TL:DR Why are we still going along with this when ALMOST EVERYONE is losing?

Today at work, there are scientists discovering new forms of matter and untangling the secrets of the universe.

Today at work, I discovered that I also have a LEAST favourite broom and untangled the cord on my phone.

I'm 45, and I'm a failure. Not as a human being, but this work stuff has kicked my ass. It started all right, but I've been left behind. I rent a one-bedroom basement apartment (my ex-wife is buying a $1M house in April). I have no savings. The window on my driver's side door is broken, and I can't afford to have it fixed.

Capitalism has kicked my ass. It's the start of the second half and the score is 98-3. Why do I have to continue running out the clock? Why are ALL of us still playing this game?

Imagine you're back in grade school. There's a game the kids invented years ago that everyone plays at lunch hour. But there's a secret. Years ago, one of the other kids' older brothers found a way to cheat. He told his brother, and that brother told a bunch of his friends, and now they keep winning. EVERY. SINGLE. TIME. If you start to score points, they change the rules. If you don't like it, they push you down and call you names. You only get to play on the winning team if you're in the club. But the club is full of selfish, arrogant, douchebag bullies. How long would we keep playing?

But that's the real world. We're playing a game that most of us lose. And not like, 51-49% most, more like 99.9% lose. But we keep showing up every lunch hour, and get our asses handed to us and are supposed to feel good about even being allowed to play.

Ten-year-olds have figured this out. When the game isn't fun anymore, you STOP. You go play something else. You make a new friend group and you stay away from the toxic bullshit. So why am I still sweeping the floor at 45?

I'm done. I lost. Some other guys are WAY BETTER at capitalism than me, congratulations, take your trophy, nobody likes your stupid game anyway. But I still have 20 more years to go. If I can save enough money to retire. Otherwise, I could be playing this stupid game for forty years with no hope of ever winning.

Now, I'm not talking about killing myself. I just want out of the work-for-forty-hours-a-week-just-to-survive treadmill. I just want to leave the competitive, toxic, bullshit behind and spend time with my girlfriend. Learn about the world. Cook good food. Watch a movie now and then.

Why are we still playing this stupid, rigged, game?