Money can't fix the loneliness of the 'incel loner'

The economic cost of male loneliness: money won't fix it

He spends his days shut in his room, with no contact with women, and admits he doesn't know how much longer he can hold on. The immediate answer is practical: leave the house. But some add an economic twist: the real trick is having a six-figure bank account. Others point to age: it will pass by the time you're 40. And there's no shortage of those who suggest setting aside 100 euros from unemployment benefits to get away a couple of times a month.

Therapy by money injection

The advice to save up six figures is nothing new: it's part of the myth that financial success solves social problems. What's striking is that in the same thread someone replies from personal experience: "I'm 40 and it hasn't gone away." The comeback is priceless: "Give it time, manopause is out there, lurking." So age isn't the balm some think it is either.

Travel as a substitute

The other camp is more activist: travel, even alone. "Don't deprive yourself of what you want to do," one message insists. "If you feel like going to an event, go, even if you're bored and head home early." The same argument adds an interesting nuance: "Travel is overrated; anyone can spend a month in the Bahamas, what would really be valuable is moving there." In other words, consumption doesn't replace life, but sometimes we use it as a substitute.

None of these recipes addresses the root causes: the lack of a support network, relational precariousness, antiestéticar of going out. That a six-figure bank account would break a spell says more about the spell than about the money. And the fact that the only answer is "leave the house" suggests the first step costs nothing, even though it's the hardest one to take. The economic cost of isolation isn't measured in numbers, but in opportunities never lived.