The Economics of Dreams

Now, no one ever wanted a "regular" job. And for most until a decade ago, their dream job was actually a dream. A fantasy they indulged in on inspired nights. The next day, all was regular again. And if there were remnants, society ensured its devices effectively wiped them out till reality was all could they could see again.

Cut to, today, where "following your dream" is the norm. No one thinks you are crazy or brave or special if you want to follow your dream. It, in fact, sounds like the only truth and only purpose of our lives. Why, even parents are beginning to act all cool and supportive of dreams. Or rather are under great pressure to do so. Because, society at large is tending towards this. The reasons, we all know. Technology, connectivity, opportunities, exposure, yada yada yada. Every one has access to all kinds of shit floating around irrespective of age groups. There is no real TG in that sense. Today, a 10-year-old is probably feeling insufficient after he couldn't "do it" in his gully cricket match in spite of repeatedly being repeatedly told "Just do it". And in search of inspiration when he tries to emulate his idol, there comes along "Be Yourself"*. In the wake of this premature existential crisis, probably "It's your life, make it large" will appeal to him the most.

And finally, to validate all these statements, to nail all of this, there are results! Yes, there are ever-increasing success stories of dreams coming true. Facebook is full of them, Twitter is full of them, YouTube is full of them. Start-ups are full of them.

And, if by any miracle, in spite of all those awesome inspirational quotes on Whatsapp, if someone is still untouched by this, brands ensure they are not spared. How can brands even stay out of this? In fact, they have gone on to take leadership position on all of this. On a side note, who the fuck do they think they are. Earlier there were sages who showed us the way, then there were parents, and now brands! Brands! At least, when parents preached, even if it was crap, their intentions were good. But brands playing your friend and guide through life, well let us just say should be taken not just with a pinch of salt but with as much of it as possible.

These brand philosophies are just freewheeling thoughts of 30-year-old copywriters like me, doled out by the dozen every day. And to be honest, we copywriters don't like to sound so preachy. But with clients in fierce competition with each other to take the next high moral ground, we are left with no real choice. In the process, not only are we getting bored but also the consumer. Yes, now you know how religion got boring. But the bombardment of boring, though might bore you, also bores a thought into you efficiently. Setting it deep in your head and consciousness. So, you would assume, they are succeeding? The future is bright? Logically, far from it I would say. They are digging their own grave. And along with it, society's.

Because the problem staring me in the face, the subtler ones aside, is an economic one. Let us make the safe assumption now that with further penetration and development of technology, combined with the brands' ambitions of expansion, a majority (70%, to be conservative) of the population is completely convinced, intently inspired and madly motivated to follow their dreams. On yet another side note (pardon me), majority know just the word Dream. Most haven't delved deep into its nature and don't know dreams keep changing every fortnight. More dreams are born in people's heads today than ever, due to a tremendous and continual exposure to other people's dreams. When new dreams are born every hour, focussing and deciding on one, especially when a brand is saying 'Time is ticking!', can get paralysing to say the least.

Anyways, coming back to the economics of a time when such is the mindset of people, the first concern is a flimsy human resource. If everyone wants to start up, who will work in the corporations. If everyone wants to be a musician, who will fix the mic? Who will build the speakers and the amps? And I'm certain, if there were no speakers and no lighting systems, most wouldn't care to be musicians. This is the first kind of deadlock.

Another kind is, suppose if everyone wanted to open Youtube channels, who would watch Youtube videos? Assuming every Youtube channel were to be a success, it would mean the rest would be watching Youtube videos every second of their lives. And if they were to be watching then it would only fuel them to make their own channel, which would upset the entire thing.

Another related deadlock would be if everyone watched Youtube videos all the time, who would work? Who would keep the Youtube servers going? Who would provide the internet? Who would mail those bills? Who would manufacture the ink used to print those bills?

We are already seeing this. Most of us, especially the young ones, want to do everything all the time. Instead, all they do is end up drinking to deal with this stress, and discuss more such dreams over a drink.

Let me christen this human resource led economic bubble that is rapidly expanding, as the 'Dream Bubble'. Like all bubbles it is luring us in with tremendous initial success. But markets being markets, know no dreams. By definition they are all about debit and credit. If dreams get debited in one's account, then they have to be credited from some one else's. (I hope I got the debit and credit bit right) As long as we live in this economic structure, all idealism is bullshit. And at the point when it no longer makes economic sense, the Dream Bubble would burst leaving behind a nightmare.

It would essentially mean massive unemployment, battered morales, countless shattered dreams. And a human resource that will struggle to even make a new beginning. At the end of the day, this human resource that we talk about is people; it is you and I.

What can we do about it? Well, quite a few possibilities. You can invest now and make money while it lasts. If you are a thorough asshole, then you can even short it. But if I were you, I would be cautious. I would not get trapped in these false ideas of dreams. They are just fed to us. They're not even original! So I would reduce social media time, media time, avoid reading random success stories, take everything with a pinch of salt, save and invest in gold, do some yoga, try to convince the clients to stop playing God and go back to being a clown, and of course continue to dream.




*A subset or an evolution of the Dream propaganda. I probably wouldn't call it propaganda. Because maybe it is all happening organically, but for simplicity's sake let us call it that.