IJBM: real life is a free-to-play game

glennmagusharvey

And it's pay-to-win, of course.

 

For example:

* it's technically possible to not participate in the economy.  You will have to strike out on your own to some remote place and somehow live off the land yourself.  It's just far less tedious to buy your food (unless you're a farmer), and buy your place to live (unless maybe if you're a jack-of-all-trades builder who can do everything on your own, including gathering all the raw materials, but even then you still need to get the land somehow).  And if you want to participate in the economy, you will need a source of income.

* it's technically possible to go through post-secondary education without printing anything, or by printing only that which you absolutely and irreplaceably need to print, and transcribing some of the rest.  However, it's just far more convenient to have things like printed copies of syllabi, research papers, forms that need filling, etc..  So you end up buying a printer and ink, or paying for printing somehow.

* it's technically possible to make a living and live a comfortable life without owning a motor vehicle.  However, doing so anywhere outside of a densely-populated urban area or other place well-served by public transit, means that you'll severely limit your career options, and if you're in a place with windy-street suburbs with bottlenecked entrances, it'll be a severe chore even just to get groceries.

* it's technically possible to serve as your own legal defense in legal disputes and court cases.  However, unless you're already a lawyer (or are in prison for life and thus there's really nothing better to do), it's probably far more time-efficient to hire a lawyer who knows the relevant statutes, case law, precedents, loopholes, etc. to help you out, than to go learn it all by yourself.

* you can get through life without a landline, without cell phone service, without a computer, without an internet connection, without using mail and parcel services, and other communication tools.  However, you'll be intensely socially pressured to get them, and communication is just a lot more convenient with them.

* at least in the United States, you can participate in the political process for free.  You can vote, you can show up at community meetings and town hall events, you can make communications voicing your opinions to your elected officials, and you can go out onto the street to hold signs.  But if you've got money to spend, you can run campaign and issue ads, hold your own events, found or fund think-tanks developing policies you like or helping causes you support, and even treat elected officials quite nicely (and have a lawyer to tell you how to do it legally).

* if you don't have money, you can't earn any interest.  If you have a little money, you might be able to get a little interest on it by putting it in the bank.  However, if you have more money, banks often pay you higher rates of interest in your bank account.

 

Legal representation is guaranteed in criminal cases, and food is generally considered a basic human need that is usually provided to those who can't otherwise get it (but you'll be perceived as a hobo/beggar), and some universities offer limited free printing to students (though less frequently for graduate students).  But aside from some tax credits, you won't get much help buying a home or a car.  Or even getting internet or cell phone service (as providers jack up prices and severely reduce low-end choices).

...you get my point.

Jaooooo

If when I die I find out God downloaded me from the Apple Store we are going to have words.

RedEyedAbyss

At first, I was thinking, "Oh dear, another life-is-a-video-game thread." Then I saw that you actually made good points.

Also, poor people have a lot harder time getting by than rich people. And rich people tend to be the obnoxious jerks constantly denying that life may be unfair in any way while cluelessly screaming the equivalent of "learn 2 play" at poor people.