Introduction: The Comforting Lie We Tell Ourselves
When society feels rigged when wages stagnate, corruption thrives, and institutions crumble we soothe ourselves with a familiar refrain: “The System is Failing”
This belief suggests that things used to work but have since malfunctioned that with enough reform, fairness can be restored.
But what if that’s a delusion?
What if the system isn’t failing… because it was never meant to serve you in the first place?
This isn’t a glitch. It’s the design.
The Myth of Meritocracy: A Fair Game That Doesn’t Exist
From childhood, we’re fed a seductive narrative:
- Work hard, and you’ll succeed.
- Rules exist to ensure fairness.
- Power is earned, not inherited.
- When things go wrong, it’s just a temporary bug.
This myth keeps people compliant hopeful enough to keep playing, but never powerful enough to change the game.
The truth? The modern system economic, political, and social wasn’t built for fairness. It was built for control, extraction, and the preservation of elite power.
And by that measure, it’s functioning perfectly.
1. Education: Training Obedience, Not Critical Thinkers
We call it “education,” but much of modern schooling operates as a factory for compliance, not enlightenment.
- Sit still.
- Memorize.
- Don’t question.
- Pass the test.
The system rewards obedience, not curiosity. Those who conform get degrees which lead to jobs that chain them to the economic machine.
Education could liberate minds. Instead, it molds them to fit into pre-assigned roles.
And when those roles serve corporations more than individuals? That’s not an accident—it’s by design.
2. Work: Wage Slavery in the 21st Century
Millions grind through 40+ hour weeks in jobs they despise, barely surviving. Meanwhile, a tiny elite hoards wealth—not from hard work, but from a rigged system.
- Wages stagnate while living costs soar.
- Burnout is normalized as productivity demands increase.
- Debt keeps workers trapped in cycles of servitude.
This isn’t a failure. It’s engineered scarcity.
And when you try to escape? The system punishes you with poverty, exclusion, or shame.
Freedom is a luxury reserved for the wealthy.
3. Democracy: The Illusion of Choice
We’re told we live in democracies that our votes matter. But real power lies with:
- Corporations (through lobbying and dark money)
- Intelligence agencies (through surveillance and influence)
- Media monopolies (through narrative control)
Elections change faces, not systems. Left or right, red or blue the trajectory remains the same.
The system isn’t designed for true democracy. It’s designed to simulate participation while maintaining control.
Real change is never on the ballot.
4. Media: Manufacturing Consent
Media should inform. Instead, it manipulates, distracts, and divides.
Why?
Because the same corporations that profit from the status quo own the channels that shape your reality.
- Some stories are amplified.
- Others are buried.
- Dissent is labeled “misinformation.”
You’re not watching the news. You’re watching a narrative designed to protect the system.
5. Technology: Freedom or Digital Feudalism?
We celebrate innovation but who does it really serve?
- Your phone tracks you.
- Your data is sold.
- Your behavior is manipulated by algorithms.
Technology was supposed to liberate. Instead, it’s the ultimate tool for surveillance and control.
We built the tools. Then they were weaponized not against tyrants, but against us.
Why We Pretend It’s “Broken”
Admitting the system is working as intended is painful. It means:
- Governments don’t care.
- Corporations exploit you by design.
- Institutions exist to maintain hierarchy, not justice.
It’s easier to believe in incompetence than malice.
But ask yourself: Who benefits from this so-called dysfunction?
Dysfunction that serves the powerful isn’t dysfunction it’s strategy.
The Myth of the Broken System – Linkedin
Failing for Whom, Working for Whom?
When people say “the system is failing,” they usually point to rising costs of living, overwhelmed healthcare, broken education, rampant inequality, or governments that seem detached from reality. But the critical question is: failing for whom?
For the average person, yes life feels like a slow collapse. Basic needs are harder to meet. Wages stagnate while billionaires multiply. Rights feel fragile. Institutions feel hollow. It looks like failure.
But zoom out, and a darker clarity emerges: this isn’t dysfunction — it’s efficiency.
Those in positions of power political, economic, or corporate are not only surviving this so-called failure, they are thriving within it. Every crisis becomes a business opportunity. Breakdowns in public trust clear the path for tighter control. And what looks like a mistake is often followed by policies that quietly shift wealth upward or chip away at collective resistance.
This isn’t accidental. It’s not a bug — it’s the blueprint.
The system may appear broken when judged by ideals like justice, equality, or well-being. But judged by the interests it truly serves preservation of power, profit, and control it’s functioning with brutal precision.
What Can We Do?
1. Stop Outsourcing Your Thinking
- Question every narrative especially the convenient ones.
2. Build Outside the System
- Alternative media.
- Local economies.
- Real communities.
3. Teach Critical Thinking – Not Compliance
- Raise children who question, not obey.
4. Speak Up – Silence Feeds the Machine
- The system relies on your apathy.
You may not change the world overnight. But when enough people see the truth, the illusion cracks.
Conclusion: The System Was Never Meant to Serve You
The system isn’t failing. It was built this way.
- Inequality? By design.
- Exploitation? A feature, not a bug.
- Burnout, debt, despair? Tools of control.
But once you see the design, you’re no longer trapped by it.
You can start building something better.
