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Musings Report 2019-25 6-22-19 The Value of Values
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For those who are new to the Musings reports: they are basically a glimpse into my notebook, the unfiltered swamp where I organize future themes, sort through the dozens of stories and links submitted by readers, refine my own research and start connecting dots which appear later in the blog or in my books. As always, I hope the Musings spark new appraisals and insights. Thank you for supporting the site and for inviting me into your circle of correspondents.
The Value of Values
As consumers and investors, we seek value ("price is what you pay, value is what you get" in Warren Buffett's famous phrase).
I've been wondering if we undervalue our core values as sources of purpose and meaning in our lives.
Given the practical, metric-centric nature of our society, when asked, "what are your core values?", most people would likely list things such as honesty, loyalty, etc.--the traits we value in ourselves and others.
These universal values are important, of course, but recently I've been pondering the role of more specific values in shaping our careers, where we live and how we live.
One example is autonomy, also known as "agency," broadly speaking the control we exercise over our own lives.
For me, it seems I value autonomy above all else, as I've been self-employed for most of my life and only worked for others in positions where I had some autonomy once I'd served an apprenticeship / learned the ropes.
I've paid a steep price for valuing autonomy above all else, as the trade-off of self-employment is what corporate/state institutions provide: secure benefits, low exposure to financial risk, guaranteed pay and limited workloads.
Self-employment offers autonomy but at the cost of high risk, uncertain pay (if any), open-ended workloads and no benefits (other than what you pay yourself).
What do you value more, a short commute or a big house and yard? Most people can't afford to have both in urban areas, and so tough choices must be made based on what we value most.
These kinds of values don't seem to come up as often as aptitudes and work environments when we discuss career changes. Do we shy away from exploring our core values because these seem too abstract or "squishy" in a hard-nosed practical society?
Imagine the general reaction to someone declaring that being surrounded by beauty is the most important value they seek at work, so cubicles and soul-destroying offices are out, period.
The typical reaction would likely be, "Get real!"
But the person who becomes aware that being surrounded by beauty matters more to them than a secure salary and good benefits might well find a career in forestry or landscaping, or work in a museum or art gallery if their idea of beauty is of the fine-arts variety.
Where we find purpose and meaning seems to be more a function of our core values than is generally recognized. Self-knowledge isn't just an awareness of our psychological traits and aptitudes; it's equally important to discover the values that are the sources of our happiness and fulfillment.
The process of discovery may appear to be "obvious," but in my experience, it is anything but obvious or easy. Our core values may manifest without our conscious awareness. As such, they await our conscious discovery.
Highlights of the Blog This Past Week
The Lessons of Rome: Our Neofeudal Oligarchy 6/22/19
The Fed's Casino Is Giving Away Free Gambling Chips (But Only to the Super-Rich) 6/20/19
Dear Central Bankers: Prepare to be Swept Away in the Next Wave of Populism 6/19/19
America's Managerial Elite Has Failed, But We Can't Get Rid of Them 6/18/19
How Much of Your "Wealth" Is Hostage to Bubbles and Impossible Promises? 6/17/19
Best Thing That Happened To Me This Week
We distributed over 100 pounds of lychee to family and friends far and wide-- a small token of reciprocity for all those who've been generous to us.
Musings on the Economy: Manic Runs in Gold and Bitcoin
Gold's rise from $1,280 to $1,400 in only four weeks and bitcoin's catapult from $4,000 in April to $8,000 in May and then more recently from $8,000 to $11,000 are striking statements about volatility and a rush to safe havens, something that is also visible in the extraordinary decline in Treasury bond yields.
Investors and traders are voting with their feet, and the stampede suggests the herd is unnerved. It will be interesting to see what summer brings.
From Left Field
The World Is a Mess. We Need Fully Automated Luxury Communism. -- too bad we still depend on low-tech coal and oil for all the goodies...
The new elite’s phoney crusade to save the world – without changing anything: Today’s titans of tech and finance want to solve the world’s problems, as long as the solutions never, ever threaten their own wealth and power -- precisely....
Training a single AI model can emit as much carbon as five cars in their lifetimes: Deep learning has a terrible carbon footprint. -- yup, much of that fancy AI is powered by coal....
The Struggling Vineyards That Helped Inspire Karl Marx’s Communism -- whodathunkit?
Better Schools Won’t Fix America: Like many rich Americans, I used to think educational investment could heal the country’s ills—but I was wrong. Fighting inequality must come first. (via Kevin K.)
The self-inflicted death of the physician
How Cubans Live as Long as Americans at a Tenth of the Cost: Lessons of physical prosperity in a despotic regime
Why Are the Western Middle Classes So Angry?
Superbugs take deadly toll in Bangladeshi hospitals -- Rivers polluted with antibiotics are creating an impending health disaster, experts warn
Antibiotic resistance to superbugs — ‘We’re reaching breaking point and running out of options’
It’s a Winner-Take-All World, Whether You Like It or Not: And a person needs to cultivate particular traits to be successful within it.
What Really Happened to Malaysia’s Missing Airplane -- the pilot of MH370 did it but that's officially embarrassing, so it remains a "mystery"....
"To be yourself in a world that is constantly trying to make you something else is the greatest accomplishment." Ralph Waldo Emerson
Thanks for reading--
charles |
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