We live in a society that has an odd set of values. People seem to judge themselves and others by how much they can get.
Do you buy great designer clothes? Do you live in a fancy house with cool furniture? Do you own an island?
People put a lot of effort into defining themselves by their stuff. But most people don’t seem to put the same level of effort into striving to create.
I do understand the economic benefits of providing social rewards for being a good consumer. After all, millions of people buying stuff is the engine that drives our nation’s economy.
But what if it were flipped? What if nobody cared how much stuff you have, but there was enormous social capital attached to how creative you are, how much you can contribute in new and original ways.
That would create an entirely different basis for a strong economy. It wouldn’t matter so much how acquisitive you are, but it would matter a lot how inquisitive you are. The means of production, and therefore the creation of national wealth, would be distributed widely among the population.
Wouldn’t that be cool?