Because capitalism (and religion before it) told us it would come in the future. As long as we worked as hard as possible in the present.
In the case of religion, this was after you died, until people figured out it was a little too convenient, a little too much of a blank cheque that leaves very little room for recourse if it doesn’t turn out as advertised.
In capitalism, “defferred gratification” is sold as a virtue, a sign of good moral character, you are made responsible for your own happiness in a way that requires continual vigilence.
You hope for it in the future because it doesn’t exist in the present.
Because capitalism (and religion before it) told us it would come in the future. As long as we worked as hard as possible in the present.
In the case of religion, this was after you died, until people figured out it was a little too convenient, a little too much of a blank cheque that leaves very little room for recourse if it doesn’t turn out as advertised.
In capitalism, “defferred gratification” is sold as a virtue, a sign of good moral character, you are made responsible for your own happiness in a way that requires continual vigilence.