Category: Economy

Posted on in Economy

The Other 99 Percent

Civilization was built by the exploitation of human labor. There were those who did the exploiting and those who were exploited. That’s how things got done. It’s how empires were built. It’s the way things have always been and the way things would always have to be. That was the central theme of my colleague’s argument and I agreed with him all the way up until that last part: that this was the way things would always have to be.

His argument was tautological:

Human labor has been exploited throughout human history in the building of civilization, therefore, the exploitation of human labor is a necessary component of civilization building. Thus to advocate for the end of human exploitation is tantamount to advocating for the end of human civilization.

In all due fairness, he didn’t actually explicitly state that last part, but it was implied given that the context of our discussion was the Occupy Wall Street movement and the widening wealth gap in America. The fact that there is a wealth gap between the haves and the have-nots that has significantly widened over the past 30 years was not in dispute. In fact, there wasn’t much of a dispute going on at all. I wasn’t arguing with him. For the most part, I was asking questions and listening to what he had to say.

His point of contention was that the people who were protesting didn’t have the fundamental understanding that he had of “how the world actually works.” I found this line of reasoning quite fascinatingly wrong. It seemed quite the opposite to me: people were protesting because they understood quite clearly “how the world actually works.” Rather than accepting it though, as my colleague seemed to have done, they were fed up with it and were actively trying to change it.

My colleague’s argument went further: if people in the 99 percent actually understood how the world worked and how they too were benefitting from the long-established system of the world that rewarded the 1 percent who owned the corporations that made everything from automobiles to Zyban, they would be ashamed of themselves. He was right; they would be ashamed. In fact, I believe they are ashamed. They’re outraged too. This is precisely what the big stink is all about.

Whether or not you agree with all the principles and practices of the Occupy Wall Street movement, you should recognize and appreciate that at its core it is about seeking to change the way things are and not accepting that the status quo is the way things must always be. This is important because it is exactly that kind of desire in the human spirit manifesting itself in the physical world that has brought about monumental social changes such as, say, the end of slavery in America. Imagine my colleague’s same argument applied to that? It would go something like this:

Civilization was built upon slavery. There were those who were slaves and those who were masters. It’s the way things have always been and the way things will always be. The slaves should be thankful and grateful that their masters are taking care of them.

Now, one could argue that we’ve just replaced one form of slavery with another; that there are still masters and slaves, albeit wage-earning slaves. The problem with that argument, however, is that a wage-earning “slave” isn’t a slave in the same way that a person who was kidnapped, chained up, shipped like cargo to a foreign land, and sold to an owner, was a slave. While somedays we might feel like we are “slaving away” for the company or institution we work for, we are not slaves in the same way that actual slaves were slaves.

That’s because the world, in fact, is not the way it has always been. Overall, it’s rather a better place than it used to be. And it is a better place precisely because of the deep desire to make it a better place that burns at the core of our collective human spirit. That’s not to say that every human being carries that flame within them. Stalin certainly didn’t. He slaughtered millions in an effort to snuff out that flame and maintain the status quo. Powerful and wealthy men who benefit from the way things are have a tendency to not want things to change—unless of course that change benefits them—and they will go to great lengths to prevent any changes that may, whether real or perceived, be to their personal detriment.

I think we can do better than accept that the world is the way it has always been and will forever be based on the exploitation of human labor and the environment. To do so is to ignore the human need to improve the world we live in. To do so is to become cynical and accept being only 1 percent of our human potential rather than taping into the other 99 percent of what we could be. To accept the world in its current state is a complete failure of our humanity. We can do better.

Video
Posted on in Economy

The surprising truth about what motivates us

Adapted from Dan Pink’s talk at the RSA, illustrates the hidden truths behind what really motivates us at home and in the workplace.

Posted on in Economy

The Year of Austerity

It’s all over except the shouting: no more lavish parties, high-stakes gambling trips to Vegas, or weekend shopping get-aways to Paris. For me, 2011 is going to be the “Year of Austerity” in which more pennies will be pinched than Playmates’ rear-ends by Hugh Hefner at a clothing-optional soiree hosted at the Playboy Mansion.

It’s actually worse than that: I didn’t do any of those things in 2010. Hell, I’ve never even been to Vegas or attended a lavish, black-tie-only party. I have, however, been to Paris. But only once and that was just for a 24-hour layover while en route to go live in a poor country—an experience that should come in handy as I seek to live more poorly in our relatively very wealthy country.

But it’s worse than that: I don’t even really have any pennies to pinch. And the only rear-end I’ll be pinching is my own as I cut back on those trips to Starbucks and struggle to remain conscious without the constant caffeine I.V. that nurtured me through 2010.

Like many of my fellow Americans, I don’t have pennies—I have debt. Like our government, I’ve been engaged in deficit spending. Deficit spending is like real spending, except that you walk around with rolls of Monopoly money in your pockets and pay for things with a plastic card, which is often gold in color to give you a false sense of wealthy confidence. That plastic card has a long string of numbers on it that, when added together and multiplied by your age, will yield the exact dollar amount owed to some corporate banking bookie who will bust your nuts and kneecaps with an iron-clad foreclosure notice if you don’t make your monthly minimum payment.

The only key differences between me and the government is that I don’t have a money printer down in the basement where I can just print up some more casheesh when I’m running low on dough and need another hit. Furthermore, I don’t have the political means nor the soulless cajones to rob my fellow Americans and disguise said robbery as a “bailout” that was done for their well-being.

It’s austere times like these that acutely remind me that I’m worth more dead than alive. Don’t take that the wrong way. That’s not a veiled suicide note, just an objective observation. Besides, my life insurance policy has a “suicide clause” that strictly prohibits me from profiting by killing myself. I’m contractually obligated to continue living here on Earth where I’m apparently allowed to carry on with killing myself slowly by working too hard and worrying too much about things like money. But I’m worth a million bucks if I stay the course and die of “natural causes” like a heart attack. So I’ve got that going for me.

“Austerity” was Merriam-Webster’s #1 Word of the Year for 2010. Defined as “enforced or extreme economy”, austerity, according to Merriam-Webster, “peaked dramatically several times throughout the year, as people’s attention was drawn to global economic conditions and the debt crises in Europe…”

“Austerity clearly resonates with many people,” said Peter Sokolowski, Editor at Large at Merriam-Webster. “We often hear it used in the context of government measures, but we also apply it to our own personal finances and what is sometimes called the new normal.”

Yes, it seems austerity is the new black that will replace the red in 2011. It’s all the rage and is often accompanied by rage against ourselves for having been so irresponsible, or rage against our government for having been so irresponsible, or rage about having punched the ballot that got all those fiscally irresponsible idiots elected in the first place. (Note to self-righteous Republicans: this economic shit-storm we’re sailing through started long before that African-American dude you shamelessly like to blame all of our country’s current woes on took the helm. Please just put down the dual-barreled rhetoric shotguns and back away slowly toward the mirror and do an about-face.)

So austerity is the in-thing in 2011 and I’m unhappy about that. But really America, let’s stop being a bunch of whiny douche bags. We’re better off than, oh, 99.99% of the rest of the world. Most of the rest of the world is a very poor and shitty place that, quite literally, smells like shit because there’s no indoor plumbing and the waste just piles up or is dumped conveniently into the same stream where you can take a bath and clean the pots and pans after dinner.

Buck up campers, buckle down, and enjoy the luxury of an austere year. Whatever austerity we’ll be feeling is nothing compared to the extreme poverty most other people in the world have been surviving day-in and day-out for their entire existence. They should be so lucky to merely have to undertake some austerity measures.