You’ve made your point that life is full of fluctuations but what is that in reference to? Is it that in reference to the title and claiming that the hypothetical state of “normal” is the equilibrium of well-regarded states or variables and then reminding us of variability?
Is this written against some hypothetical “static world” assumption as if the hedonic treadmill was not well known?
Maybe I don’t understand what is going on since I struggle to understand references to “normality” not expressed narrowly (such as “normal range” in hormones is clear but “normal” in violence is not).
I suspect some of this is tied into the increasing sense of interdependence and the reality that there are different trust systems that people use. Being bombarded with reminders that you are defendant on people who use very different trust systems is inherently anxiety producing and the increasing pace of information flow is certain to exacerbate that.
Another facet may be that big projects, while rarely economically efficient, may have a psychological grandeur that people crave. Note William James search for a “moral equivalent to war” in that the psychological yearning for achievement, sacrifice, and victory is inherently human and being awash in reminders of how others achieve and of how pampered one’s one life is likely to sap any sense of achievement.