Human Animal

All that exists is shaped by the past, and this is especially true for culture, the living body of society, grown through constant need and resolution, almost as if it were an extension of the bodies of its inhabitants. It becomes problematic, then, when the evolution of society’s culture is directed not by the genuine needs of its collective body, but by the ambitions of a parasitic subset of its members. This subset, which has long exerted influence over the desires and behavior of the broader population, is most clearly manifested today in the forces of capitalism and consumer culture. While these systems have roots reaching back to feudal society, their methods and mechanisms have evolved to permeate every corner of modern life.

From the origins of concentrated land, wealth, and power under feudalism, the elite class inherited not only material resources but also significant cultural authority. The populace, naturally imitating the appearance and habits of the elite in pursuit of status, gradually blurred the distinction between the nobility and the rest of society. This distinction, however, was central to the elite’s power, which rested as much on perception and social hierarchy as on wealth or governance. To maintain this distinction, the nobility enforced sumptuary laws and continually introduced new markers of status—fashion, habits, and practices that the public could not immediately claim—thereby driving cultural innovation and reinforcing elite influence.

As power shifted from land and hereditary status to market exchange, these mechanisms transformed. What had once been a system of restriction and control became a system of indulgence and influence, where elite interests shape public desire not merely through social modeling but through the active manufacture of wants. The consolidation of influence continues today through political engagement, both direct and indirect: through donations that sway legislation and regulatory frameworks, and through media and research that shape perception and behavior. In this way, the historical dynamics of cultural control persist, though their instruments have changed with time.

Understanding the structure of this culture brings us naturally to its consequences for the individuals it shapes. The modern individual, conditioned by systems of consumption and specialized labor, is fragmented—pulled in multiple directions, often to the detriment of bodily and mental vitality. Dependence on material goods and services is not merely habitual; it is structurally reinforced, producing needs that may never have arisen absent these cultural pressures. Consumers, even when aware of the harms embedded in everyday products or informational channels, are often powerless to resist the ease, convenience, and social expectation that accompany them.

Consider the pervasiveness of endocrine disruptors and carcinogens, which persist through both legal channels and regulatory inaction, infiltrating homes and common spaces while generating profit for corporations. Similarly, social media, structured to maximize attention and monetization, guides thought and behavior in ways aligned with corporate or political interests, subtly shaping what is considered normative or desirable. Awareness alone does not break the cycle; the structures themselves are designed to reinforce dependency and normalize consumption.

Another layer of this dependence stems from the nature of labor under contemporary capitalism. Ultra-specialization leaves many individuals deskilled in essential practices: farming, mending, crafting, or other forms of self-sufficient work. This lack of practical human capital constrains autonomy and makes resistance to the cultural and material pressures of the system extraordinarily difficult. When people are deprived of the skills to act independently, the mechanisms of influence—both material and informational—exert an even stronger hold.

Yet even in this context, there is a path forward. Recognition of these structural and cultural pressures is the first step, followed by the deliberate cultivation of autonomy and skill. Engaging in practices that restore material and social independence—crafting one’s own goods, learning to work with one’s hands, cultivating habits that support communal and natural health—begins to reorient human experience away from dependency. The goal is not a total rejection of modernity, nor an unthinking return to some imagined pre-industrial state, but a conscious alignment of life with human biological culture: a way of living that values community, self-sufficiency, and ethical engagement over passive consumption.

In navigating these pressures, the individual must balance intellect and feeling, reflection and action. Philosophy becomes not an abstract exercise but a lived practice, intimately connected to the physical and social world. One cultivates both mental clarity and visceral empathy, preserving the capacity to act for oneself and in solidarity with others. Where culture has become distortive or parasitic, the human animal must reclaim agency, not through aggression or denial, but through awareness, skill, and the cultivation of human capacities both natural and communal.