Nobody cares

Scope of “Nobody cares” claim

• Many readers reject the blanket claim; they argue people do care, but about different things, at different scales, and under constraints.
• Others resonate strongly with the sense of apathy, especially in the US in 2025, connecting it to nihilism, political decay, and everyday dysfunction.

Incentives, burnout, and alienation

• Strong theme: it’s mostly “something something incentive systems,” contrary to the post’s dismissal.
  • Workers punished for caring (e.g., fixing UX, technical debt, advocating for users) burn out and eventually stop.
  • Layoffs, “ballast” treatment, and spreadsheet-driven management erode loyalty and pride.
• Several connect this to Marx’s “alienation”: people don’t own their work or its outcomes, so motivation and responsibility degrade.
• Coping strategies in bureaucracies often involve deliberate indifference to avoid emotional exhaustion.

Government, DMV, and bureaucracy

• Mixed experiences: some report efficient, friendly DMVs; others confirm long lines and underfunding.
• Many argue bureaucrats and civil servants do care, but are boxed in by:
  • Budget constraints and “cheap, cheap, cheap” mandates.
  • Fragmented ownership, risk-aversion, and process over outcomes.
• Others counter that government structures diffuse responsibility so much that caring is effectively punished.

Corporate software, upsell UX, and “enshittification”

• McDonald’s kiosks and similar systems are seen as carefully optimized for revenue, not user comfort.
• Some engineers describe refusing to work on manipulative upsell features and being sidelined or fired.
• Widespread sense that quality, craft, and “wanting nice things” lose out to metrics and short-term profit.

Culture, Japan, and small communities

• Japan is frequently cited as a place where people “take their role seriously” (e.g., convenience store staff), but others note:
  • High work pressure, suicide, xenophobia, and hidden forms of “nobody cares” (e.g., about overwork, homeless).
• Several argue caring correlates with:
  • Smaller, high-trust communities where reputation matters.
  • Cultures emphasizing collective good vs. US-style individualism and “hustle culture.”

What to do / coping

• Suggestions range from:
  • “Be the change” in small, local ways (picking up trash, helping strangers).
  • Political reform (better incentives, money out of politics).
  • Choosing workplaces and communities where caring is rewarded.
• Some are openly pessimistic, having concluded that sustained caring in current systems is self-destructive.