In case you haven’t noticed, a lot of retail stores, restaurants and other service companies all over the U.S. are complaining that they can’t find enough workers or just can’t get them to stay, even by offering higher wages. Numerous reasons have been suggested for this disconnect. For instance, the pay is still not enough to cover living expenses, or the work is drudgery (as in spiritually unrewarding), or the government will support you at a subsistence level and maybe in the meantime you can pursue a more interesting lifestyle, or you have become panicked and depressed by the isolation of COVID, or you lack the training for a better job and fear that the competition for applicants is too intense, or the pool of eligible young workers has shrunk along with the birthrate, or the number of drug addicts may have increased during the pandemic which would also reduce the number of eligible workers. The list of possible reasons for a worker shortage goes on and on.

It should be noted that some people think the problem will be solved once enhanced unemployment ends. Also during lockdown mut became apparent that the job may not be the most important aspect of life.

To get an all-encompassing feeling of the zeitgeist, you can explore the writings of an influential scholar named Lauren Berlant. She became popular after the downturn of 2008, a year when it seemed evident that the American Dream was becoming a privilege of the few. Now in 2021, the whole world is having that experience again.

Professor Berlant wrote a book called Cruel Optimism. This term explains the social reality “when some thing you desire is actually an obstacle to your flourishing.” Ideals that used to be a little more realistic, such as advancement in the workplace or love relationships that can last through turbulent times have become more of an illusion than ever. Another example of these illusions is the idea that technology will somehow, by itself, resolve all of our ecological problems. There is also an illusory comfort found in using the smartphone, which can give you the feeling of empowerment and connectedness.

Of course, it’s a lot easier to make the diagnosis of American malaise than to find the cure. Please listen to the Peter, Paul, and Mary version of the Bob Dylan song, “Too much of nothing.” Then listen to Dylan.

Allan Frank

Phillipsport