Capitalism is a funny thing.
At the core, I believe in capitalism’s process to create value in this world. There are countless examples of innovation and the compression of costs that are good for the world and the average person.
Late-Stage Capitalism
At the same time, it’s an unbridled force that, without boundaries, seems to pervasively force itself on every aspect of our society. I often hear of this idea of “late-stage capitalism”, where we are coming to the end of a cycle where capitalism has been so dominant but is now collapsing on itself under the weight of its own expectations for continuous growth and optimization. We see this in many forms – relentless cost-cutting leading to the degradation of products and customer experiences, immigration into countries to continue growth, and the overselling of offerings with little remorse for the long-term consequences.
I’ve been seeing the rise of gambling and betting – from sports to anything with Polymarket and Kalshi. I’ve been reading about younger generations feeling that the system is so broken that they are exhibiting more risky behaviour with little thought for the future. Many people have no or minimal savings, debt, earning potential or even a lack of motivation or skill set to put them on a positive trajectory.
The Need To Participate
Many of us view Capitalism cautiously, aware of the problem of other alternatives, yet still feeling this gnawing sensation that the current form we are operating in is not ideal. Yet, we have little choice but to participate in it, whether lightly or fully. Depending on your priorities, there often is not much room for maneuvering outside the system completely – if you want to have kids, visit your family, eat, occasionally explore parts of the world and so on. Yes, these things can be done cheaply, and you can live on a beach or farm somewhere, but it seems after a while that life also leaves a void that brings people back to society in some form and often forces you to remerge and in some ways start all over again while the ones who remained part of it at least made some progress while you were gone.
If you have any belief in Ray Dalio’s end of empires narrative, you realize this situation is not ending any time soon and may and even likely will continue to get worse. While in some ways, we may adapt and modify our course to repair the current poorly functioning system, human flaws and history tend to show we need disaster, or at the very least the brink of it, to change our ways. And, of course, as I write this, I know not all things are bad – people are being lifted out of poverty, diseases are being treated, and we are connected in more ways than ever. Yet, qualitatively, I feel, and believe many of us feel that something is just not right. There is a reason so many have faded – some more visibly with drugs and disrepair, others more silently with scrolling and lethargy.
It is a fight to maintain the energy required to operate in this system and still show up positively with a smile. I’ve seen it personally, as parents and older people who have worked their whole life realize they don’t have enough in savings. There is a sense of optimism that is dying. It’s reflected in the housing market – even during the pandemic, there was this rationale that things would get better (of course, the money printing helped) and that this may be expensive now, but I will keep earning, and everything will work out. Now, as another form of capitalistic engine churning looms with artificial intelligence penetrating every pillar of business and the world, because there is no other option, the feeling that things will get better is not so strong. Yes, for some who have advanced themselves into certain positions – whether luck or hard work or a bit of both – that may not be true, but even some of them seem to feel increasingly uncomfortable with the path we are on.
The Reality of Capitalism
Personally, the difficulty I’m having is perceiving reality. For every naysayer, there is an army of optimistic warriors chanting that there has never been more opportunity and that you can do anything you put your mind to. Can both be true? Is the opportunity available to only a small segment of society? Or does that contradict the fact that many people in the most difficult situations have elevated themselves successfully? How much of this perspective is simply generated by my own perceived success or lack of success? What percentage of people align with some of the thoughts I have shared here, and how many vehemently oppose them? Am I lazy and stupid, or am I accurately assessing?
Either way, with a child now, a wife, and a desire to live comfortably or at least maintain my current standard of living, I am in it. I love to browse Reddit discussions on FIRE (financial independence, retire early) and the fun variation FATFIRE (Retire with a fat stash), yet I am concerned with my own path. All things considered, I’ve done reasonably well, especially with a late start after several years of chaos in my early twenties and then a great lesson in poverty as I started my first company and learned how to somewhat operate a business.
But, the truth is, I like nice things. I’d like to have a nice detached house. I’d like to have a pool. A truck. A boat. A backyard where my kids can play and I can throw a ball so far that my dog can get all the exercise it needs. I don’t have overly ambitious, grandiose needs, and I know the hedonic treadmill can be a dangerous thing, but those desires put me in the direct path of capitalism.
How To Embrace Capitalism
So, what am I trying to do? I’m trying to figure out how to embrace capitalism. The money-motivated salespeople at companies and Wall Street bankers who wake up every day pumped to make more money confound me. What are their main drivers? Is it the competitiveness of the people there and the market as a whole? Is it a desire for generational wealth? Is it more grandiose desires than I have that can only be fulfilled through that relentless pursuit? Is it ego? Is it narcissism? Is it sociopathy?
The tradeoffs that are often associated with this striving are interesting. Often, they sacrifice family time, relationships, vacations, health, community, spirituality and other parts of human life that many of us value deeply. Occasionally, you come across a person who seems to have it all figured out, but overall, they seem like rare exceptions at the top of their class, and most people can not successfully execute at that level without sacrificing some things.
Then the other questions start to emerge. Is it even worth it? You read the studies about people who are on their deathbed and consistently say, “I wish I hadn’t worked so hard” and “I wish I had spent more time with my family.” If that is the case, then maybe these people have it wrong, even if for a temporary period of time, it seems right and looks good when they pull up in luxury vehicles and nice clothing. I’m stereotyping for impact, but Leonardo as Jordan Belfort in The Wolf of Wall Street comes to mind. And this archetype exists consistently, not just across finance but many domains – an obsessive drive for success that in the end can leave people alone, broke, in jail, and unhappy.
Refining Your Path
All of that being said, with that perspective, I am not driven solely by money. It is simply not enough to keep me motivated and energized. So, I need to wrap my own journey to make money in some ven diagram of meaning, creativity, interest, ability, potential, longevity, excitement, and I’m sure some other attributes I’m either too lazy to generate right now or don’t have full clarity on yet. The thought process has led me to several recurring areas; I love speech, technology, music, light, real-time interaction, ambiance, analytics, health and wellness. You can also go through this process.
With that focus narrowed, you can now start to identify possible paths that energize you. For example, for me, there is some interesting work on real-time voice analytics for health applications, including mental health. We know there are aging populations and also increasing issues with mental health, so there is demand, and that demand will continue. The people who work in health are passionate, technical, intelligent, capable and interesting. The people you will work with, both on a team and as customers, are crucial – you learn from those that you spend time with, and they can inspire and improve you or drain you and make your life difficult. And generally, I feel that if you are working in healthcare, even if it’s just a small dent, you can make a positive impact that helps improve people’s lives. When you merge all that with technology, inefficient processes and insufficient ability to meet demand, there is room to succeed within capitalism to achieve goals.
With focus, you can start to develop strategies and refine targets to accomplish work within capitalism in a manner that best suits you. And, it seems that is really the only thing you can do. At least, that is what I am telling myself for now.
I’d love to hear your thoughts. As always – send me a note at [email protected]. Until next time.
