As suggested by Andrew Yang, our current economic system of capitalism determines what type of behavior is valuable, and people, therefore, will engage in more of those behaviors. On the other hand, there are many activities that people engage in that are not considered as participating in traditional capitalism. Some examples include parenting and caring for loved ones; creating music, dance, art; reading or writing for pleasure; preserving the environment; or having a hobby. These are activities most people typically do for free, not for money. However, people are finding it more difficult to accomplish these activities of a “normal life,” according to Yang. Meanwhile, he argues capitalism is failing to increase the standard of living of citizens and, at the same time, forcing Americans to abandon their hometowns and dreams that inspired them to pursue academic success in the first place. He continues that the most well-educated young people succumb to jobs designed to generate and concentrate wealth and work crazy hours so they can pay off their extremely high student debt. Yang states that, without changing the current perception of what constitutes valuable human activity, the future of the “normal life” does not look promising.
