A joke, of course.
But perhaps not as far from reality as we would like to think.
We live in a world increasingly obsessed with monetization.
Monetize your passion.
Monetize your hobby.
Monetize your spirituality.
Monetize your attention.
Monetize your relationships.
Monetize your identity.
Monetize your time.
Monetize your family.
Monetize yourself.
And if you can’t monetize yourself directly, then at least build a brand around yourself somehow.
Political philosopher Wendy Brown argues that neoliberalism is not merely an economic system, but a way of thinking that gradually transforms human beings into what she calls “human capital” — economic actors competing in an endless marketplace.
In such a system, almost everything slowly drifts toward monetization.
Not only labor.
But life itself.
And once you begin noticing it, you see it everywhere.
Children becoming influencers.
Meditation becoming subscription services.
Spirituality becoming branding.
Friendships becoming networking.
People turning every hobby into a side hustle.
Even simple peace of mind increasingly feels packaged and sold back to us.
But are we really just human capital?
A baby?
Your mother?
You?
When did human worth become so entangled with economic value?
Why do so many people feel pressure to monetize the very things they love the most?
When you play piano because it moves your soul… should that immediately become a business model?
When you walk in the forest… should that become content?
When you meditate… should that become a subscription service?
And perhaps most importantly:
Why does modern life increasingly make us feel guilty for doing things that are not economically productive?
Now, before we turn this into a simplistic attack on people trying to make a living, let’s be fair.
Most people are not greedy.
They are desperate.
People are struggling.
AI is beginning to replace jobs.
Costs keep rising.
Economic pressure keeps intensifying.
And so naturally people start scrambling for security wherever they can find it.
Monetize the hobby.
Start the channel.
Become a coach.
Build the brand.
Sell the course.
Try to survive.
The irony is that many people participating in this are deeply sincere human beings simply trying to navigate a system where access to life itself is tied to money.
That is why I do not believe the problem is fundamentally human greed.
I believe the deeper problem is systemic.
We are not drowning in money.
We are suffocating in the demand for it.
Money is demanded before access to almost everything:
Housing.
Food.
Healthcare.
Education.
Transportation.
Security.
Even time and peace of mind.
And when every gate requires money, society naturally begins pressuring people to monetize more and more of themselves simply to breathe inside the system.
The strange thing is that technologically, humanity should theoretically be moving toward greater freedom.
We have automation.
Artificial intelligence.
Advanced production.
Global communication.
The ability to produce abundance with less human labor than ever before.
Yet psychologically, many people feel more economically trapped than ever.
Why?
If technology increasingly reduces the need for labor, then why does human worth still seem so tightly tied to economic productivity?
And yes, the irony is not lost on me.
Here I am, offering a book for money while questioning a world obsessed with monetization.
But that is precisely the point.
We are all inside the system. Is there no escape?
Even those imagining alternatives must still navigate a world where access to life is tied to money.
Perhaps the real question is not whether individuals monetize things.
Perhaps the real question is:
What kind of system pressures human beings to monetize more and more of their existence simply to feel secure?
And perhaps an even bigger question:
Wouldn’t it be beautiful to live in a world where we could fully enjoy music, art, meditation, creativity, nature, learning, and human connection… without the constant pressure to turn every meaningful moment into economic value?
What if human beings are something more than human capital?
What if we are not here merely to compete, produce, consume, and survive… but to live?
That is one of the core questions explored in my novel Waking Up – A Journey Towards a New Dawn for Humanity.
What if another way of organizing human society is possible?
If you want to get a glimpseinto a future where humanity has made the choice to live as human beings rather than human capital follow Benjamin Michaels into this future.
👉 You can discover the book here
And if this article resonates, please share it. I thank you.
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