The desirability to pretend to be apathetic towards aspects of status quo comes from how this produces pleasure and a kind of “fuck you” feeling able to be directed at others. The argumentative impulse is based on the continued pattern of increasing material comfort designed to act like a knife, stabbing at anyone who would ask them to stop pissing themselves in fear.
This can also help make thinking less of a burden over time, since any level of thinking will require an equal level of need to let the thoughts turn to actions. The feeling must be encountered to keep life base and pleasurable, and the less thought the more pleasure, but TOO LITTLE thought risks the whole situation collapsing.
Many people who rely on the pretension of apathy towards the status quo are psychologically motivated to waste away in a decadence.
Presenting oneself as not feeling - not having strong emotional reactions to Another person’s act or Words, for example - is a common trick used by humans to dominate via lying. Some Cultures have been masters at this shit: British Culture, especially upper class Culture in certain time periods, certain asian Cultures, the business World. It tends to cause a positive feedback loop, where the lack of reaction coupled with a barb at the person who honestly presents and accepts their own emotions, can elicit even more emotion. This allows the ‘cool’ person to wank socially, building their self-image on the supposed lack of Control of others. It is really easy to carry out on the internet.
The phenomenon you seem to be describing is the more run of the mill, trying to get by, not so great defense mechanism version. Joe Blow clings to it since it seems to work and not other option seems available. My example is taking this really rather sad defense mechanism and developing one’s central sense of self around it, being proud of it, thinking it matches some ideal. The other people get to play the role of the one who is upset, and this makes the user even more proud and dissociated from himself. They are proud of this addiction.
I believe that was well said Moreno. Let me go into more detail of what I had in mind.
Some people are virtually born to benefit from the status quo and others are born to be either on the lower end of those benefits or directly suffer do to it. While a person can have a remarkable degree of subsequent luck, health or competence and benefit more from the status quo than their birth would predict or can suffer from bad luck, ill health or simply incompetence and benefit less, most people’s place is fairly well determined.
So if the status quo is what you benefit from, then it makes sense to praise the status quo. But, there is the idea going around that the status quo must be defended. For one who benefits from it, it would be a fool’s argument to try to defend it; it’s not that its indefensible, but that it needs no defense and one will have already lost just by taking on the argument.
Praise is all they need for the status quo, not arguments. But praising that which leads to one’s beneficial living only draws attention to it. So many people try to come across as apathetic towards the status quo. But, that is a result of baseness. If one lets the status quo truly benefit them in a way they can be proud, then they would not fear praising it; critics have little compelling to say against something which leads to pride.
But, this isn’t an attack on hedonism. I aspire beyond hedonism, but I would potentially settle for it if I had the chance, how could I not being human? So why not embrace it, if you have it? Why not be proud of it and praise the status quo which is largely if not entirely responsible for it? I believe pride is the difference between being best described as a noble epicurean and being a hedonist lost in decadence.
True hedonism should not be at the expense of others (otherwise it defeats the whole concept of what hedonism is meant to be) but most are happy at the expense of others… a cycle I do not wish to partake in so remain separate from, as humans feed off the energy of this cycle of give and take… a comfort zone of contentment for the masses.