Fear of the light

Imagine people living in a great underground cave, which is only open to the outside at the end of a steep and difficult ascent. Most of the people in the cave are prisoners chained facing the back wall of the cave so that they can neither move nor turn their heads. A great fire burns behind them, and all the prisoners can see are the shadows playing on the wall in front of them. They have been chained in that position all their lives.

There are others in the cave, carrying objects, but all the prisoners can see of them is their shadows. Some of the others speak, but there are echoes in the cave that make it difficult for the prisoners to understand which person is saying what.

Imagine the difficulties a prisoner might have adapting to being freed. When he sees that there are solid objects in the cave, not just shadows, he is confused. Instructors can tell him that what he saw before was an illusion, but at first, he'll assume his shadow life was the reality.

Eventually, he will be dragged out into the sun, be painfully dazzled by the brightness, and stunned by the beauty of the moon and the stars. Once he becomes accustomed to the light, he will pity the people in the cave and want to stay above and apart from them, but think of them and his own past no longer. The new arrivals will choose to remain in the light, but they must not. Because for true enlightenment, to understand and apply what is goodness and justice, they must descend back into the darkness, join the men chained to the wall, and share that knowledge with them.

The above is a short summary of The Allegory of the Cave, a story from Book VII in Plato's masterpiece "The Republic". It is written as a dialogue between Plato's brother Glaucon and his mentor Socrates, narrated by the latter.

Now, having read the above, would you consider yourself living in the cave or in the sunshine?

The most probable answer is that you are in the cave, the majority of people are. Modern life has a grip on you. Work. Mortgage. Car. Another car. Vacation home. And so on. Are you really sure all of that is real?

You’re working hard every day and a shadow told you that hard work will pay off. You’re giving it all. But guess what, it’s not enough. The shadow sold you a dream. If hard work was enough, employees at sweatshops would be millionaires. Instead, focus on smart work, solve problems, and provide solutions. By the way, your CEO makes 287 times more money than you. But if it’s any consolation, he’s in the cave also. Why? The shadow sold him the same dream. He doesn’t need all that money. He exchanged his health and time, his life for that money. 

"Only in recent history has “working hard” signaled pride rather than shame for lack of talent, finesse and, mostly, sprezzatura."

― Nassim Nicholas Taleb

The shadow also told you that you need an office. You need to go to the office every day. Well guess what, you don’t. A tiny pathogen that rocked the world provided a glimpse of the surface light. Now you’re working from your home. 

Then there are those who have seen the light but decided it’s better in the cave. Because the light is too strange for them. They prefer to be in the cave and listen to the shadows. This gives them power. Or so they think. They are the ones ignoring the germ and acting as nothing is happening, the ones ruthlessly stomping on peoples faces for that extra profit. Billions, trillions...and then what? It never ends. You’re still in the cave.

"With one million dollars or five, or ten or one hundred, you can still have lunch and dinner only once a day."

― Dra?en Petrovi?

And your loans and debts? According to research, more than half of all millennials (classified as ages 18 to 37) “don’t know when, or if, they’ll ever be able to pay off what they owe.” Almost 20% of those expect to die with some form of debt. "But the shadows said I need a loan." After all, who can blame you, the cave is all you know.

So fine. You’re in the cave. The shadows control you. Let’s say you’re a business owner and you’re living the shadow’s dream. But suddenly, all has stopped. The aforementioned germ pulled the brake on the entire system. Your dream is collapsing. But hey, you remembered that some time ago a fellow cave companion sold you an insurance policy which will cover your business if some unforeseen sudden event stops it. Business interruption, he called it. Ah, at least a bit of relief in these hard times. You call him and tell him you need to claim a loss from your policy. But he tells you that you will not receive a penny. It’s not covered under your policy. “Is this real? Is this really happening to me?” you shout so loud that the whole cave hears your cries.

Ok, a lot of people are calling your cave companion with the same request. He tells them all the same thing. “Ah, at least a bit of relief in these hard times.” he thinks to himself. “I will not be needing to reach into my pocket and pay out.” But then, your cave companion receives a call. “Hi, it’s Tangerine. It would be better for all that you pay these people claiming losses.” Your cave companion is afraid of the Tangerine. Tangerine is the biggest and strongest man in the cave. Finally, your cave companion sighs in despair “Is this real? Is this really happening to me?”

You, your cave companion, Tangerine, you’re all in the cave. A beacon of light in the form of a submicroscopic nucleic acid shone on your face and cast a doubt in your mind. Is this real?

Let’s say this doubt bothers you so profoundly that you decide to climb the steep ascent and get out of the cave. Strong light blinds you at first. But then you see that on the surface, there are companions as well, Tangerines, policies, business interruption, germs... But there on the outside, when a germ comes, every living creature is united in battling with it, your policy is absolutely clear to you (thanks to the fact that it is digital and with a transparent wording), thus your BI loss is covered. Your companions are not savagely chasing the monies, they have time to enjoy the sunshine.

Wow, you’re impressed by your findings. “This is so great. I need to share the big news with my cave friends.” you think to yourself. You eagerly rush back to the cave and share your joy. But your cave friends are outraged, they mock you with gruesome laughter. “Go away crazy bastard!” they yell at you.

Shocked, you think to yourself “Why would my friends prefer this dark cave instead of the abundant light on the surface?”

Because they are afraid.

"We can easily forgive a child who is afraid of the dark; the real tragedy of life is when men are afraid of the light."

― Plato