It's so Fashionable to be a Child/Youth Worker (yes, in Australia)

Many teenagers from the age of 14 to young adults of university age are employed in casual jobs. I understand that not everyone is there for the money, but I do understand that many of them, but not all, have the motive of competing with their friends in terms of their career prospects. A girl once told me that she wanted to work because you 'need to work your way up'. She is one of many who is a materialist and a hedonist. This quest for power is the same for the quest for riches as they are both material possessions. Many people think that serving the boss is something worthwhile, while helping one's family members and serving one's family is slavery. It is this disdain of helping the family that many think it is fashionable to start working early - to fight for power and money.

I am not in any way saying it is wrong to work while young. I am pointing out the attitude of many young people whose motive to work is a means of seeking power and money.

What happens to money in a welfare state

What happens to money in a welfare state? Very simply. Government collects tax from  the working class and the business class. It then gives money to groups like:

• Prisoner' legal services;
• Unemployed people, some of whom are in desperate need of financial assistance;
• Refugee' legal services; and of course,
• Mothers, even if they are very rich, because only their contribution to the society counts. That of others do not. 

It forgets about:

• The elderly
• Single fathers
• Immigrants who work
• Indigenous people

Having it all: Welcome to the postmodern world

We live in an increasingly materialistic world. Our society is at the worst of most vices, if not all. No longer do we feel shocked when people are subject to abuse and violence. Nor do we care if people make money out of the suffering of others. No, we think it is normal because this is the true state of our world.

The idea of "having it all" is a materialistic one. It is the modern belief that a successful person is someone who has:

• love (whether married, de facto, heterosexual or homosexual);
• family;
• friends
• career; and 
• influence. 

Influence may be either money, fame or power. From the modernist perspective, a person who is successful at the career is one who has not only money, but fame and power as well. Love, family and friends are also status symbols.  Only a person with a stable family and good friends are worthy of being loved. People with no family and friends are dismissed as unlovable and lacking of social relationships.

I will be exploring each of these five areas in the next posts.