Item — HN Reader

Interesting points. You write about externalities, which touch on an economist view. And you also note Ed Bernay and his work on human psychology/propaganda.

Is there empirical literature that further explains this paradox? I wonder if there’s anything in anthropology that describes this.

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The paradox here is pretty difficult to break down because it its function and causes are so intertwined with everything in "industrialized Western society" as the above comment makes note of.

The book "24/7: Late Capitalism and the Ends of Sleep" captures many social phenomenon and mechanisms of the neoliberal/"late capitalism" moment.

Here is an excerpt from a book review: "the emergence, rationalization, and normalization of the “observing subject” across the 19th century, revealing new techniques of discipline, such as the regulation of attention in industrial labour and later the pathologization of deviant forms of perception and attentiveness" from https://muse.jhu.edu/article/580561

This is neat, I'll check out Jonathan Crary's writing, thank you!