A rat race is an endless, self-defeating, or pointless pursuit. Most often it's used to describe the conditions of proletarian wage slaves who are entrapped in exhausting, high-stress employment circumstances in order to maintain a basic standard of living amid rising costs of living.
Solutions
"Escaping the rat race" can have a number of different meanings:
- Abolition of wage slavery
- Implementation of socialism
- Rational utilization of automation to reduce labor-hours and increase leisure time
- Retirement, quitting or ceasing work
- Finding lower-stress employment
- Remote work
- Becoming financially independent from an employer
- Alienation from the norms of society