paid work is voluntary servitude#3

This blog is based on reflections of my second source ‘On Liberty’ by John Stewart Mill which is relevant to the presentation title. There are two parts of particular relevance; the first portrays the importance of the liberty of thought and discussion, the second is of individuality as an element of well being.
Liberty of thought and discussion is the means to uncover truths. Truths can be understood in three ways; 1) reason understood from another may replace existing truths. 2) In demonstrating the error of another’s reasoning you make more solid your own truths. 3) part of the truth is contained between perspectives. This exercising of reason is important as one cannot be told the foundations of their opinion, there opinion is formed from understanding why and demonstrating this meaning which leads to the conclusion espoused. This should be one of the basis of being a human being, humans contain feelings and a rational capacity, so a human being would make use and improve both, ‘should be a balance of feeling and desires and rationality as they are what make a human being’(pg65).
This is Mill’s foundation for the human being or individual which brings me onto the second relevant part. But because many(the masses) do not exercise their rationality in questioning what is customary, but simply use custom as the basis for their reasoning, they make no choice. They make no choice because they have not deliberated why customary actions are justified and therefore do not understand the reasoning for a customary action. Therefore no choice is made to accept what is customary, but one simply acts because it is customary; ‘people do not choose what is customary, in preference to what suits their inclination. It does not occur to them to have any inclination, except for what is customary.’ (pg68).
The point from Mill is that to act voluntarily one must have deliberated as an individual exercising their rationality as to volunteer implies a choice made as an autonomous being. If we do not exercise our individuality we merely act from custom which is a mechanised response rather than a voluntary response which Mill describes as; ‘we act like cattle rather than human beings.’ (pg72).
This compliments Fight Club very nicely as Fight Club describes how the masses have fallen into consumerism where much of why we work (apart from survival in society) is to satisfy this way of life. This suggests that instead of acting as human beings we act below this form, instead as consumers where our choices are already made and we just satisfy them.