Life Isn’t Fair, But Are You Playing the Game Right?

Turning Capitalism to Your Advantage

I hate my life; I have always been a victim of this fucked up society; why do so many people have better opportunities than me? Life isn’t fair. I want to give up on my life.

Okay, are you finished? Good, now flush the toilet and let us have a little conversation.

I hear you saying that life isn’t fair; is that so? Hmm

Let me ask you a question. Suppose you are sitting in your pyjamas and reading this article comfortably. At the same time, someone somewhere in a developing country doesn’t have access to the internet and has to work fourteen hours a day to earn a basic living.

You now feel depressed and complain about life not being fair while some impoverished people work hard to find time, play with their kids, and enjoy life.

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If you think that life isn’t fair because you can’t earn a little money and buy the next iPhone, what should a disabled person whose life took the fundamental right from them to walk yet wake up every day and sell bread on the street? How about a divorced mother diagnosed with cancer and has to work ten hours a day, six days a week, until her last breath for three kids to feed?

If I never heard them saying that life isn’t fair but hear you complaining all day that life isn’t just, what should we call them? Heros. What should we call you? A loser? A whiner? Or a failure? You pick what suits you best.

I understand that life isn’t fair, so what? What are you going to do about it? Are you going to sit here and whine like a baby boy? Are you going to the street and protesting while no one cares? Or will you understand and leverage life to your advantage like a grown-up person?

Last week, a broke friend looked me in the eyes as he cried. He was so frustrated and under pressure from the economic crisis caused by hyperinflation that he couldn’t figure out how to push forward and survive.

He complained about how life is tough, how politicians are corrupt, how the central bank is stupid, etc. I tried to listen to the entire conversation without saying a word. Ultimately, he exploded and asked, “ Why is life so hard?”

I handed him a napkin and asked him to wipe away his tears as I explained everything to him and laid down the foundations of practical life.

I said, ‘Life’ isn’t hard; ‘your life’ is hard, not ‘life.’ Many people have a great life right now; life for them is incredible. Life isn’t easy or hard; life is neutral; how you experience life shows how you feel about it.

Everything you are going through right now isn’t life; it’s a system designed by humans to build a modern society. It’s a game of power; the more you understand the rules, the more your chance to win in this game.

Most people are pawns in the game of capitalism and have no idea why bad things happen to them. They follow bullshit on the news, go to work, earn some money, then spend on buying shitty stuff. They experience the economic booms and busts without taking advantage of them or shielding themselves against harsh circumstances.

People like me are financially comfortable not because we think in terms of fairness; I don’t care whether life or society is fair or not. Colonial countries steal the resources of other countries and leave them in poverty. Many people eat and throw food while others starve to death.

Those systems are not fair; the people who designed them are to make the powerful more powerful. Capitalism isn’t about justice and equality but power and self-interest. The system you live in serves people who fought hard to sit in a place of strength and leverage all the resources for their benefit.

Most people who control these systems are corrupted and care about their benefits, not yours. If you want to strive in their game, you have to understand the rules of the game and play along with them. Do not be an idiot and blame them or play against them.

I said if you want fairness, head to the Nordic countries. Some nations have built some of the best justice systems on this planet. Everyone has an equal right to education, health care, and a level of security; however, you can’t compare the size of their economies and populations to the United States or China.

People in Nordic countries live a simple and peaceful life, but that level of comfort doesn’t force them to compete or excel as individuals, as most of them find the system has already taken care of them. Countries built on a pure capitalist system might feel harsher on individuals who don’t understand the game; however, it offers more opportunities for wealth for the people who play the game well.

Look at capitalist systems on a deeper level. You will find that these systems are pretty fair because they offer the infrastructure for everyone to create an opportunity for wealth if the individual is willing to work harder, be more intelligent, understand the game’s rules, and take advantage of the system.

Influential people throughout history have always taken advantage of the weak ones and designed systems that served their benefit. That’s a fact, and you must acknowledge it, at least if you want to strive in an existing system.

So instead of blaming, cursing, or judging life, understand how it works and play on its side to win big.

You don’t have to stay broke if you know how capitalism works and how to leverage it to make plenty of money. Once you become a decent player and earn a lot of money, you will find that the system is fair and life isn’t as tough as you feel. Nothing has changed, but your perspective and position have shifted.

Forget about fairness and justice; nothing is equal in human societies. Economic systems are way more complicated for individuals to fix and bring to justice. People at the top neither care nor listen to those at the bottom. Play life brilliantly, take advantage of your system, or move to Antarctica and live with the penguins.

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— © Nour Boustani 2024