How You Became Your Own God
On the phenomenon of self-worship in achievement society
Hi, I’m Max Murphy! A failed creative turned existential imbecile. These days, I write The Murphy Memos where we explore the absurdity of existence with crappy jokes.
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Last week, I joked about starting my own religion, and invited you to join as a member (the invitation is still open if you’re into that kinda thing).
I’ve been a devout follower of this religion for most of my life now, and let me just say, it’s the worst thing that’s ever happened to me. At least since being born.
But I’m not alone.
Millions of people have joined this new form of religion: the worship of the self.
Byung-Chul Han argues this is largely because of the transition in the structure of our society.
From a slap on the ass, to a tap of encouragement
Philosophy’s favorite homosexual sadomasochist, Michel Foucault, described society as one of discipline1. To Foucault, our discipline society relied on institutions such as schools, factories, and prisons to coerce and exploit people to do things they otherwise didn’t want to do.
The time of every day authoritarianism, where teachers and bosses were tyrants ruthlessly forcing you to “do what you gotta do.”
Nobody wanted to do these things, but it was preferable to the ass slapping they’d get if they didn’t.
However, this is no longer the world we live in.
Today, teachers aren’t hitting kids, and bosses are more likely to pretend to be your friend than act like a micro-managing minion guided by the fiery hand of Lucifer himself.
So… wtf changed?
In Burnout Society, Byung-Chul Han argued that we’ve transitioned away from the discipline society of Foucault and into what he called an Achievement society.
Instead of tiny tyrants terrorizing and exploiting us, we exploit ourselves.
As Han put it, “As an entrepreneur of the self, the achievement-subject is free insofar as he or she is not subjugated to a commanding and exploiting Other. However, the subject is still not really free because he or she now engages in self-exploitation and does so of his or her own free will. The exploiter is the exploited. The achievement-subject is perpetrator and victim in one.”
Instead of getting your ass slapped until it's more red than the Soviet flag, you exploit yourself and get a gentle tap of encouragement kinda like how the football players do it. Instead of an act of discipline designed to coerce you, it becomes an act of encouragement.
When all is said and done, you are still being exploited, and someone is still putting their hand on your ass, but it feels much less oppressive.
And that’s why it's so fucking effective.
Han2 said it best, “The modal verb that determines achievement society is not the Freudian should but Can.”
Your transformation from subject to project
As a self-exploiter, you’ll be obsessed with self improvement, productivity, and fulfilling your potential.
You’ll work much harder than a subject in discipline society. Not only is no one forcing you to do it, but it might be the thing that puts you ahead.
When I discovered the idea of making money on YouTube as a kid, I gave up sports, my social life, and everything else.
Even on school days, I managed to put in 10 hours, working well into the night. And in the summers, I averaged 1003 hour weeks and only stopped working to eat, sleep or shower.
I got nothing but encouragement from family, but how would they have reacted had I been working at McDonald’s?
Instead of being an ambitious self-starting kid, I would’ve been seen as an exploited victim.
No one was forcing me to run myself into the ground. I just did it. And so do you. And so does everyone else.
This is why everyone’s burnt out.
Smash the like button for Me, Myself and I
The uncanny amount of effort and attention directed at improving ourselves ends up creating an environment ripe for narcissism.
After all, how could you not become a little self obsessed if you’re spending so much time “improving” yourself?
In a sense, you become your own God.
Today, we spend most of our lives in this digital realm of social media in a ruthless, cutthroat competition for attention and validation.
The idea of the “personal brand” Is symbolic of where we are as a society. We are no longer people, we have been reduced to commodities, projects in the ever-hungry quest for generating capital.
Between the internet and modern transportation, we are more connected than we’ve ever been. At least, in theory.
But in practice, we are the most alone that humans have ever been.
Perhaps the sacrifice is worth it if it means the shareholders can add another yacht to their collection.
ps: have you been looking for a 31 minute video essay exploring the inherently deceptive nature of popular culture and media?
Well friend, you’re in luck: here you go!
This is such an over-simplification that it isn’t even funny. Foucault’s philosophy is really interesting and you can read the related wikipedia page here, but be wary of the “wall of text” nature of his writing. I’d actually suggest sticking with the wikipedia page for this one lol
Han is a really interesting thinker, so here’s a link to his wikipedia page if you’d like to go down that rabbit hole.
People have asked me if I’m exaggerating, and I really wish I was. I likely have an undiagnosed mental illness tbh