Victory as human defeat

In the relentless narrative of contemporary capitalism, the imperative to "be a winner" has profoundly transformed our relationship with others. We no longer see our fellow humans as companions in the human experience, but merely as obstacles to overcome, stepping stones to trample in our ascent to the summit of success. This metamorphosis of perspective turns every human interaction into a potential battle, every encounter into an opportunity for domination.

The neighbor vanishes as a subject and materializes only as a marker of our own triumph. Their function is reduced to being the living testimony of our superiority, the broken mirror reflecting our "victory." In this perverse zero-sum game, personal affirmation is achieved only through the negation of the other, turning the construction of our own greatness into an exercise in the systematic demolition of others' humanity.

This destructive logic reveals the central paradox of our era: in the obsessive pursuit of individual success, we lose precisely what makes us truly human - the capacity to recognize and value humanity in others. Victory thus becomes a form of existential defeat, where the "winner" ends up reigning over a desert of authentic human connections, celebrating a triumph that is, in reality, evidence of their own spiritual impoverishment.

La victoria como derrota humana

En la narrativa implacable del capitalismo contemporáneo, el imperativo de "ser un ganador" ha transformado profundamente nuestra relación con el otro. Ya no vemos en nuestros semejantes a compañeros de viaje en la experiencia humana, sino meros obstáculos a superar, escalones que pisar en nuestra ascensión hacia la cumbre del éxito. Esta metamorfosis de la mirada convierte cada interacción humana en una potencial batalla, cada encuentro en una oportunidad de dominación.

El prójimo se desvanece como sujeto y se materializa únicamente como un marcador de nuestro propio triunfo. Su función se reduce a ser el testimonio viviente de nuestra superioridad, el espejo roto donde se refleja nuestra "victoria". En este perverso juego de suma cero, la afirmación personal solo se logra a través de la negación del otro, convirtiendo la construcción de la propia grandeza en un ejercicio de demolición sistemática de la humanidad ajena.

Esta lógica destructiva revela la paradoja central de nuestra época: en la búsqueda obsesiva del éxito individual, perdemos precisamente aquello que nos hace verdaderamente humanos - la capacidad de reconocer y valorar la humanidad en el otro. La victoria se convierte así en una forma de derrota existencial, donde el "ganador" termina reinando sobre un desierto de conexiones humanas auténticas, celebrando un triunfo que es, en realidad, la evidencia de su propio empobrecimiento espiritual.

The hell of conformity

Contrary to traditional images of fire and torment, true hell might be a place of perfect and perpetual conformity. A space where the smooth surface of existence is never disturbed by the roughness of doubt, where the monotony of universal agreement suffocates any spark of questioning. In this realm of satisfied mediocrity, comfort becomes an invisible prison, and the absence of conflict transforms into a supreme form of torment.

The perfection of this hell lies in its ability to eliminate not only pain but the very possibility of growth. Without stumbles to make us wiser, without questions to keep us awake at night, without the restlessness that precedes each significant discovery, the inhabitants of this place exist in a state of living death. Perpetual unanimity becomes a tombstone that buries all possibility of evolution and discovery.

But perhaps the most terrifying aspect of this hell is the complete absence of choice. In a universe where everything is predetermined, where no one needs to decide because everything flows in an endless stream of conformity, the very essence of what makes us human vanishes. Without the ability to choose, without the possibility of making mistakes and learning from our errors, without the privilege of doubting and questioning, we become mere automatons, inhabitants of a paradise that is, in reality, the most subtle and sophisticated of hells.