What is a "good life"? The question itself is a mirage, dangling before humanity like an oasis in the desert of existence. Some chase virtue, others seek happiness, power, or enlightenment, but all are prisoners of the same illusion: that life, in itself, has an inherent value to be maximized.
I once believed a good life was one of virtue: honor, wisdom, and purpose. But virtue is merely a currency of social expectation. Then, I sought knowledge, convinced that understanding would free me from the weight of ignorance. Yet, knowledge is infinite, and its pursuit only deepened the void. Happiness? A fleeting whisper. Service to others? An act of ego disguised as altruism. Power? The ultimate deception.
The truth is: life is an indifferent phenomenon. Meaning is not bestowed upon us.
The System of Control
But if the "good life" is a mirage, why does society cling to it? The answer is simple: control.
Mediocrity demands a narrative, a framework to ensure obedience. Society does not want individuals to think for themselves, it needs them to believe in a fixed path, to follow a predetermined course. It manufactures a purpose, constructing a story where success is measured by adherence to predefined milestones: education, career, family, retirement, and the false promise of happiness or fulfillment at the finish line. A system cannot sustain itself if its components begin to question their function. An obedient worker is more valuable than a self-aware rebel. A compliant worker is more useful than an independent mind.
The Economy of Desire
The economy thrives on the pursuit of 'happiness.' Industries are built on the perpetual dissatisfaction of the masses, feeding them the illusion that they are one purchase, one promotion, one life event away from fulfillment. A content human does not consume. A satisfied mind does not need distraction. So the system perpetuates desire, ensuring that contentment is always just out of reach. Capitalism does not run on wealth, but on the manufactured fear of insignificance.
The Role of Religion
Religion, too, plays its role. It promises rewards in an unseen afterlife, convincing people to endure suffering in silence, to find meaning in servitude, to submit to doctrines designed not to enlighten, but to govern. Obedience is renamed as virtue, suffering as purification, submission as purpose. The illusion of the 'good life' is not about truth, but about sustaining compliance.
The Price of Rejection
And should one reject this illusion, society retaliates. Those who step outside the prescribed narrative are labeled failures, outcasts, or threats. To refuse the chase is to be condemned as aimless, misguided, or even dangerous. But what is truly dangerous? Questioning the lie, or living it?
To see beyond the illusion is both liberation and exile. To escape the mirage is to walk alone. But to those who dare, who refuse to be chained by expectation, who reject the sedative of collective delusion, only they will know what it means to truly live.
The Path Forward
I now see that to live well is not to conform to virtue, nor to seek endless pleasure, but to become one's own force of creation. To shatter illusions and sculpt meaning from nothingness. A good life is not about chasing predefined ideals, but about the raw assertion of existence against the void. A good life is the one I define on my own terms, free from the shackles of expectation.
Thus, I do not seek a 'good life'. I seek my life, wrought in defiance of the absurd.
Ditulis oleh
Andre Julison
Kontributor artikel di Lingua Franca Institute