The new rat race

The origins of the term “rat race” has a few stories, one of which can be traced back to Philip K Dick’s short story, “The Last of the Masters”, which was a science-fiction novel about a future where society was once ruled by technology, and subsequently dismantled in favour of anarchy by humans. The story centres around one last remaining enclave of machine-driven order. Aware of the overthrown world around them for 200 years, the enclave continues to run under the governance of a single preserved robot. In a conversation, two of the robot’s caretakers discuss their discontent:

Maybe,” McLean said softly, “you and I can then get off this rat race. You and I and all the rest of us. And live like human beings.” “Rat race,” Fowler murmured. “Rats in a maze. Doing tricks. Performing chores thought up by somebody else.” McClean caught Fowler’s eye. “By somebody of another species.”

Here’s the thing: The robot has no real power. It has decayed over 200 years and requires full-time maintenance in order to preserve the “rat race”. Both McLean and Fowler, and the rest of the discontent humans in the enclave have real choices to continue with the robot, or not. The rat race Fowler refers to, is a rat race he chooses to run.

“Rat race” refers to a pursuit of a goal that isn’t yours, and doesn’t lead to any benefit to you. Commonly used to refer to corporate servitude, there’s a new rat race in the age of information, but the metaphor of the rat in a maze misses the most vital component of the whole thing: the maze is ultimately of your own creation.

The feeling that you are behind is the new rat maze. It causes stress, anxiety and feelings of inadequacy. You run to the next corner to keep up, only to come up against a dead end and then do it all over again. It stems from the belief that science is moving forward at a blistering pace. New start-up innovations in technology promise us 3D-printed organs, and the next new clinical trial is supposed to revolutionize how we take care of patients and clients.

It’s a story created by a system that is incentivized to make things look more important than they are. A different rat race, but one that feeds into the new rat race in which you find yourself.

Part of integrating evidence-based practice into your professional life is about understanding the underpinnings of the system. To see the maze from above is to then be given the choice to run the maze differently — not for the purposes of others, but for yourself. For some, this choice is terrifying: They will continue to run in the rat maze rather than face the decision. But that is also a choice.

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