Life Without Care

The theoretical life, with all its inspirations, assumptions, dark 
suspicions and far-reaching implications, becomes unbearable when the 
products of our pen do not result in performable tasks. Once the 
connections have manifested themselves, the syntaxes pose an ecological 
threat that requires channeling and processing. Ideas must be either 
safely disposed of or converted into a practicable body of thought. If 
they are not, the intellectual cycle becomes unsettled. Thoughts must be 
separated to prevent concern from accumulating. The pure thinking of yore 
has now become a purifying thinking, obsessed with the administration of 
its own mindset. This compulsive cleaning revolves around the question of 
disposal. Unlike before, excessive thinking no longer tends towards 
totalization or madness but paralyzes economic commitment. The gift of 
genius implies a compulsory productivity which no one in his right mind 
would care to accept. In the panic of being at the mercy of a processual 
existence full of chronic issues, it is easy to resign altogether. Urged 
on by the will to break out, one surrenders to the vision of a mindless 
nirvana. Haunted by jolts of relativism and existential doubt, we await 
the coming of the Spirit, until all of a sudden, from an all-transcending 
height, we come to realize the futility of our everyday fiddlings. The 
cosmic perspective reveals an unburdened existence, full of clarity and 
simplicity. Having first glanced at this magnificence, one never wants to 
go back. Swept along by a rising tide of personal commitments, red tape 
and inescapable dreariness, there arises an indefinable desire to be in 
the world, but not of it. Christian dogma suddenly sounds like a koan, 
lifting the veil from earthly existence.

Some stick to the daily grind; others become converts who have seen the 
light. But the vast majority simply gets caught up in the miasma of 
issues which slowly threatens to suffocate them. They are the embodiment 
of the demand for care. This is commonly understood as a demand for 
psychological advice (preferably in book form). But today, the 
professionals face serious competition by self-help experts, miracle 
workers, columnists, TV personalities, psychics, and extraordinary 
preachers. Any dissertation, phenomenon or thematics may act as care. 
Even Madonna could help you on your way; the Adilkno agency might offer 
some relief; the tango could pull you out of the doldrums. Care is 
neither therapy nor religion. It is a practical method that alludes to 
the vague discontent of the multitudes. It appeals to small grievances 
and molds undefined self-pity into a treatable symptom in the shape of a 
comprehensible discourse. Care is as varied and comprehensive as life 
itself. It causes no harm and is obtainable without a prescription.

Apparently, care is seen as a commodity, for sale like a hotcake. Care is 
business, the nutrition needed to keep digestion going. Care has an aura 
of existential commitment lacking in everyday groceries. It frustrates 
any critique of consumerism. Of course there exists a flourishing market 
for well-being and happiness. But the genes that support our recognition 
of the tragic aspects of existence prevent an objectifying perspective. 
The economists and systematologists themselves are at a loss when it 
comes to current, extensive expressions of grief and despair. The sphere 
of care is invulnerable, and can only be understood in terms of symptoms 
itself. It is a different circuit. One cannot discuss care. The manual is 
read and never brought up again: One is ready to get back on the road. A 
suppression of inner confusion, it offers the comfort of a 
deeply-involved, heartfelt pep talk. The text is mediated by a shepherd 
who leads his stray sheep back to the safety of the flock. It is a 
reassuring tale to get you back on your feet when life seems to have come 
to a standstill.

The crippled and maimed may proffer their severed limbs, but the 
psycho-prostheses readily await them. The demand for assistance has 
overtaken the cry of distress. Today, the genre of care functions 
preventatively. We are given a weekly peek at some existential abyss or 
other: alternative ways of mourning, divorce without stress, 
second-generation war criminals, gerontophilia, homeless parents, 
neighborhood jihads, joy without labor, bleeding for Europe. None of this 
bothers us, but something still just doesn't feel right. The appeal to 
this discomfort indicates the emptiness of being. We get a momentary 
glimpse of an ineffable entity rising above our daily rounds of agendas 
and memos. One tip of the veil of pretensions is briefly lifted, shedding 
light on the futility of personal encumbrances. The care managers not 
only have a talent for working on this state of affairs, they also 
possess the writing skills to express it through books, magazines, and 
television programs. They are the pornographers of civilized horror. 
Their realistic true-life tales of suffering acquaint us with the tragic 
turn in the lives of people like you and me.

This postmodern variation on the ars morendi prepares us for a meaningful 
chastening experience. It arms the mind against undefined threats. In 
place of yesterday's cod-liver oil to prevent T.B., today's pre-disabled 
life seeks to render us sensitive to the malady and the cure, in the 
secret hope that it will go away as long as you're prepared to work on 
it. It is all part of a process of growth, you know. Witnessing AIDS, 
ongoing civil wars, flesh-eating bacteria, post-Fascism, skin disease and 
incontinence keeps you alert to the risky aspects of modern life. Should 
your time suddenly come up, then the stored info is sure to accelerate 
the process of acceptance. It'll give you all the time you need for a 
positive experience of disaster, which is beneficial for your social 
return. Care thus provides a sound basis for personal growth so that our 
human capital remains in good repair.

Panic is no longer an acute state of mind, but has become a rigid and 
permanent attitude. This explains the returns involved with care. It's a 
lot like the tabloids; even though you do not buy them, you are 
unconsciously being kept up to date. That is why critique of this market 
sector is so futile. Exposing the scam, the hypocritical pretense of 
commitment, the dealing in false hope, will only lead to a more carefully 
stylized package. At best, it will result in the dynamic revival of 
outdated religions or medical practices. The enlightened citizenry - the 
ones serial criticism is aimed at - are some of care's major customers. 
Doctors, teachers, managers, successful retailers, lawyers and top 
officials would not be caught dead openly supporting it. Like 
pornography, tabloids and entertainment programs, care is only 
distributed in banal editions. Easier to comment upon - besides implying 
that the real existential problems only affect the lower ranks of 
society.

A responsible and sober diet of care products enables the chosen few to 
plan a responsible course of life. Their prescience of maladies and 
diseases develops into a sense of superiority which is the real 
manifestation of current class consciousness - no longer derived from 
income or birth, but from a ruthless sense of self-esteem that withstands 
everything and cannot be disturbed. They are the winners, the least needy 
who wallow in the consumption of lite philosophy. Instead of having to 
tackle terminal questions, they use care as a personal organizer to 
encourage functional office behavior. Like a sponge, the soft code of 
behavior absorbs all burning questions and renders the achievers 
inaccessible to human signals. After all, they themselves have noticed 
and explained everything in socio-technological terms at an earlier 
stage, so their powers of observation have grown numb and they have lost 
the faculty of independent interpretation. Should any problems yet arise, 
the only solution would be a form of metacare. But since that particular 
brand of wisdom is not on the market, one falls back on dishonorable 
self-destruction or launches an attack on the other. It is only when the 
conflict gets thoroughly out of hand that we really reach the peaks of 
human existence. Theory is not care, nor is it a substitute for forgotten 
services and ideologies. Now it can be dismissed of the duty to cause 
hope, comfort, morality, sensibility, power, salvation, and other 
medicinal side effects.
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