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I suffer from major depression, enough that at my worst, I've spent the better part of a year stuck in bed with no volition enough to move my fingers. (I checked.)

And yet, parents, bosses, ministers and government officials have asserted this is a character flaw, and I just needed to stand up though sheer force of will. By my bootstraps.

Capitalists assert their work force is lazy while refusing to assure they have sustenance. To the religious community, sloth is a sin and industry is a virtue, and not doing work is serving the devil.

Evidence turned for the people during the 2020 lockdown and furlough, followed by the great resignation. We're not lazy on average. We can't couch potato for two weeks without getting cabin fever, and a lot of our hobbies turned lucrative. It turns out we're human beings and don't fare well in jobs that are tedious or arduous or in a toxic work environment or are underpaid or micromanaged.

In fact (studies show) treat us well and we become industrial machines, but our ownership class is too busy asserting dominance. Cruelty is the point. Hence, Amazon workers pee in bottles and have their mouths monitored lest they sing. That's fairy-tale level dystopia.

If you can't find your place, if you can't get a leg up or a lucky break, if opportunity knocks only when you're sleeping or away, that's not you. That's capitalism.

Some day we'll decide we deserve an economic system that works for all of us. But not today.