The higher our emotions, the more stressed, anxious, and confused we generally are. We are also more susceptible to suggestion and solutions that provide temporarily relief to our stress. Chronic stress, like alcoholism impairs our thinking, it reduces our sleep, ability to focus or objectively analyse and evaluate an issue to form rational judgement, whilst under its influence. Unless we practice personal development, mindfulness, exercise, and eat well to regulate our cortisol levels, we are prone to seeking quick fixes, that provide temporary comfort and relief, during heightened times of stress.
Though did you know that corporations largely benefit from a stressed-out society? For example, the chief aim of the corporate news media is to manufacture consent for their clients’ products, services, and policies. Their most effective tool to draw our attention and engineer our consent are news articles that optimise our cortisol and stress levels. With that in mind, let’s examine who the main beneficiaries are of stressed-out society are;
Policy makers. A stressed society is a less discerning, a less intelligent, a more impressionable and controllable society. A cognitively disarmed society is a passive society, one where politicians get away with misleading, deceptive, secret, and dishonest activities that enrich their sycophants and donors. These include corporations, special interest groups and billionaires. A stressed and fearful society is also a more complaint and obedient society, providing there are sufficient social and legal guard rails to curb crime. Absent mindedness, a symptom of stress, is also a key contributor to parking fines, speeding fines, red-light camera fines, late fees, and other highly inflated penalties and indirect taxes issued by authorities.
Corporations & institutions, that sell vices, quick fixes and coping mechanisms for stress including fast food, alcohol, cigarette, pharmaceutical, gambling, entertainment (escapism), healthcare and legal services all benefit from a stressed-out society. Further insurance companies benefit from our stress, as stress reduces our ability to evaluate risk. Absent mindedness is also one of the highest contributors to accidents. Consumer goods (retail therapy), places of worship, gyms, corporate news (misery likes company) all benefit from a stressed society. Moreover, fear and stress keep people tied to the hamster wheel and employed longer. Starting and managing your own business takes courage and resilience so the more fearful or stressed you are the less likely you’ll leave your safety-net to start one. So, societal stress and fear are good for staff retention. Banks also benefit, as the longer you are running on that hamster wheel, are comparing yourself to celebrities or the Jones’, are aiming high, and shackled to a loan, the longer banks benefit from you.
Wealthy Corporations & Individuals prey on inexperienced investors making reactive and irrational decisions during times of doom and gloom.
In summary, capitalism, stress, and predatory behaviour are symbiotic. Our governments, the corporations they represent, and wealthy individuals (who manage their emotions well) all benefit from a stressed-out society. Television networks and the corporate media are paid a fortune from government(s) and corporations to manufacture consent for their clients’ products, services, and policies. So, it’s in their vested interests to propagandise, fear monger and unsettle their audiences.
Open the paper (or visit any news website) and pay attention to the headlines. Most headlines are intentionally designed to sensationalise, distort, delete, and generalise information to incite a feeling of worry, nervousness, or unease about something with an uncertain outcome. It appears the more stressed and anxious we are, the more complaint and spendthrift we become, which according to the government and corporate predators, is good for business.
(Source:supplied)
