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One of the things I have found a bit shocking from some of the conservative posters here over the last few years is a perspective that the private sector and the market provides the only real jobs that matter, and material wealth is the only real form of success. I struggle with this view, because it seems obvious to me that the current market values of some things (clean air a native treefrog) are not valued at all, whereas some of the sleaziest activities possible pay well (drug dealer, house flipper). The "market" has never been all of our culture or even a majority of it, but these days, everone from community colleges and retired nuns are betting on the market. We need to move away from the worship of material wealth to other forms of investment in our families, communities, and society.
Anyhow, I heard this dude today on NPR talking about the limits of markets and market thinking.
The private sector goes strong and the government gets some money.
Over tax, over regulate, go too far with bird fart rights and you get less money to government.
Over employee people in government (which has been the taxpayer's growing cancer curse since Johnson) and you can't ever get enough taxes to pay for the mess.
Grow the entitlements past the elderly and disabled to others for more than a few months and you have national collapse.
The left from my recollection has been using environmentalism as a way in to attack much of the energy and industrial sector of the country to the detriment of the economy.
There should be some balance, but right now IMO there is a reason people say Environmental Nuts, it's out of hand now.
One of the things I have found a bit shocking from some of the conservative posters here over the last few years is a perspective that the private sector and the market provides the only real jobs that matter, and material wealth is the only real form of success. I struggle with this view, because it seems obvious to me that the current market values of some things (clean air a native treefrog) are not valued at all, whereas some of the sleaziest activities possible pay well (drug dealer, house flipper). The "market" has never been all of our culture or even a majority of it, but these days, everone from community colleges and retired nuns are betting on the market. We need to move away from the worship of material wealth to other forms of investment in our families, communities, and society.
Anyhow, I heard this dude today on NPR talking about the limits of markets and market thinking.
I found this viewpoint refreshing. What do you think?
you associate house flippers with drug dealers? get real. at least house flippers provide a service by buying distressed houses, fixing them up, and selling them for a profit. by the way i despise illegal activity like drug dealing. i think those poison sellers need to be executed like murderers should be.
and yes money is not the be all end all for everyone. but right now money makes the world go around. as for being successful, that depends on what one wants out of life. i was quite successful working in the hotel business for 25 years. i didnt make a lot of money, and i didnt go high up in management, but them again i never wanted to. i just wanted to be the best at what i did, and in that endeavour i was quite successful, as i was one of the best auditors and low level managers in the business.
That is an absolutely brilliant article. The author brings up some good points here with applying market economics to things that should be marketed. I'm a staunch advocate against the privatization of our prisons--it's absurd and ridiculous on its face. I detest that our health is subject to the lowest bidder. PMCs, undoubtedly of use, are slowly replacing the the military our government has created--and PMCs have zero national accountability. If a national army invades a country, it's war. If a PMC army invades a country--it's an act of terrorism, and a nation lays without blame. The privitization and marketing of morally important subjects, such as justice, war, and health, has left us in a strange place. Health insurers don't have accountability--only to the Almight Dollar--and it costs us our health. The Prison Industrial Complex is already underway and unaccountable. It's incredible.
The author brings up an interesting point about the power of money in a culture and society defined by market economics. The more things that money can but, the greater the inequality; perhaps the best reason to remove money from politics.
"In its own way, market reasoning also empties public life of moral argument. Part of the appeal of markets is that they don’t pass judgment on the preferences they satisfy. They don’t ask whether some ways of valuing goods are higher, or worthier, than others. If someone is willing to pay for sex, or a kidney, and a consenting adult is willing to sell, the only question the economist asks is 'How much?' Markets don’t wag fingers. They don’t discriminate between worthy preferences and unworthy ones. Each party to a deal decides for him- or herself what value to place on the things being exchanged.
This nonjudgmental stance toward values lies at the heart of market reasoning, and explains much of its appeal. But our reluctance to engage in moral and spiritual argument, together with our embrace of markets, has exacted a heavy price: it has drained public discourse of moral and civic energy, and contributed to the technocratic, managerial politics afflicting many societies today."
I don't know anything about the author, and perhaps we wouldn't agree on everything, but the sentences quoted above are (if you'll excuse the market lingo) "right on the money".
That comes from the soul and giving and freeing yourself and living on your own terms
Very few people will ever realize this though..... it is hard to become this secure inside
While I aspire to be well off, but you're are absolutely right in money doesn't buy happiness. All the wealth and material things don't amount to jack s*** when you're gone! You can't take them with you! Having said that, when I say well off, I mean living comfortably and being able to take care of all of my obligations and have some left over to do the things in life that I would enjoy. I don't need fancy cars, or motorcycles, or a boat. And I certainly don't want to have my success measured necessarily on my income, or what material things that I may have acquired! It's the little things in life that count! As I've gotten older starting I've started to realize that. Be thankful for what you DO have, but always try to better yourself.
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