Market gives you all the information of WHAT TO DO

(FREE MARKET, obviously. If it’s not free, than instead of reality all you learn is what someone wants to believe)

 

Look around you

Look at stuff you own

Stuff you use

Stuff you buy

YOU VALUE THAT STUFF

Now you already know a little bit about what constitutes ECONOMIC VALUE

 

Look around you

Look at stuff others own

Stuff others use

Stuff others buy

They VALUE that stuff

Now you know quite a bit about what constitutes ECONOMIC VALUE

 

Now look at what others DO

Look how they “make a living”

Look how well they make that living, how successful they are at this surviving and thriving business

Now you know quite a lot about what constitutes ECONOMIC VALUE

 

Finally, if you truly want the answers,

then TRULY look properly, like a scientist

Which means moving from ANECDOTES to DATA

Look at what sales

What sales for how much

What pays

What pays a lot

What’s much demanded

What’s undersupplied

What is an unmet need

 

I’m not passing judgement regarding what is the best thing to do

To answer that one would have to account for the added complexities, like one’s talents, current qualifications, capital, geography, network, FUTURE, etc.

I do concede that a lot of our ECONOMIC and PROFESSIONAL choices are ultimately largely decided by “additional factors”

And of course I’m not suggesting that markets are infallible

Where I can, and will pass judgement — is how PEOPLE THINK about VALUE, ECONOMY, WEALTH

 

I believe the market gives you near all the information

Of course you may be too stupid to see the obvious

But I think we just don’t want to see the reality

As individuals, and collectively

 

As individuals, indeed I would imagine we end up taking a lot of misguided steps — which eventually set in motion a kind of ratchet effect

After certain point it becomes quite difficult to course correct

We obviously would rather not bruise our ego — therefore we prefer to reject the truth

Reject what MARKET is clearly telling us to DO, to GIVE

And justify our mediocrity

 

Collectively, I do believe similar effect takes place

We accrue a certain collective wisdom over time

And we create certain collective institutions

Collective can be regarded an entity not unlike an individual

And it too has it’s own preferences and blind spots and momentum and ultimately EGO, if you will

 

And thus, for instance:

We have been sending our kids to school, to educate them,

Because we understand that wealth is nothing more but knowledge (to create)

But once those institution started failing us, we are slow to course-correct

We’re too invested in the system, literally financially, culturally, and finally emotionally

 

I have just explained poverty in terms of psychology

I have just explained economic decline in terms of psychology

Obviously it could be simplistic

But perhaps before policies there’s the spirit: individual and collective

Before we go socialism or capitalism, laisse faire or more state intervention — first there’s the spirit

As long as we can’t even agree on what is ECONOMIC VALUE

As long as we CLEARLY have no clue what ECONOMIC VALUE IS,

EVEN THOUGH EVERY SINGLE FUCKING DAY it’s SO OVERTLY VULGARY OBVIOUS — as those are the things we USE, we BENEFIT FROM, we WANT,

As long as we’re so blind,

OF COURSE we will make foolish decisions, take foolish actions, and of course vote foolish policies

 

Indeed, now I am passing judgement,

I’m fucking sorry that you’re paid too little

I’m sorry that school taught you fuck all

I’m sorry you were born in some shithole where nothing’s going on

I’m sorry that you can’t find a job

I’m sorry not sorry

Because the fucking writing is on the wall

 

Politics can only get us so far

But if we’re not creative, entrepreneurial, consistently learning, self-educating, self-improving — then OBVIOUSLY nothing will help

Perhaps it is harder today for the average folk to actually make a meaningful contribution to this extremely complicated world

Or perhaps it’s easier, as access to knowledge and information and resources is far easier

Either way it makes no difference, the direction is only up. The only logical choice to ever make is to IMPROVE

So either you improve or shut the fuck up