Wednesday, September 17, 2008

An article for the election season and a question

http://www.edge.org/3rd_culture/haidt08/haidt08_index.html



Though many of us are feeling poorer today than we were 6 months ago, I think this question is still relevant. Having achieved (for most of us) secure shelter and food and some measure of security, what else should we want? Towards what should we strive? In most of history people (excluding very small elites) used up all their time in the quest for basic needs. Now what?

Should we be making sure the same is true for everyone?

Should we be saving up to buy a bigger house and another car?

Should we be trying to increase our threshold power output on the bike?

I've been devoting a lot of time to learning new things. To the extent I am able to apply that knowledge either to the creation of new knowledge or as a productive participant in the economy it will have had some measure of merit beyond pure entertainment. Otherwise maybe it's a matter of preference to hold it in higher regard to spending time on my bike.

What to do with the incredible good fortune to have been born here in this time?

(Hint - I think answer B is wrong. Be assured that if you don't have an answer to this question, an army of marketing executives is working tirelessly to supply you with one.)

1 comment:

D Brown said...

Well said, JF! I havent read the article you cited, but your comments make sense without any extra context. There sure are a lot of marketers trying to convince you to use one's (extra?) money to solve various "problems". This strikes me as a justification of earning money, done after the fact. Further in this direction, it's common to see people equating "quality of life" with one's income/earnings.