In the end, all men want is to feel needed. How do we help men cultivate a new purpose?

This is my first post on PPD, so I hope that this resonates with some of you.

Almost all of the problems facing young men in the West today can be attributed to feeling like they aren't needed anymore.

They aren't needed as protectors because we have a law enforcement system, and people are generally less violent these days.

They aren't needed as providers because women can earn money either through working themselves, or via the welfare state.

They aren't needed as conquerors or soldiers because there are almost no wars to fight in or new lands to conquer.

They aren't needed as labourers because most manual jobs have been replaced by machinery or are done by people in other countries.

If there's one thing that men thrive on, it's the feeling of being needed by others. Absolutely nobody wants to feel like they could die of a brain haemorrhage overnight and the world would carry on exactly the same way as it always had the next morning. Sadly, a lot of men feel that way. Feeling needed gives men a sense of groundedness, focus and purpose which is so important during the chaos of adolescence and young adulthood. Without it, men suffer from poor self esteem, low confidence and arrested personal development, leading to generations of men becoming progressively less and less happy/capable.

We've exhausted most of the old methods of giving men a purpose - we can't force women to become dependant on men, or bring back manufacturing jobs, or start declaring war on people - so my question to you at PPD is: how can we help men cultivate a new purpose?

I think bringing back national service (for women too, not just young men) could be a great way of helping young men back onto their feet. It could help young men make in-person friends their own age, and they'd receive hands-on training which men tend to respond better to as opposed to traditional classroom learning. More importantly, it would let them feel like they're part of something greater than themselves - like the work they're doing really matters.

Other than that, I think investing heavily in an apprenticeship system would also be a good idea for similar reasons as those mentioned above. Hands on learning generally suits men better, and keeping young men in formal schoolling for too long only ends up frustrating them and holding them back for little benefit. The key lies in making young men employable - we want them not just to be employed, but gainfully employed. Feeling needed at work is exactly the kind of confidence boost young men need.

How would you go about helping the next generation of young men?