Escaping Wage Slavery Will Not Make You Happy

[@TomScryleus]

*🟢WATCH NEXT:* *Start a one man company* → kzbin.info/www/bejne/aWLGZ4SpgKyMgtUsi=S11Z0_FDAGHYsHuj

[@CoolHandRonin]

I have to disagree with you on this one. In 2020, I was on unemployment (725 bucks a WEEK) For 8 months and that was by far the happiest I've ever been in my LIFE! Every day felt like heaven.

[@TomScryleus]

Dude, thats what im talking about! :) I want that!

[@Mr_Banker222]

I was unemployed 2021 making $500 a week, my stress levels dropped drastically and I just felt happier with freedom. Love my current job tho, it’s just as good.

[@Emyointheworld]

what have u done the whole day. Didn't u feel u wanna do some work after a while?

[@CoolHandRonin]

Nope. I trained, ate healthy, visit family, traveled, volunteered, etc...

[@Harp_and_Guitar_Moving_Forward]

​@@Mr_Banker222that's not making. That's called simp receiving

[@timc1341]

I used to think it was 9 to 5 hell. Now i realize its 9 to 5 purgatory until you can cleanse yourself of your wage slave habits and desires...only then can you enter into a higher plane of existence.

[@TomScryleus]

Thats interesting perspective. I like it. Thanks for sharing

[@Erik-the-Southern-Viking]

Profoundly True

[@mikejarrells431]

I like work (having a positive impact on the universe/achieving my goals). I don't like toxic people (narcissists/toxic bosses & coworkers).

[@Erik-the-Southern-Viking]

I Absolutely Concur: Narcissists, Sociopaths, Bullies & Backstabbers were the #1 Reason I left Corporate.

[@bfalu87]

I'm going to retire early. Not to gain happiness, but to avoid being miserable

[@TomScryleus]

Thats my goal too. But happiness is something I also work on.

[@JediPhantom]

It's not about riches for me or 7 income streams, but living a peaceful life with as minimal stress as possible.

[@JefMaes43]

In my experience the happiness comes from the freedom and to really appreciate it!.. the feeling is so powerful.. you can do or NOT DO whatever you want, you don't need to listen to anybody, you don't need to ratrace the traffic jams, etc.. it is absolutely priceless..

[@TomScryleus]

thats so hard though. But I get it.

[@carllelendt5452]

Definitely on the right track here. Almost spot-on. I would add that we can gain by using our brains, in the context of input from "qualified" others, their insights, wisdom, which we can reflect on, and give consideration to, as it applies to our own (not entirely unique!!) situations. Others have been down your path and made some very useful observations, and noteworthy conclusions (although only "anecdotal").. Take Thoreau for example. I reflect on his ideas a lot. Our society has, at its disposal, vast collective wisdom.

[@kwahujakquai6726]

“every human being is...equally unfree, that is, we...create out of freedom, a prison...” ― Otto Rank

[@True38]

Exactly!

[@Erik-the-Southern-Viking]

I'm Lookin Fwd to THAT!

[@Erik-the-Southern-Viking]

Hi Tom; I Escaped the Corporate 9-5 Slavery about 3.5 Years Ago. I just want to confirm that you're Absolutely Correct. My level of 'Happiness' has not increased at all. Initially it did - but as I settled into 'self employment', a whole new set of frustrations came along, like having a 'slow month' or customers not paying on time etc. So now I find myself dreaming of when I turn 60 & cash in all my investments & have 'Play Money' & 'More Free Time'.... I know the $$ itself wont 'make me happy', but it'll certainly give me a LOT more 'Options'.....

[@shosho4real]

I resonate with your life philosophy so much. It shows independent thinking which is rare nowadays.

[@TomScryleus]

Hey thanks. Appreciate it.

[@StonyComet]

I have worked in a retail chain for 5 years (been feeling overwhelmed and overworked for 3ish years), worked up to assistant manager 3ish years ago and then this april I was promoted to store manager of a small store in my district. I ended up becoming very depressed and after talking to psychologist and my HR departement I am stepping down and going back to working as a normal sales worker in a part time position... and it feels very relieving. I am lucky that I have my own apartement that I own and enough savings to live off for several months even without a job. Hopefully now that I'll be working less I can put more focus into finding a way to make money online and in various other ways (just being able to have multiple ways of making money not tied to a boss is my dream). I will also have to start budgeting and spending way less, but that actually sounds like a more fulfilling life to me than working full time and not having any energy after work.

[@robnelson6545]

I hear a lot of people complain about management. Do you think it’s management that is hard or is it having to change yourself to make yourself perform better because so many people have so much riding on you? I feel like this as a very productive technical person. They can’t be satisfied with my current performance but want to work with me to make me better. So I can’t organically grow.

[@suprithAnCom]

True. Getting higher pay only serves to boast about it & get that temporary pleasure once we get a hike or promotion. But there is no free lunch, we have traded much more of our time & energy for it, so we'll have to suffer more all the time.. On the other hand, with frugality, of course we can't boast about our salary, & will get ridiculed for it many times, but we'll have much more freedom all the time.. What we choose is our choice. I choose the second.

[@suprithAnCom]

@@robnelson6545 I think it's both. But if you don't care about being fired, management can't compel you to anything, even you don't have to compel yourself to perform more.. As human beings, there is a upper limit on our performace. Even machines have upper limits, won't we? And any more performace over the limit comes at a huge cost for our health & mental well being, & is definitely not worth it. It's also the management that brainwashes us into believing that we can improve our productivity to infinity, we just have to put in only a teeny tiny bit of extra effort. But that's never the truth. There can't be infinite growth on a finite planet. Just that we can't see the cost of growth ( health disorders for humans, pollution for the planet), does not mean they don't exist.

[@AuraDawn_Health]

Well, I feel called out on this video 😁. I have been realizing that I have no more goals to "work" for. I have children, I became a nurse, and three years ago I bought my own house. What else is there? I "quiet quit" my job...barely work shifts. Money was never a goal. My personal "success" definition was to live comfortably. I'm doing that. So why am I feeling discontent in my life right now? Maybe I only feel "happy" when I'm working towards a goal? I don't know. You gave me food for thought. Thank you for these videos. I appreciate your points of view. (And hello from Massachusetts, USA 😊).

[@TomScryleus]

thank you. Im glad you enjoyed the video. I don't have all the answers, but I have a lot of questions (that turn into videos) :) have a great weekend.

[@gavinlew8273]

If you're doing what you love, you never have to work a single day!

[@JSN]

Im kinda both way. Im not happy about being wage slavery, the job task, salary etc but my colleagues makes me happy, really good lads. Which makes waking up everyday easier

[@TomScryleus]

If its tollerable, thats great. I never felt that. :(

[@ErnaSolbergXXX]

I never had any goals in the life's. Flying around like blind fly. But I have always punished my self when I become depended on salary, so I always quit the job without any plan or backup. I have managed to build my own house and don't have to depend on anything for surviving. It's really funny how more independent I become, how more "the system" is willing to pay me to enter it again. Tried one a job with 300k usd as a salary, but once you realize the money is worth zero and you don't want to buy any new gadgets, it becomes meaningless. I love to work, and now I prefer to work on my own projects with almost zero income. But the thing is, there is absolutly nothing tempting in the world any more. I have traveled, I have tried the rich man's life, I have tried the homeless man's life. I feel like I have tried everything already before 40 and sometimes I wonder if I have experienced the whole life in only a fraction of the time it was supposed to take.

[@Erik-the-Southern-Viking]

Erna, you & I are on the same page. Thing is that nearly all your friends & family simply 'don't get it' once you've stepped outside the Matrix

[@marianne8280]

I live on 9500 SEK a month. No debts and no car. Some money for travelling in the bank and other things that is necessary like the dentist or glasses. I have lived this way for twenty years and it´s great.

[@TomScryleus]

I love that! Thats how we all should live. But people suffer from life style obsession. You don't. Im envious of you. you inspire me.

[@t.a.4356]

SEK ?

[@marianne8280]

@@t.a.4356 Swedish krona

[@sco0ter]

​@@t.a.4356Swedish currency. 9500 SEK =~ 920 $

[@vincidepo]

Happiness is a subjective complex dynamic harmony. Yes, a journey. Life long. Some people can enjoy a job, some need freelance work, some need entrepreneurship, some no profit volunteering. There is no unique mandatory path and type of work suitable for everyone. The same holds for money: it all depends on how it is earned and spent, so it is very subjective.

[@thefrankring]

I believe happiness is contentment with what you have. If some are happy and content with 9-5 wage slavery. Then good for them. If some are happy and content being entrepreneur. Then good for them.

[@ravenkushner]

I think there is a distinction between happiness and joy, at least for me. Happiness is more based on circumstances. Joy is more of a disposition, or way of looking at life. For example, I will never by "happy" working for someone else. But I am joyful and cheerful every day. I laugh a lot, I do things I enjoy outside of work hours. People would describe me as "happy." Another example is a former relationship I was in that was abusive. I could never be "happy" in an abusive relationship, and I was not happy with that relationship. However, even then, I was joyful. I clung to the things that did bring me happiness and joy. I thought about how nice my life would be on the other side. Eventually it was. But I wasn't miserable every day until I escaped. I think it's the same with goals. There's no point in pretending to be happy with a circumstance if you're not. But you can still find things to love about life in the meantime.

[@chellastation]

I tolerate work at the job I have to work at, but I would love to work on my passion project and make money from that 💰💰💰💰💰💰

[@UnemployableFakeGuru]

This one hit's home. Money independence frees up time to find happiness, most of it is inside yourself, external factors are always trasitionaire and Hedonic Adaption gets in the way.

[@FactsCountdown]

The issue is that wage slaves breeding more slaves for the system so the wage slavery is passed from one generation to next generation and it's never ending slavery until you just stop bringing new generation into existence. Even if you do business their is no guarantee that your next generation will also be successful in business.

[@TomScryleus]

so true..

[@ChickpeatheTortie]

@@TomScryleus I thought that you did not agree with antinatalism - antinatalism is the only solution to the problem - when one has children one is just bringing the next generation of slaves into existence - on a brighter note I hope your fur babies are well. Actually I think that we were created by the Annunaki, encased in meatbags, so that we could dig for gold and more gold and they are coming collect soon and when they see that we have not been 'digging for gold' but instead making our masters richer they are going to wipe us all out.

[@ChickpeatheTortie]

Whole life is nothing other than slavery we are enslaved inside our meatbags. Its wash, rinse, repeat ad nauseum on and on and on and on. Its not too unbearable when one is young BUT when you get old it becomes an absolute pain in neck I'm so tired of brushing my teeth on and on and on and on and on that sometimes just want to cry. And as for 'washing up' day after day after day - lets not even go there.

[@mink33]

Get an electric toothbrush and a washing machine 😂

[@FormerCityFinancier]

You are absolutely correct! I achieved financial Independence at 36. By 37 I was miserable! I got lucky. I now set myself a goal I know I'll never achieve. But this time I'll enjoy your journey, the destination is never as fun as we think. Good luck with your journey.

[@adsmith1226]

Can I ask why you felt miserable?

[@FormerCityFinancier]

@@adsmith1226 Think about a time you've got something you really wanted. Doesn't it feel quite empty once you've got it? It's the same with financial freedom. Achieving it means you now suddenly need another goal to work towards. Without a goal to work towards life is boring and aimless. So now I try and enjoy the journey more. Don't get me wrong, I'm glad I have the freedom to do it. But no matter what, money alone will never make a person happy.

[@margaritashamrakov]

Hi Tom wonderful video of course. I have a daughter she is 6 and she is the sunshine of my life. I feel like a kid with her. Tasting ice cream for the first time. Trying New things. I never thought motherhood will bring me so much meaning and purpose. I think meaning to life makes me happy. I also love learning difficult things - brings me happiness. I would love to fall in love again and someone love me. But that’s not in my control. Would like to be a musician full time. Those are my dreams. I am part of Gospel choir and our teacher says you have to ask God for what you want. So maybe writing it here will reach God as well

[@TomScryleus]

Sounds magical. Maybe I should have gotten kids after all. :)

[@JefMaes43]

And I am looking for a woman who does not want to partake in a lame carrierpath/ratrace, but takes care of her family and children and even somehow homeschools them.. Where do you find that?.. strange world..

[@jermainemyrn19]

Some slaves wanted to be slaves even after they were lawfully freed

[@TomScryleus]

Why do you think that is?

[@jermainemyrn19]

@@TomScryleus probably because they had nothing and knew nothing outside of following orders. No resources allocated to them

[@MarkZallen]

I am one of these people. I don't like the word slave, but in the eyes of other people that's the life I chose. Wal-Mart was my first job at 20, I left at 25 when I got my IT certifications and landed a desk job. I was miserable for 5 straight years, even with a really good paycheck. I don't own a home, I prefer renting and don't want the risk of home ownership. I am 37 now and have returned to Wal-Mart last year because I chose to. I took the lower pay because I missed working there. I even failed college at 32 and I just realized if I love my job, there's no harm in being content with it.

[@csmithdfw]

"Happiness is a side hustle." That blew my mind. As someone at the beginning of a very, very, very long debt pay-off journey, hearing that perspective was refreshing and course-correcting. Thank you for this content.

[@thoughtsfornewidentity]

Very good thinking! Thanks! You are right one must work for happiness. Its about brain chemistry a lot so basic healthy lifestyle helps a lot.Working full time consumes ones energy and time so much that work for ones happiness suffers. Financial freedom gives back that time and freedom to work for happiness. I think its even more important as one get older.

[@konstantinossohos2349]

I love the way you make these. Its such a warm and authentic vibe.

[@garrygrant2394]

Most people require structure and a label/job title to feel valued. Working for yourself and being self sufficient doesn't solve all problems BUT it beats the hell out of having a normal job/a boss for those of us who are legitimately entrepreneural minded. When you no longer need to work all the time (I semi retired in my late 30's) you need to fill the void which is way more challenging than people realise. Your identity should not be completely attached to any career or business. You have to take a deep look into your soul and establish who you really are. Sometimes I think about starting other businesses as distraction, keeping me busy so I don't dwell too much on this yet I know it's not what I really want. You kind of enslave yourself which is something to be mindful of.

[@Jaime-eg4eb]

To the extent that people seek happiness in consumerism, Jim Carrey is right. But some of us don't want gadgets and trinkets. We want all of our time. I can't imagine how loosing some of your time (and in many cases, spending it in a miserable way) could make you happier.

[@mick98291]

Thanks again for the amazing content Tom, I really love the work you are doing. I have to agree with you. I have broken free from wage slavery for about 4 years now, I have an online business in which I have staff work for me, I only work about 1 hour a day at most. The motivation for building the business was so I could be free and travel the world with just a bag on my back, however this hasn't happened as I have a 12 year old son indoctrinated into the school system, which is basically a brain washing system to brainwash kids into wage slavery. I wanted him to come on a journey with me travelling the world doing online schooling a few hours a day and travelling with me learning real things about the world. However the system has gotten to him and he doesn't want to leave school, which has left me stuck in a life and place I don't want to be, but being the good father I put his wants, needs and happiness before mine. I struggle on a daily basis with boredom being stuck in a place I don't want to live.

[@TomScryleus]

Sounds like you have done really good. school is another wage slave trap. I should make a video about that.

[@mick98291]

@@TomScryleus I think making a video about the education wage slave training system is a great idea for a video, would love to see your take on this!

[@panagope]

Of course there are many people that they don't want to retire or escape wage jobs. My father was a professor in the university and he didn't have to show up every day at work at 08 o clock, also he was among young people and required to teach only few hours per month. I work in a sector that we have deadlines and responsibility. So I want to escape, because of the stress, which was not the case with my father. Also if you work for retail industry or you clean houses every day, I m sure that everybody wants to escape wage slavery in these type of jobs , because you feel exhausted and drained. So it depends on the job you have.

[@TomScryleus]

fun fact, I was actually once on that professor track. I signed up for a doctorate, but.. well. something happened (love). :)

[@panagope]

@@TomScryleus if you would become a university teacher, then you wouldn't feel the need to open these channel, so we would have missed you !

[@occamsshavecream4541]

Great video and the sectional format with the vlog at the end. Your overall message reminds me a bit of the song "The secret of life is enjoying the passage of time."

[@TheDomVerde]

We all actually want to work, but we want to work on what inspires us and is important to us...something that makes a difference and connects us. I dont think anyone will be happy escaping wage slavery to just watch netflix all day.

[@JSN]

Congrats on 10K milestone buddy

[@TomScryleus]

thank you! appreciate it :)

[@alphaomega1351]

I can't stand corporate jobs. I'm retiring as soon as i can. 😶

[@TomScryleus]

#meeetooo

[@margaritashamrakov]

I think purpose and deeper meanings and goals keeps me alive and going and hope. I also feel happiness contributing to the world

[@TomScryleus]

I agree.. purpose is important. But there are moments, where I feel, that purpose drives me away from the simple joys.

[@ari998]

I saw a lot of videos on KZbin, but yours have a different flavour. Sometimes I feel like i explain myself in your videos. Good luck to 1 Mn subscribers

[@TomScryleus]

Thank you. I feel the same way reading some of the comments. I recognize what people share. It feels good to know we are not alone.

[@sinbad66]

Thank you! This helps a lot!

[@charlesli1555]

#newsub Hey Tom I have no doubt what you say applies to me. The fact that the goal is achieved would not give you or me lasting happiness. It would immediately go to sth like "now what?" "enjoying the process" should actually be something people work on. As in think carefully about how to enjoy the process. In terms of action, celebrate all incremental achievements, and celebrate even improvements to your process and your mental mindset that doesn't even show up externally. ultimately life really is just this temporary process until you die. I think people imagine in their head they will live on after death. But really it's just imaginary. So literally, you can only life during the process. The other extreme is only enjoying life without "building things", but ultimately, the reason I don't do that is because I feel I just can't enjoy "only enjoying life". Anyways, hope you keep your current style of videos and keep being authentic. It makes it really easy to relate to what you say.

[@TomScryleus]

Hi Charles. welcome to the channel. thank you so much for your kind words. Its hard to keep it "authentic" actually. you get a lot of attention, and you think you are some kind of influencer. Truth is, I'm just a guy on the Internet. by now you probably know what my videos are about. mostly about wage slavery etc. If you have any questions, feel free to reach out. I'm happy to help if I can. anyway, have a great day.

[@compounder3850]

It depends on the job. I work in service business and always drive to customers all over the country. Sometimes its difficult and not nice but other times i drive to a customer for normal maintenance, they give me some food and on my way back i can stop where I want and can do some sightseeing if and where i want.

[@TomScryleus]

Sounds like a great gig

[@tsunamisun2369]

If wage slavery was the same pay for maybe only like 3 days a and the rest of the time we had freedom then maybe it wouldn't be as bad. But they pay you just enough to where you have to spend most of your time there. Even jobs that pay well require most people to be there for full-time hours. A full-time job is not just the hours that you spend at the actual job, it's the commute and all the time you have to spend getting ready for work the day before and the day of. A full-time slave job literally takes most of your time if you really think about, especially considering that we have to get at least six to eight hours of sleep.

[@carllelendt5452]

A labor union member doesn't go on strike to be happy either. You're either part of the problem or part of the solution. And in my opinion after several centuries of worker/labor organizing, I've come to the opinion that it's not fixing the wage slave problem. The more likely solution, in my opinion, is a very pro-capitalism one. It just requires creative blending-in and managing of socialist programs. Economic systems are tools, not religions. Can't build a house with just a hammer. But the establishment needs to quit brainwashing people that socialist solutions are inherently evil. We've got a lot of very bad leadership in our capitalism, btw. This situation is not only disrupting people's lives, it's turning many away from capitalism entirely!

[@stevestrickland0425]

Seeking happiness is the antithesis of happiness !

[@TomScryleus]

Hmmm…. :)

[@JSN]

7:04 i never get tired of this 😂

[@TomScryleus]

Classic :) I love it

[@JSN]

4:19 thoughts on Iphone 15? Im happy with my Iphone 11 still working good

[@TomScryleus]

Im fine with my iphone 14 pro :) Maybe next year. But hopefully not

[@wendellkirton3694]

Enjoy the journey

[@True38]

"Financial freedom won't make you happy". I disagree. It will give you peace of mind free of stress and worry. And that's what motivates me. Peace of mind. Not happy feelings, just peace.

[@TomScryleus]

Yes financial freedom could lead to peace of mind. im saying happiness and peace of mind are seperate things. And thats essentially what you wrote too. :) ”Not happy feelings, just peace”

[@True38]

@@TomScryleus True.

[@mellyo7262]

I gotta disagree… and I don’t mind working three or four days a week but not five. I’m exhausted… but I gotta pay my rent, so off I go

[@mikejarrells431]

From a healthy relationship perspective one could argue that you can't be authentic as long as you are a wage slave. A wage slave can't be authentic. A wage slave has to be what the boss wants. If you don't please the boss (people pleaser) you won't get promoted. Financial freedom empowers you to actually self actualize/be authentic. That is the goal: authentic self actualization.

[@BenStevenson-c4z]

It’s Better to be Filthy Rich 🤑 and Unhappy 🙁 than Dirt Poor and Unhappy 🙁

[@johnsjourney4978]

Being a human in this body is a prison by itself Being around unloving people is a kind of hell So nothing can make you very happy for long But the sure thing is.. being a wage slave will make you more unhappy

[@nickpuencho]

please try to get a conversation with anthony migchels and or richard werner, having both of them would be historical

[@realizedconcept]

I think being in the world of public accounting and corporate accounting is what made me infinitely miserable. Other work where you actually have camaraderie with those you work with is so much more fulfilling.

[@CEA9234]

Sadly i need to find work asap. First ill buy myself a bit of time. But what work can i do thats somehwat active. Desk jobs will make me fat

[@BenStevenson-c4z]

If You Don’t love ❤️ your Job You are Free To Starve! And Freedom to Starve is No Freedom at All the Brutal Truth is that lack of Choice is Less Freedoms Poverty is Lack of Choice lack of Freedom and Money 💵 the reality is that the More Money 💰💵 you have the more Choice Freedom you have money 💵 Doesn’t buy Happiness but being Filthy Rich 🤑💸 does Buy you Freedom and Choice

[@SpencerRoyalcom]

Life sucks when you do not know why you suffer nor why you do what you do.....can even make many want to find a way out. What changes everything? Knowing why you do what you do and why one exists. None of us asked to be here, nor do we have control over how much time we get. We cannot have any more days than what is given to us.

[@TomScryleus]

its a pickle isn't it...

[@heyjude6584]

At least you can avoid what you hate

[@latentprophecy6736]

“Philosophical Conspiracy” theories turn out to be truth

[@ZytechZero]

Find joy in the little things in life while you're trying to slay the dragon.

[@kwokweng76]

I love this video......

[@JSN]

LETS GO

[@TomScryleus]

That was fast of you! :)

[@shafserious2805]

Trust me u can not be happy. Moat of the day you are just getting through it.

[@a1uplift212]

I hate the idea of "Money doesn't buy happiness" why are you associating money with happiness in the first place? it's just paper. Just a number. Happiness in it of itself is a fleeting emotion, and it comes from within. Also, if you're not experiencing something bad, where you're either bawling your eyes out or in pure silence due to the sheer magnitude of the situation, then you're a version of happiness. I think as a society we lack pride, honor, and duty. And when you choose to do hard things regardless of how you feel but they're good for you, then they should give you a sense of fulfillment. When you live your life knowing God and your ancestors are proud of you, happiness comes along with it. That's just my take though.

[@CEA9234]

I refuse wage slavery lol

[@garyjohnson3751]

Your completely wrong

[@TomScryleus]

how so?

[@grasshopper1153]

I disagree that money cannot make a person happy. I imagine I would be a lot happier if I had $5 million dollars and could put it in a money market account and live off the interest. At 5% interest, I think I could easily live off $20,750/month. Would my life be perfect? No, of course not, but I would be much happier than I am now.

[@DinosaurForTheWin]

So glad I wasted my time listening to this crap.

[@kwahujakquai6726]

It all quite depends upon how people define purpose and meaning in their lives.

[@TomScryleus]

obviously. And thats a pickle on its own.

[@kwahujakquai6726]

@@TomScryleus Ernest Becker has some insight into the topic in his books. Also, the book "the Worm at the Core: On the Role of Death in Life" show some of the research that has been done on Terror Management Theory.

[@kwahujakquai6726]

@@TomScryleus The Worm at the Core The Denial File | June 12, 2015 Michael Baumgardner Of Recent Interest… is the new book The Worm at the Core: On the Role of Death in Life, by Sheldon Solomon, Jeff Greenberg and Tom Pyszczynski (Random House 2015). In his brilliant multidisciplinary synthesis, The Denial of Death (1974), Ernest Becker recognized the overwhelming significance of the impossible paradox that death presents to us and posited that “…the idea of death, the fear of it, haunts the human animal like nothing else; it is a mainspring of human activity”. (DOD, p. ix) The 1973 Pulitzer Prize winner for General Non-Fiction, Becker’s work also inspired a group of social psychologists, the authors of The Worm at the Core, to see if they could use the tools of social psychology to find evidence consistent with Becker’s ideas. If death is indeed a mainspring of human activity, then perhaps experiments inducing a group of people to focus on death could produce measurable behavioral effects consistent with Becker’s ideas. This book presents their formal theory, which they call Terror Management Theory (TMT), based on some of Becker’s ideas on our struggle to cope with the reality of death. This is accompanied by the description and results from an array of experimental studies conducted under TMT, and ending with some general observations on living with death. The Worm at the Core is written in a very readable format, with “little academic jargon” or “cumbersome technical details”, and with “enlivened accounts” (WC, p. x-xi) of key participants from various experiments. There are plenty of light anecdotes, wit, and colorful, figurative language. The book appears targeted to an audience of undergraduate level or educated lay readers. Many will like this style, though specialists may find the presentation a little too loose for serious scientific discourse (since it can create some ambiguity in terms and weak links in the chain of argument). With those caveats, the book is entertaining and well written, which many readers will appreciate and enjoy. The central tenants of TMT are that we deal with the fact of death by sustaining “faith in our cultural worldview, which imbues our sense of reality with order, meaning, and permanence” (p.9), which in turn fosters the ability to maintain a “feeling of personal significance commonly known as self-esteem… [that] shield us against rumblings of dread… [and] enables us to believe we are enduring significant beings” (WC, p. 9). This is enough to provide a logical springboard for explaining why bringing death to the forefront of consciousness could drive us to cling even harder to both our worldview and our self-esteem. With these two concepts, the authors claim they have “…formalized Becker’s analysis of the human condition into terror management theory” (WC, p. 211). This, I believe, is very much an overstatement. TMT simply does not get to a sufficient depth to allow a reader to fully appreciate Becker’s complex analysis. The Denial of Death is a magnificent interdisciplinary tapestry of the human condition, brilliantly presented and tying together the thoughts of diverse lay, religious, and scientific luminaries (Rank, Freud, James, Brown, Chesterton, Jung, Perls, Kierkegaard, May, Maslow, Fromm, Tillich, to name just a few). The result is a majestic and compelling picture of the human existential paradox. As just one example with TMT, the absence alone of a thorough integration with psychoanalytic concepts such as anxiety, repression, and transference leads to a greatly restricted picture when compared to Becker. Those well-versed in Becker’s works will easily notice other examples. TMT, as presented in The Worm at the Core, is simply not an adequate substitute for Becker’s analysis; it is much less than a “formalized” presentation of Becker’s analysis. I’ll have more to say about this below. TMT has generated a lot of research in social psychology (over 500 studies according to the authors) and some of these studies are presented in narrative form throughout the book. On the whole, there is consistent support to demonstrate that a “mortality salience” manipulation (giving death reminders to experimental subjects) does produce behavioral results consistent with protective defense of cultural world views and self-esteem. While details of these studies require access to the sources listed in the references, TMT studies have been widely published in some of the most respected journals of social psychology and the reader can generally have faith in their reliability. In terms of empirical support, the only glitch is a study that finds that mortality salience works as predicted only if we expose people to a short exposure to death reminders and not too long. This led the authors to postulate proximal and distal defenses, which are plausible but also come across as a bit of a post hoc stretch.