--- > Everybody hates advertisements, and if you don't, you should. Not just because they're annoying (they are), but because advertisements are insidious by their nature: an advertisement inherently has an inverse relationship to your best interests. You living a content life is a threat to an ad. Advertisements rely on you having a deficiency, and if you don't have a deficiency, one will gladly be provided to you; your life in some way has to be lacking for the advertisement to be able to sell you a solution that you can spend your money on, and even more effective for an ad is the idea that your whole life is substandard. > That's why modern advertisements often don't sell you a product: they sell you a lifestyle, an image, an attitude; they sell you on the idea that there is a way of life that is better than yours, and by spending money you can open the door to that way of life. It's no wonder that outside the world of advertising corporations do everything in their power to lower your quality of life. Ads have no power if you are safe, healthy, free, and educated. - [View Highlight](https://read.readwise.io/read/01hhsndnxfaa4qpb5q6wmtm058) ---