically have the lifelines of their employees in their hands, and they know how to make use of it.

And these are exactly what lead to the viscious cycle of employment, where employers would rather settle for cheaper, unskilled foreign workers,

than to pay their workers better salaries.

Unless people stand in solidarity, to speak up and do something about it, people will remain as slaves in the rat race.

Higher management level workers are made to think that their title, status or salary determines what kind of person they are.

Workers are made to strain themselves, their health deteriorates, and their earnings go to Big Pharma.

TARGETING THE ELDERLY

The elderly are considered dispensable as society is being made to think that they are no longer "productive to economy".

The elderly being put into a guilt trip, often made to feel that they are a burden to their family and society.

In their supposedly retirement years, many are placed into nursing homes, as their family members had to work , either due to high cost of living, or just to maintain their current lifestyle.

Medical bills are made so expensive, that when they are sick, they would think that it's better to die, than to put themselves and their family members into financial strain.