“Lotteries are a symptom of something much larger: hopelessness and a sense of vulture opportunism of the powerful over the despairing.”
And my reaction to this is that the reason we have the feeling of scarcity is because of fear. Fear creates the feeling of scarcity. And then we have bad actors—defectors in game theory. And so, you have a lack of toilet paper during a pandemic that is a lungs problem…
The trouble is, time and time again, our faith is tested. Our faith in things being ok. Our faith in others. And Defectors embattle the very idea of having faith in one another—of giving in to the cynic’s idea that we can’t believe in one another.
And as long as our institutions do not hold Defectors accountable—for starting insurrections, for stealing from the masses, for crimes against humanity, and for taking more than their share (rewarding and exalting billionaires), we will have the hunger, the lack of faith, the Get Mine.
In response to the Stock Market piece: I don't have 'faith' in the stock market for the same reason you don't have faith in crypto. It, too, is a shell-game ponzi-scheme, architected by the rich to enrich the rich. While I have managed assets in the stock market (using someone smarter than me at this game), my issue with tying up money in that is that it, at its very base level, supports capitalism and all its ills. I wish I could use my investments to better people's lives, not better capitalistic intent. And that that would come back to me.
We complain about the ills of capitalism: the desire machine it creates, the haves and have-nots, GINI, disparity, the rich choosing the winners... The stock market is all of those things. I used to think that microlending would be a better path, but that still fuels capitalism. It tells (judgemental term alert) Developing Countries that they're not good enough as they are--that subsistence and community-based living or nomadic life/traditional life is not good enough. "What you need is seed capital and entrepreneurialism." It's such an economic colonialist perspective. It is the Devil in Sheep's Clothing. Because once you start down that path, it is rapacious, Hungry-Ghostism run amok.
I love your posts. Thank you for making me think… continuously.
I really enjoyed this issue, thank you.
This hit so hard:
“Lotteries are a symptom of something much larger: hopelessness and a sense of vulture opportunism of the powerful over the despairing.”
And my reaction to this is that the reason we have the feeling of scarcity is because of fear. Fear creates the feeling of scarcity. And then we have bad actors—defectors in game theory. And so, you have a lack of toilet paper during a pandemic that is a lungs problem…
The trouble is, time and time again, our faith is tested. Our faith in things being ok. Our faith in others. And Defectors embattle the very idea of having faith in one another—of giving in to the cynic’s idea that we can’t believe in one another.
And as long as our institutions do not hold Defectors accountable—for starting insurrections, for stealing from the masses, for crimes against humanity, and for taking more than their share (rewarding and exalting billionaires), we will have the hunger, the lack of faith, the Get Mine.
In response to the Stock Market piece: I don't have 'faith' in the stock market for the same reason you don't have faith in crypto. It, too, is a shell-game ponzi-scheme, architected by the rich to enrich the rich. While I have managed assets in the stock market (using someone smarter than me at this game), my issue with tying up money in that is that it, at its very base level, supports capitalism and all its ills. I wish I could use my investments to better people's lives, not better capitalistic intent. And that that would come back to me.
We complain about the ills of capitalism: the desire machine it creates, the haves and have-nots, GINI, disparity, the rich choosing the winners... The stock market is all of those things. I used to think that microlending would be a better path, but that still fuels capitalism. It tells (judgemental term alert) Developing Countries that they're not good enough as they are--that subsistence and community-based living or nomadic life/traditional life is not good enough. "What you need is seed capital and entrepreneurialism." It's such an economic colonialist perspective. It is the Devil in Sheep's Clothing. Because once you start down that path, it is rapacious, Hungry-Ghostism run amok.
I love your posts. Thank you for making me think… continuously.