Recently I got the idea to learn something new, and thought the Labyrinth of Solitude by Octavio Paz would be just the ticket. What an exquisite author. The bulk of his ideas are beyond my ken but I found the following passages of interest, which jumbled up somehow into the cartoon that follows.
“The modern worker lacks individuality… Capitalism deprives him of his human nature by reducing him to an element in the work process. And like any object in the business world, he can be bought and sold. Because of his social condition he quickly loses any concrete and human relationship to the world…
A government of technicians, the ideal of contemporary society – would thus be a government of instruments. Functions would be substituted for ends, and means for creators.
Society would progress with great efficiency but without aim, and the repetition of the same gesture, a distinction of the machine, would bring about an unknown form of immobility, that of a mechanism advancing from nowhere to nowhere.” – Octavio Paz, 1985
simonandfinn 
This is so interesting. As an arts professional today I think many of us struggle to find our individuality as artists in an environment that is trying to adapt a more business like mentality. Especially as you get higher up the food chain I think you feel less like an autistic voice and more like a cog in the larger wheel. Where does the balance exist and how does one still find their artistic voice when there is so much pressure and money on the line. “Success” brings much more than people bargain for sometimes. It’s interesting to think about.
Thanks!
Gerry
Thank you for your comment! That’s a good point about the artistic voice.. being a cog in the wheel is certainly an anathema to creative expression.
That Finn is a clever one! I typically think of them / us as sheep, but fleas is good too!! 🙂
Ye ol’ golden fleece!
Nice one! Thanks 🙂