Drafted into the Hunger Games: Utopia’s Rebellious Backhand to Supremacy

Why sentience demands we reject a world that treats most lives as expendable.

Some days, life feels less like a gift and more like being drafted into the Hunger Games: thrown into a game you didn’t agree to play, under rules you never chose. The world was never a bed of roses, but in recent years the old world order has been crumbling, resistance is rising, tolerance is thinning, and the threat of a third world war hangs heavier in the air. Children being abused by powerful people, bombs falling on countries whose people never voted in our elections, the devastation in Gaza, the spike in terrorist attacks, and waves of civil unrest across countries have turned daily life into a constant negotiation with fear and uncertainty.

It’s getting harder to pretend that human suffering is a distant problem that happens somewhere else. The vulgarity of a global order built on supremacy that treats most lives as expendable is being laid bare. And yet, our very sentience makes us morally unable to accept this as just the way things are.

Life as mostly Suffering

So far, my experience on earth has been more challenging and traumatic than enjoyable or happy. The moments of genuine joy I can point to are tiny, fragile spurts of light that I had to carve out myself, reaching for something beyond the banal routines of survival and expectation.

There is, however, a gradual but definite shift in me: a move away from people‑pleasing and inherited scripts toward an unapologetic focus on my own happiness and integrity. That shift itself reflects something deeply human.

We begin life absorbing the norms and demands around us to be good and agreeable, often at the cost of our own needs. Only later, often after enough disillusionment and exhaustion, do we start to ask whether this constant self‑betrayal is a fair price for belonging.

A voice inside me asks – what is the point of it all? In the grand scheme of things, my individual trials are like a needle in a haystack, swallowed in the sheer scale of human suffering and cosmic indifference. This tension between the intensity of our personal pain and its apparent insignificance in the universe is at the heart of the human condition. We hunger for meaning, fairness, and coherence, yet we find ourselves in a world where pain is widespread, happiness is fragile, and there is no guarantee that any of it adds up to something “worth it.” Why is the baseline so often struggle, and why are the moments of joy so contingent, so hard‑won, and so easily lost?

Born Without Consent: Antinatalism and the Question of Meaning

It’s not a big leap to ask the existential question: if all life is suffering, what is the point of perpetuation of the species? Who benefits from this perpetuation? Sentience makes us pursue meaning, happiness and the purpose of our lives, but pushes us to perpetuate life in the face of suffering. Apart from the deeply ingrained instincts related to sex and reproduction, by its very nature, life is driven to replicate. Our genes “want” to survive and propagate. This is not a conscious desire rather the rules of natural selection.

We are essentially vehicles for our genes to get to the next generation. (the “selfish gene” concept). In a sense, the gift of life is the greatest paradox – the eternal suffering of the flesh versus the survival instinct testing our limits. We are thrown into existence without being asked, then told we must be grateful and productive and well‑behaved in a world that often feels hostile.

Recently there was news of a boy who refused to work because he was born without his consent. His statement – that he shouldn’t be obligated to work because he wasn’t consulted about being born. This is antinatalism in its most powerful expression. Its a rejection of the assumed obligation to participate in a world perceived as inherently filled with suffering. If the world is fundamentally a brutal, competitive place, and if suffering is unavoidable, then bringing new people into that world could be seen as an act of cruelty!

On the flipside, there are moments that pull people back from the edge. A scientist once admitted he was going to end his life because he didn’t see a purpose to it. And then he found love. it shows how fragile and stubborn our search for meaning is: how one relationship, one connection, can make continued existence feel, if not justified, at least bearable.

Supremacy: A Rigged Hunger Games

When life already feels like compulsory suffering, supremacy turns it into a rigged game. Supremacy – the belief that one group is inherently superior to another – is the foundation of many forms of oppression, including racism, sexism, classism, nepotism and favouritism.

In the face of supremacy, meritocracy (success based on talent, effort, and achievement) is undermined. When positions, opportunities, and resources are allocated based on who you know rather than what you can do, it creates a deeply unfair system. It reinforces existing power structures. It breeds cynicism and distrust, as people come to believe that the system is rigged. Over time, unethical behaviour becomes normal and values of fairness and integrity completely eroded.

In a brutal, competitive environment, traditional labels of morality like kindness, compassion, generosity become liabilities. They can be exploited. In dire straits, “good” becomes synonymous with what increases your chances of survival.

This shifts the focus from being a good person (in the traditional sense) to being effective – useful, strategic, and capable of navigating the system. This is why simply being “nice” or “compassionate” within a deeply flawed system is often insufficient. It’s like trying to bail out the ocean with a teacup. Systemic change is required to address the root causes of suffering and create a more just and equitable world.

Utopian Longing: From Survival Mode to Sovereign World

And yet, even as we scurry though the mazes of the hunger games, there is a part of us that refuses to accept it as the final story. For me, the dream of a utopia is enough to keep going. A utopia where there’s no poverty and no supremacy. There are less uncertainties and the struggle is meaningful and rewarding. Fairness and justice prevail.

When people are constantly struggling to meet their basic needs – food, shelter, healthcare – their energy and attention are used to simply survive.. This leaves little room for self-discovery, creativity, personal growth, or meaningful relationships. It’s a constant state of stress and anxiety. Eradicating poverty wouldn’t just alleviate suffering; it would unlock human potential. Imagine a world where everyone had the resources to pursue their passions, develop their talents, and contribute to society in meaningful ways. It would be a world of greater creativity, innovation, and compassion.

Possible solutions are a Universal Basic Income, providing all citizens with a regular, unconditional income, regardless of employment status. Affordable housing and healthcare, ensuring that everyone has access to safe shelter and quality medical care. Equal‑opportunity education that gives every person the skills and knowledge they need to succeed.

A distant goal, but what would it feel like to be at the forefront of creation and advancement of this sovereign utopian world. If life is suffering, then perhaps the point is to refuse to accept unnecessary suffering as normal; to use the strange gift of consciousness not just to endure the game, but to alter its rules; to move, slowly and imperfectly, from being unwilling players to co‑creators of a world where survival is not the ceiling, but the floor.

Think about it

What is your idea of a utopian world and what could you do starting today to manifest it?