I don't live in the US so was tempted to be snarky about abroad being a big place etc. but I think it's better to put a more constructive reply with some context. On a visit to Kilmainham Jail I had a chance to read some of the letters written by the young men who were about to be shot by the British for their part in the rebellion. The thing that struck me, apart from their bravery was the fact that they had a genuine cause to believe in.

And that I suppose is my point, if you don't have some Nobel cause then what drives you on? If the world doesn't provide some ready made cause then your motivation has to be intrinsic, the only problem is that depending on what your goals are (money, fame, being a better dad etc.) you can end up feeling a little grubby about your choices especially if you don't succeed.

That's not the point of the quote. The point is it's hard to find a larger purpose/cause worth striving for in life. In the past, we had WWI and WWII where almost everyone was in it together, even if you weren't in the front lines. Your parents probably centered their whole lives around just making it financially if they were immigrants.

Whereas today, we don't have a great war, or any cause that makes us feel as we're part of something greater than ourselves. We have to come up with our own things to strive for, and sometimes these don't go as planned, or depend a bit on luck and circumstances. I.e. starting a startup or finding love.

The war to end all wars vs Iraq/Afghanistan. Not exactly the same causes, right? Fight Club was written in a pre-9/11 world, but also in the same post-modern society.

One could argue that the recent wars were started to satiate the hunger for a cause that the Fight Club quote is eluding to.