What Is Going On In This World?
Capitalism, collapse, and the haunting question no one wants to answer out loud.
Lately I find myself asking this more and more:
What is going on in this world?
It’s a real question, not a rhetorical one.
And I asked it again after watching a recent interview titled “Peter Thiel and the Antichrist,” a conversation between Ross Douthat and Peter Thiel.
I first saw a short clip floating around online—the kind of thing designed to go viral. It showed Thiel hesitating when asked if he wanted the human race to survive.
Here’s how the exchange went:
Douthat: “I think you would prefer the human race to endure, right?”
Thiel: “Uh ——”
Douthat: “You’re hesitating.”
Thiel: “Well, I don’t know. I would — I would ——”
Douthat: “This is a long hesitation!”
Thiel: “There’s so many questions implicit in this.”
Douthat: “Should the human race survive?”
Thiel: “Yes.”
Douthat: “OK.”
Of course, the internet ran with it. “Tech billionaire hesitates to say humanity should survive” is clickbait gold.
But I wanted the full picture. So I watched the whole interview.
What I Saw
I’ll admit—at first, the clip made Thiel look unsure and scattered.
But after watching the full interview, I wasn’t so quick to laugh. His hesitation wasn’t surprising. Honestly, it made sense given who he is.
For those unfamiliar, Peter Thiel is a tech billionaire. He co-founded PayPal and Palantir, was the first outside investor in Facebook, and has heavily funded Trump and J.D. Vance. He’s a key figure in shaping a certain version of our political and technological future—one rooted in elitism and profit over people.
So when he hesitated?
That felt on-brand.
Because I don’t think he does believe this version of humanity is worth saving.
At least not the parts that can’t be optimized, controlled, or monetized.
To me, he was trying hard not to say the quiet part out loud.
Was I Surprised? No.
Because this is what happens when wealth is prioritized over humanity.
It’s a story we’ve seen before.
A story we are living every single day.
And it made me reflect on my own growing discomfort with capitalism—something I’ve been thinking about for over a decade now.
It All Started with Zeitgeist
Years ago, my brother told me to watch a film called Zeitgeist. Now let me be clear—it’s full of conspiracy theories and wild ideas. I am not in a cult, I promise 😆.
But one thing stuck with me.
The idea that our monetary system is built on fiction, and that late-stage capitalism is inherently unsustainable.
That eventually, the system will collapse—and what we do after that is what really matters.
That seed was planted.
And it’s grown over time.
The Western Hustle
For years I’ve questioned the way we’re taught to live:
Leave home to pay for a home you never spend time in
Work to support kids you barely get to see grow up
Grind endlessly, just to survive—never really to live
Purchase everything from food to furniture
Live for the here and now without regard for future generations
I’ve been thinking:
Are we doing life wrong?
Or maybe not wrong… but could it be drastically better if we change the way we think and what we consider progress?
That’s what Uba is about for me.
It’s not a rejection of work, or progress, or ambition.
It’s a return to something more human.
A refusal to participate in a system that demands everything and gives little in return.
Amanda’s Mindset Shift Tip
Ask yourself: Are you living in a way that brings you joy and harms no one?
That’s the question I’ve been sitting with.
Because at the end of the day, that’s what I want for myself—and for the world.
So, What’s Going On In This World?
I think we’ve lost sight of people and community.
We’ve replaced connection with currency.
We’ve made billionaires gods and made everyday folks disposable.
But the good news?
We can choose differently.
Uba is my choice.
It’s a slow, intentional, sometimes lonely path back to something real.
And as wild as it sounds—it feels like freedom.