Essential Delusions

Imagining forward and projecting into the future is a difficult thing to do. Only the very brave or the very reckless venture to spell out what is not yet there. Having a vision therefore is a motivational strategy to coax others into acting, sometimes even against their better judgment or will. Selling these delusional visions hence becomes very important. There are various methods of selling these delusions, indeed there are many different delusions to be sold:

The Personal Variety:
A more confident, rich, popular or better looking future-you. This is the generic illusion through which the individual should end up buying the products and services advertised. Thus a brighter future for you is what the manufacturers predict (only if their production-line goods are bought). Hence even the most disturbing insurance products try to tempt you into cheerfully betting on your untimely death in order to experience a windfall gain - here your future is great even without your presence in it!

The People Variety:
The populace is made to believe that they will collectively be transported to the "promised land". This is the domain of the government, politicians and leaders. In this future everything surrounding the individual is better. There will be freedom from want and there will be nothing to fear. The developments of science & technology are shown as signs of things to come. We are left to extrapolate the progress graph of civilization to see what the future holds. Glories of the past are reaffirmed and emulation is seen as possible.

The Other Worldly Variety:
The future here is seen from some transcendent place. This is the bastion of non-rationality. The concern for the future is replaced by a concern for something beyond (or beneath) normal explanations. The delusion sold here is that the destination to be arrived at in the future is already known. The organized religions are the main peddlers of this fantasy and their tools vary from inspiration to fear mongering.

A combination of these and other delusions are the essential fuels to the keep the engine of human endeavor running. Ultimately though it has to be recognized that the buyers and the sellers in these transactions are inevitably the same.