Lots of people have their own prescriptions, criticisms, and opinions on the way the world should be and the way things should be done, yet the odds are that most of these people have not taken any steps towards making those changes a reality nor do these people have the slightest clue on how to do so.
The Pretense of Knowledge
The truth about society is that no one planned it. It arose spontaneously and unintentionally, from human action and not human design. Civilization came into existence from the innumerable actions of countless individuals serving others in order to serve themselves. Those individual level choices and actions that are what encompass society are all based upon the individual’s unique preferences and subjective values, which is why top-down authoritative decision makers will always misallocate resources, be less efficient, and be less humane and representative than decentralized and competitive decision makers.
The idea that a single person or group of people is capable of planning society and successfully improving it from the top-down, whether they are “experts” or not, is the pretense of knowledge, the fatal conceit.
The world needs more creative, free-thinking, entrepreneurial, industrious, and hardworking individuals who are honest, kind, open-minded, and are passionate about bettering themselves. Better people creating value for others is what improves the world. The world does not need more rule-makers and order-followers. It does not need more politicians, dictators, controllers, or powerful and coercive governments.
Make Excellent That Which is Immediately in Your Control
Yes, there’s a lot that’s wrong with the world, and its normal to wish for the starvation, oppression, and suffering around the world to end, but becoming consumed and overwhelmed by all the bad in the world is completely unproductive because that negative obsession does nothing to improve the world or to improve yourself. It’s simply a waste of your valuable energy.
Make yourself aware of what is in your control and what it is that you can improve upon right now. It may be the cleanliness of your living space, your close relationships, your good and bad habits, your diet, your physical and mental health, and a lot more if you take the time to honestly examine that which is in your control.
These things may seem trivial and perhaps pointless, but they aren’t. They immediately affect your quality of life and level of happiness, which will rub off on the attitude and presence you bring to your relationships. More importantly, learning to take control of your life and build good habits will lay a foundation for yourself where you become more and more valuable to an increasing number of people. Who knows, maybe one day you’ll have the skills and resources to create massive social change, and it will be because of the actions you took today and everyday to better yourself.