They could pay a decent salary tomorrow, but they choose not to. That's the unpleasant truth.

Every day we wake up and work for someone else's dream. Someone's dreams are built by our time, sweat, health, and sanity. And others, those at the top of the pyramid, are buying themselves another yacht, a new house, and dozens of apartments in new buildings. And at the same time, we are told to enjoy a lower-than-average salary, which is barely enough to last until the fifteenth of the month.

In the mid-1980s, I worked for a company that financial publications wrote about with delight: revenue growth, margin growth. But inside the company, the office culture was like a steam boiler on the verge of exploding. Employees had their bonuses drastically cut in one quarter, even though our own product exceeded all stated goals.

I asked my boss why. He just grinned and said, «First, the shareholders. Always.» I didn't even know what to say to him. It wasn't about merit. Not about the work done. It was about dividends, the share price, and payments to people who had done nothing for the company other than own a portion of its shares.

I remember staying late one night, too tired to go home. I was looking at a presentation slide that explained why our department won't get a pay raise this year. The slide referred to labor as the «cost center.» There was no doubt in those words. There was a red column on the chart.

The value of my entire existence has been reduced to costs that need to be cut. I felt like a comma that they were trying to erase or at least round up.

They don't see people. They see the roles.

My friend worked for a multinational company for a minimum wage. He tried his best, always arrived on time, and was friendly. At some point, he was fired — not for bad work, not for misconduct, but simply because someone at the top decided: you can find the same employee, but cheaper, in a cheaper city. And that's how it became just a line in the quarterly earnings report.

And then I realized: these companies don't care about people. Positions are important to them. Waiter. The clerk. Analyst. Developer. They look at how much profit this position brings to the company, and they don't care at all about how much a person needs to live. It's not personal. It's systemic.

They also sell you an entirely fictional idea: if you want to earn more, become more valuable. Learn new skills. Try harder… That's a lie! If work itself is necessary for society, does this mean that someone needs such positions? And if these positions are necessary, why are we, those who occupy them, considered expendable?

The game was unfair even before we got into it.

When I was young, in the late 80s and early 90s, I believed in capitalism. In a rational way. The one that says: «You'll get what you deserve.» You know, the one that says that good work gets a good reward.

This whole version of the system is a lie that most of us prefer to believe because the truth is too unpleasant. The real game is not about effort or ethics. It's about shares.

Shareholders. They are the ghosts in the meeting room. They don't register at the entrance, they don't manage people. But everything in the company revolves around their desires.

I remember reading the old Dodge vs. Ford case, where Ford was sued by its own shareholders for wanting to pay workers more. That was a hundred years ago. And we are still living in the same cycle.

Because it doesn't matter if it's legal or not, shareholder pressure is always there. It's just that now it's hiding behind metrics and KPIs.

Some say that the huge salaries of «executives» are a false target of criticism. Okay, maybe firing one «supervisor» and dividing his salary among all of them won't solve anything mathematically.

But what is the message if one person earns more in a day than others in a whole year?

This is a signal: it's not that we can't, we just don't want to. This is the signal: you're replaceable, even if your hard work keeps the company afloat.

It's not about logic. It's about how much you're willing to put up with.

More and more often I hear conversations in which the question is posed not like this: «What will be fair?», but like this: «What else can we get away with?»

Top managers don't ask, «What's your rent bill, how much does your child's treatment cost?» They look at market rates and even manage to complain about them, and then they return to talking about competition. They only care about one thing: «Will we still be able to fill this vacancy if we reduce the pay by 10%?»

If the answer is yes, you're done.

And then they wonder why young people don't have loyalty to companies. Why would they even be?

There is no reason to be loyal to a system that encourages the exploitation of people for the sake of shareholders. If the system rewards those who hold shares rather than those who hold everything else, loyalty becomes meaningless.

One of the worst conversations in my life was with a top manager who told me, «If people are willing to work for less, why pay more?»

I can't describe how many nights I couldn't sleep thinking about it. «People are willing to work for less»?

What does it even mean if the only options are starvation and exploitation?

They say the market determines your value. I say: the market has a problem with conscience.

When your entire value depends on how desperate someone else is, it's not a fair system.

This is a casino. And the institution always wins in it.

They confuse exploitation with strategy.

We can no longer pretend that this is sustainable. A society in which profit is the only god is slowly devouring itself.

And maybe I'm naive, but I believe it could be better. I believe that employees should be considered people, not variables. Not only because it's the right thing to do, but because it's reasonable.

People who are well paid are loyal. They are motivated. They are creative. This is not a mercy. It's just common sense.

But the «employers» have gone too far in trying to squeeze the last out of people and then throw them away. This is called efficiency. This is called growth.

But in fact, it's just cowardice disguised as leadership. These are billionaires hiding behind accounting records while the rest of us are trying to scrape together rent.

I don't need a utopian world. I just want a world where doing work doesn't mean fighting for survival. A world in which you are not ashamed of your salary.

A world where you don't have to prove your humanity every time you walk into an office.

Because the minimum should be at least enough for life!!!

There's a reason some men go quiet. They've seen too much, felt too deeply, given many chances that led to disappointment. So they stop talking about their pain. They just carry it. Not because they want to suffer in silence, but because they no longer believe anyone truly listens. They show up every day with a calm face, but inside, there's a storm they've learned to navigate alone. They become their own therapist, their own motivator, their own protector. They don't lash out. They don't seek revenge. They just distance themselves and focus on peace. They don't fear being alone. They fear wasting time on people who pretend to care. And that silence, it's not weakness. It's power. It's restraint. It's growth.

So if you know a man like that, don't assume he's cold or heartless. He's been through battles you'll never see. He's just learned the hard way that sometimes the strongest thing you can do is walk away and heal in peace.

©James Gandolfini

The paradox of intellectual loneliness.

Research by psychologists shows that people with a high IQ actually have fewer close social ties. This does not mean that they are socially unadapted — on the contrary, many of them successfully function in a professional environment. However, when it comes to deep personal relationships, the picture changes.

One of the main reasons for this phenomenon lies in the peculiarities of highly intelligent people's thinking. They are prone to deep analysis, critical thinking and the search for meaning in everything that surrounds them. This approach to life can create barriers to communication with people who prefer more direct and emotional interaction.

High standards as an obstacle

Smart people often set unrealistic standards not only for themselves, but also for others. This applies to both intellectual qualities and moral principles. The search for a partner or friend who meets these criteria may take years or even be fruitless.

In addition, highly intelligent individuals have a broad outlook and diverse interests. Finding someone who can keep up a conversation on various topics — from quantum physics to the philosophy of art — becomes a difficult task. This creates a feeling of intellectual loneliness even in the company of other people.

Emotional sphere and rationalization

Interestingly, high intelligence can paradoxically interfere with emotional development. People who are used to solving problems logically often try to rationalize their feelings and the emotions of others. This approach can create distance in a relationship, as emotional intimacy requires not only understanding, but also accepting the irrational aspects of human nature.

Social characteristics and preferences

Many highly intelligent people prefer quality over quantity in a relationship. They would rather choose deep communication with one or two people than superficial contacts with a large group. This may be perceived by others as insularity or arrogance, although in fact it is a natural need for meaningful interaction.

In addition, intellectually advanced people are often immersed in their own thoughts and projects. They can spend hours thinking, reading, or doing creative work, which leaves less time for social activity. This lifestyle may seem strange to those who value constant communication and joint activities.

Modern challenges of the digital age

In the age of social media and instant communication, smart people often feel alienated from the surface communication that dominates the digital space. They are looking for depth and meaning in communication, which is becoming increasingly rare in the world of short messages and superficial likes.

Strategies for overcoming intellectual loneliness

Despite these challenges, there are ways that can help highly intelligent people build meaningful relationships.:

Search for communities of interest where you can meet like-minded people

Development of emotional intelligence along with cognitive abilities

Accepting that not all relationships need to be deep and intellectual

Learning the art of compromise and accepting differences

Participation in volunteer activities or social projects

Rethinking values

It is important to understand that loneliness is not necessarily a negative consequence of high intelligence. Many prominent thinkers and creators have found solitude to be a source of inspiration and productivity. The key is to find a balance between the need for deep thinking and the desire for human intimacy.

Society is gradually beginning to appreciate intellectual diversity and realize that different people have different communication needs. This creates hope that in the future highly intelligent people will be able to find their place in the social structure more easily, without sacrificing anything.

I would like to meet a woman for a serious relationship.

About me: divorced, not working, have three children. We live on benefits and alimony from my ex-wife, which I managed to sue. I would like to find a caring woman who lives by the principle of «the mother is not the one who gave birth, but who raised her.»

Requirements: income from 200k, preferably with a car and housing. I would like a beautiful one. Beggars and the horny once, please do not disturb me. And I say right away, I hate the expression — I took him with the child. You're the one who was adopted into the family.

I recently had dinner with 2 «girls» and one of them looked at me with undisguised condemnation. I asked her a question- what's the matter? She replied: you can go fishing, change cars, fly anywhere and whenever you want, drink wine and beer, go to cafes and restaurants, you have no problems… it annoys me, a man shouldn't be like that....free and happy only for yourself, a man's job is to make a woman and family happy, it's disgusting to look at you.

When I was lying in a mental hospital, there was a vegetable man next to me in the ward. I tried to get him up so he could chat, walk down the hall, or go for a smoke like everyone else. But he stupidly ate, shat, and lay in silence, staring at the ceiling. Then I drew a comic about him. Like, a vegetable man saves the world. It kind of lies and scans the surface of the Earth, and then it inhabits someone who wants to harm someone and stops the harm. I remember I sketched out the whole notebook and he liked it. He held up his hand with a thumbs up.

And at night he hanged himself.

One day, the peace-loving inhabitants of Earth asked an extremely powerful wizard to stop all wars and bloodshed on the planet.

«It's simple,— he said. — I will destroy all the weapons on Earth, and no one else will be able to fight.

— Great! People exclaimed.

A wave of the magic wand and the job is done.

For three days, peace reigned on the planet, while most of those who are inclined to fight were looking for and could not find their weapons. And when they realized that they had lost them forever, they made spears out of young trees and resumed their wars.

When this sad news reached the wizard, he said:

»Don't worry. I will destroy all the young trees, and these brawlers will no longer be able to fight.

After two or three days of fruitless searches for young trees suitable for making spears, belligerent people began to cut down giant trees, make clubs out of them, and resumed the bloodshed. The wizard destroyed all the big trees. Then people made knives and swords out of metal. He destroyed all the metal on the planet. People made slings and started throwing stones at each other. The stones also had to be destroyed. And then the supporters of peace sounded the alarm: of course, all the trees were gone, metals and stones were gone. How to live now, what to eat? Soon there will be no vegetation at all, and people will die without even fighting. No, this is not a solution to the problem.

The wizard was confused:

— I don't even know what to do now. I would destroy all of humanity, but unfortunately, it's not in my power yet!

The peacekeepers became discouraged, not knowing what to do. And then an intelligent child turned to the wizard.

«I know what you should do. Let people feel how others perceive their actions. If one causes pain to another, let him feel exactly the same pain, and if he brings joy to someone, then let him feel joy himself. Then, for sure, no one will hurt another, because they will immediately feel the pain themselves and will have to stop.

Everyone was imbued with the greatness of the thought expressed by the child's mouth, and the wizard brought his idea to life exactly. He brought back all the trees, metals and stones, and even weapons, which people soon converted into tools.

From that day on, no one on the planet caused suffering to another, because then he himself would have to experience pain. On the contrary, people started helping each other because they liked the feeling of joy they felt at the same time. And they lived in harmony and joy.

Would you like to play the game knowing in advance that the game is losing and not fair?

So work is fucking scam. It's a slave system.

A slave is paid as much as is necessary to maintain his working capacity. So that a slave could live somewhere with a mortgage, buy food, medicine, pay for housing and communal services, have a smoke break and sleep… to work again tomorrow!

The cycle of slavery in nature.

Work to pay for my «maintenance» and be fit for further work.

Then they will be retired for recycling. You're not a profitable biorobot anymore, you're broken. They will make a special small pension so as not to keep an unprofitable slave.

BUT if you don't work, the state will fall apart. There will be no technological progress, no iPhones, no benefits of civilizations. Do you need it? Some Australopithecus lived happier than you, around a campfire in a cave. His brain wasn't fucked up by the problems of modern man, he didn't have to study so much shit at school, fill his brain with useless news, digest a lot of information, study computers, banking systems, a bunch of papers, know legal laws and other shit. He killed a mammoth and rested for a month until the meat ran out.

The ancient dude just lived like your cat lives now! Even if you don't feed the cat, he'll catch a mouse and lie there all day doing nothing! Fuck the state, fucking brains at the institute, technology, work… The man was happier, doing only what he needed to do, and not chasing after a new iPhone model or a new car.

And now you're a cog in the system. You are being used by slaveholders. Of course, everyone knows about it, but there's no fucking choice. You can't go into the woods, chop logs and make yourself a house. They'll put you in jail right away for stealing wood. Get into the system, work for some shit company, and get a mortgage.

You can't even build a ship and catch a normal fish. Everything is done only through the system. You can't plant potatoes wherever you want, the whole land belongs to the slave owners. Go buy, arrange a piece of land, then pay taxes.

You have been enslaved since birth!

Cunnilingus is just a moronic word, no one likes to pronounce it. If this process were called Superflex, there wouldn't be a single pussy left in the world that hadn't been licked.

A 15-year-old story. I lived with a girl. Beautiful one. We lived together for a long time, and now we graduated from college. Work has begun.

One fine evening, she comes up to me and says that we need to build a business in order to make good money. And she had an idea.

The idea was to motivate me properly. She decided that we wouldn't have sex until I came up with and launched an interesting and profitable project.

I must pay tribute, she did well. After 3 months, she had to look for another apartment. We lived at my place.