6 ms·

It's just so hard to believe the abundance view! I wish I could. Our economy simply does not reward people for being good or ok at things. You have to be amazin

by dismal2 10y ago

It's just so hard to believe the abundance view! I wish I could. Our economy simply does not reward people for being good or ok at things. You have to be amazing. So you are forced into competition simply to survive and pay for your existence.

jeremysmyth 10y ago
"Our economy simply does not reward people for being good or ok at things. You have to be amazing." This is only true locally. I can derive a huge amount of happiness by being the best singer at a party, or the best at telling jokes in the pub, or the best at $SKILL in my team. Even if you consider global geography (as with competing on the Internet as a startup, or looking for a job as a remote worker), you only have to be the best in that narrow area of what is available at that time (or the best at marketing it, or the best at selling it, or just the best at turning up and being presentable). There are many, many opportunities to be "amazing" locally. You just need to define what, and where. The article uses the word "mindset", because happiness about what you think more than anything else.
alexashka 10y ago
Sorry, are we living on the same planet? If everyone around me had to be 'amazing', things sure would look different :)
- yolesaber 10y ago
  I've only been working in industry for a few years, but in my mind the majority of white collar jobs are no different than government welfare, in terms of value derived for society, except white collar people are paid better. The majority of white collar workers I've experienced are mediocre, lazy, and coast through the day on reddit and facebook and earn six figure paychecks. Yet we cheer on these people, congratulate them on getting jobs and hold them up as examples for peers. There's been many a time I've attended a party back home and people have berated their children for not getting a "good job" like me - meaning white collar and well paid. But hell I'll be the first one to admit I don't do shit at my job (and I work for a huge 'world-changing' company that you've definitely heard of) - I'll do what it takes not to get fired but do I feel like I make a difference or help the world through my career? Hell no. I'll close a few tickets and then collect my paycheck and then do something actually meaningful in my free time. Americans love corporations for some reason. If you make $100k/yr at a job and mostly surf the web, people consider that 'made'. If you are on welfare from the government, you're a no good bum. Why?
  - dismal2 10y ago
    I'm under the impression that this type of work is going away, or isn't that what silicon valley is trying to disrupt?
    - yolesaber 10y ago
      HAHAHA. If you think this sort of thing doesn't happen in Silicon Valley I have a social network to sell you
      - dismal2 10y ago
        not that these jobs dont exist, but instead of 100,000 people doing this at inefficient mega corp, there are now 5,000 people doing this and achieving the same results in sv.
yolesaber 10y ago
The US produces more than enough food for everyone on the planet. There is ample room across the nation to build enough housing for everyone. Why don't we do it? Because the zero-sum neoliberal worldview has been ingrained in the American mind thanks to absurd concepts of exceptionalism and "individual liberty" and so the prevailing sentiment of the day is "fuck you got mine" in the biggest christian nation on earth.
- jdminhbg 10y ago
  > zero-sum neoliberal worldview This makes about as much sense as "the laissez-faire fascist worldview" or the "growth at any costs environmental worldview."
  - mattnewton 10y ago
    I think it's a great description then for an emerging worldview that simultaneously believes in too big to fail for banks but not in people, champions social equality but supports laws that allow racial profiling by police and TSA, and believes the war in Iraq was a mistake but that we should support Isreal unilaterally
    - jdminhbg 10y ago
      That's not what "zero-sum" means.
- gnaritas 10y ago
  That's not even close to true. Take food for example, you're simply wrong because the issue with food isn't production, it's transportation and distribution of the food to the places that need it that is and always has been the issue. It doesn't matter if we produce extra food here, the resources required to deliver it to where it's needed are massive and impractical; that's why we don't do it, it isn't because of a zero-sum neoliberal worldview; it's because no one wants to pay for it. > "fuck you got mine" in the biggest christian nation on earth. I fail to see what Christian's have anything to do with the matter. And we aren't a Christian nation, we're a secular nation with a lot of Christians, huge difference.
gumby 10y ago
> It's just so hard to believe the abundance view! I wish I could. Our economy simply does not reward people for being good or ok at things. You have to be amazing. That's the zero sum trap in itself! What a painful place to be, I'm sorry. It's a big ocean and we can all swim in it without having to push someone else down to accomplish it. Sadly There are certainly a huge of people trying to convince you otherwise; consider the words of that famous London School of Economics student who (along with Richards) wrote: He's tellin' me more and more About some useless information Supposed to drive my imagination [..] And a man comes on and tells me How white my shirts can be But he can't be a man 'cause he doesn't smoke The same cigarrettes as me All about "amazing" status via a combination of attainable and aspirational goods. I am sure most of those people are unhappy too. But of all the dimensions of amazing (and there are gazillions, not just coding or money collecting but parenting, spousing, woodworking, piano playing) there are also gazillions of local "amazing" thresholds. I'm not a great piano player but I really have a good time playing, and playing music with my friends. Plus you may be a "superstar" without realizing it. A couple of weeks ago I was at a party and someone I consider quite accomplished, more than me, said to my kid (presumably not realizing I could hear): "now, we can't all be superstars like your Dad, but at least I have managed...."
taurath 10y ago
My rule (shamelessly stolen from a source I don't remember) - its incredibly incredibly difficult to be top 2% in anything. Its far easier and more achievable to be top 20% in 2 things, and the value you bring from connecting those 2 things together can frequently outweigh the hyperspecialist.
- dismal2 10y ago
  thanks, that's sound advice

by dismal2 10y ago

jeremysmyth 10y ago

"Our economy simply does not reward people for being good or ok at things. You have to be amazing." This is only true locally. I can derive a huge amount of happiness by being the best singer at a party, or the best at telling jokes in the pub, or the best at $SKILL in my team. Even if you consider global geography (as with competing on the Internet as a startup, or looking for a job as a remote worker), you only have to be the best in that narrow area of what is available at that time (or the best at marketing it, or the best at selling it, or just the best at turning up and being presentable). There are many, many opportunities to be "amazing" locally. You just need to define what, and where. The article uses the word "mindset", because happiness about what you think more than anything else.

alexashka 10y ago

Sorry, are we living on the same planet? If everyone around me had to be 'amazing', things sure would look different :)

yolesaber 10y ago
I've only been working in industry for a few years, but in my mind the majority of white collar jobs are no different than government welfare, in terms of value derived for society, except white collar people are paid better. The majority of white collar workers I've experienced are mediocre, lazy, and coast through the day on reddit and facebook and earn six figure paychecks. Yet we cheer on these people, congratulate them on getting jobs and hold them up as examples for peers. There's been many a time I've attended a party back home and people have berated their children for not getting a "good job" like me - meaning white collar and well paid. But hell I'll be the first one to admit I don't do shit at my job (and I work for a huge 'world-changing' company that you've definitely heard of) - I'll do what it takes not to get fired but do I feel like I make a difference or help the world through my career? Hell no. I'll close a few tickets and then collect my paycheck and then do something actually meaningful in my free time. Americans love corporations for some reason. If you make $100k/yr at a job and mostly surf the web, people consider that 'made'. If you are on welfare from the government, you're a no good bum. Why?
- dismal2 10y ago
  I'm under the impression that this type of work is going away, or isn't that what silicon valley is trying to disrupt?
  - yolesaber 10y ago
    HAHAHA. If you think this sort of thing doesn't happen in Silicon Valley I have a social network to sell you
    - dismal2 10y ago
      not that these jobs dont exist, but instead of 100,000 people doing this at inefficient mega corp, there are now 5,000 people doing this and achieving the same results in sv.

yolesaber 10y ago

The US produces more than enough food for everyone on the planet. There is ample room across the nation to build enough housing for everyone. Why don't we do it? Because the zero-sum neoliberal worldview has been ingrained in the American mind thanks to absurd concepts of exceptionalism and "individual liberty" and so the prevailing sentiment of the day is "fuck you got mine" in the biggest christian nation on earth.

jdminhbg 10y ago
> zero-sum neoliberal worldview This makes about as much sense as "the laissez-faire fascist worldview" or the "growth at any costs environmental worldview."
- mattnewton 10y ago
  I think it's a great description then for an emerging worldview that simultaneously believes in too big to fail for banks but not in people, champions social equality but supports laws that allow racial profiling by police and TSA, and believes the war in Iraq was a mistake but that we should support Isreal unilaterally
  - jdminhbg 10y ago
    That's not what "zero-sum" means.
gnaritas 10y ago
That's not even close to true. Take food for example, you're simply wrong because the issue with food isn't production, it's transportation and distribution of the food to the places that need it that is and always has been the issue. It doesn't matter if we produce extra food here, the resources required to deliver it to where it's needed are massive and impractical; that's why we don't do it, it isn't because of a zero-sum neoliberal worldview; it's because no one wants to pay for it. > "fuck you got mine" in the biggest christian nation on earth. I fail to see what Christian's have anything to do with the matter. And we aren't a Christian nation, we're a secular nation with a lot of Christians, huge difference.

gumby 10y ago

> It's just so hard to believe the abundance view! I wish I could. Our economy simply does not reward people for being good or ok at things. You have to be amazing. That's the zero sum trap in itself! What a painful place to be, I'm sorry. It's a big ocean and we can all swim in it without having to push someone else down to accomplish it. Sadly There are certainly a huge of people trying to convince you otherwise; consider the words of that famous London School of Economics student who (along with Richards) wrote: He's tellin' me more and more About some useless information Supposed to drive my imagination [..] And a man comes on and tells me How white my shirts can be But he can't be a man 'cause he doesn't smoke The same cigarrettes as me All about "amazing" status via a combination of attainable and aspirational goods. I am sure most of those people are unhappy too. But of all the dimensions of amazing (and there are gazillions, not just coding or money collecting but parenting, spousing, woodworking, piano playing) there are also gazillions of local "amazing" thresholds. I'm not a great piano player but I really have a good time playing, and playing music with my friends. Plus you may be a "superstar" without realizing it. A couple of weeks ago I was at a party and someone I consider quite accomplished, more than me, said to my kid (presumably not realizing I could hear): "now, we can't all be superstars like your Dad, but at least I have managed...."

taurath 10y ago

My rule (shamelessly stolen from a source I don't remember) - its incredibly incredibly difficult to be top 2% in anything. Its far easier and more achievable to be top 20% in 2 things, and the value you bring from connecting those 2 things together can frequently outweigh the hyperspecialist.

dismal2 10y ago
thanks, that's sound advice