This reminds me of the book “Postcapitalism.” Have you read it?
I keep telling people that in a technology age, capitalism is actively squandering human potential for short-term profit and its own preservation. I get frustrated when people complain about government inefficiency (fair enough, I dislike unnecessary bureaucracy too) but disregard how much waste, incompetence, and nepotism exists I. The private sector. As you said, there is some overlap between profit and efficiency/providing a good or service, even if the latter will always be a secondary motivating force of capitalism.
I love the story of corporate America's weird, sympathetic magic rituals. I wonder, though, if we need capitalism™ as an explanation. It feels like path dependency institutional stickiness are explanatory enough.
It also seems like the media landscape isn't dying, so much as being transfigured into something those of us of a certain age don't recognize as media. Media as the fourth estate is certainly on the decline; partially because of the way web2 intermediates content creation / content consumption. I don't think the internet itself struck the mortal blow. It was the product layer we put on top that selected for virality and created a winner take all environment. Shifting from physical to digital content delivery enabled that, but I don't see that as directly causal.
On a more hopeful note, I think there's a discernible (not necessarily easy or likely) path forward from here to Star Trek. That involves reappropriating the economic rents you called out and using them to lift up the bottom of the distribution. We don't currently have institutions capable of institution the right types of policies. But it's conceivable, so it's possible.
Anyway, love the newsletter. Keep doing what you're doing!
lord what a tedious bunch or wordy malarky. you're stuck in play=pretend world. none of what you describe creates a useful good service, all makework, red tape and ritual.
Thank you for capturing a tension that has significantly impacted our ability to function in corporate America.
This analysis - “…if efficiency doesn’t serve the higher purpose, then it’s in the way. In this instance the more important considerations are maintenance and integrity of the structural hierarchy.” - summarizes so much of what I have personally observed and experienced in my career.
Decent piece. I like that you write about what I call the Efficiency Paradox. The phrase “efficiency of the marketplace” triggers me like Niagara Falls triggered Curly from the Three Stooges. Capitalism is very efficient at creating chaos—inefficiency—through division. Chaos is the goal. Wealth extraction is the goal. Maintaining the “integrity of the structural hierarchy” is another [goal]. I’ve been an anti-capitalist long before I read Marx and called myself one. I remember my first political rant, arguing with my father about how stupid it was for humanity to not share resources equally and efficiently while waiting in line for gas during the 73/74 oil embargo. During my last yearly review, my supervisor of 16 years told me I was the most profitable because I was most efficient worker…then gave me a $1 an hour raise. So a few weeks later I retired. Luckily I made it to 62, so I’ll have a few years of detox before my paltry Social Security is taken away and I’m forced into breaking bad and piracy. 🏴☠️ There’s so much to say on this topic. Thanks for writing about it.
Thank you for capturing a tension that has significantly impacted our ability to function in corporate America. This analysis - “…if efficiency doesn’t serve the higher purpose, then it’s in the way. In this instance the more important considerations are maintenance and integrity of the structural hierarchy.” - summarizes so much of what I have personally observed and experienced in my career. I don’t know where this leaves me but the clarity feels like a necessary next step.
This reminds me of the book “Postcapitalism.” Have you read it?
I keep telling people that in a technology age, capitalism is actively squandering human potential for short-term profit and its own preservation. I get frustrated when people complain about government inefficiency (fair enough, I dislike unnecessary bureaucracy too) but disregard how much waste, incompetence, and nepotism exists I. The private sector. As you said, there is some overlap between profit and efficiency/providing a good or service, even if the latter will always be a secondary motivating force of capitalism.
I haven't read it but I'll keep it in mind!
I love the story of corporate America's weird, sympathetic magic rituals. I wonder, though, if we need capitalism™ as an explanation. It feels like path dependency institutional stickiness are explanatory enough.
It also seems like the media landscape isn't dying, so much as being transfigured into something those of us of a certain age don't recognize as media. Media as the fourth estate is certainly on the decline; partially because of the way web2 intermediates content creation / content consumption. I don't think the internet itself struck the mortal blow. It was the product layer we put on top that selected for virality and created a winner take all environment. Shifting from physical to digital content delivery enabled that, but I don't see that as directly causal.
On a more hopeful note, I think there's a discernible (not necessarily easy or likely) path forward from here to Star Trek. That involves reappropriating the economic rents you called out and using them to lift up the bottom of the distribution. We don't currently have institutions capable of institution the right types of policies. But it's conceivable, so it's possible.
Anyway, love the newsletter. Keep doing what you're doing!
https://www.honest-broker.com/p/the-state-of-the-culture-2024
Thank you. . . It's only so often I just am like yep sure I'm definitely buying a coffee. . . Great article
Thank you!
lord what a tedious bunch or wordy malarky. you're stuck in play=pretend world. none of what you describe creates a useful good service, all makework, red tape and ritual.
Thank you for capturing a tension that has significantly impacted our ability to function in corporate America.
This analysis - “…if efficiency doesn’t serve the higher purpose, then it’s in the way. In this instance the more important considerations are maintenance and integrity of the structural hierarchy.” - summarizes so much of what I have personally observed and experienced in my career.
Decent piece. I like that you write about what I call the Efficiency Paradox. The phrase “efficiency of the marketplace” triggers me like Niagara Falls triggered Curly from the Three Stooges. Capitalism is very efficient at creating chaos—inefficiency—through division. Chaos is the goal. Wealth extraction is the goal. Maintaining the “integrity of the structural hierarchy” is another [goal]. I’ve been an anti-capitalist long before I read Marx and called myself one. I remember my first political rant, arguing with my father about how stupid it was for humanity to not share resources equally and efficiently while waiting in line for gas during the 73/74 oil embargo. During my last yearly review, my supervisor of 16 years told me I was the most profitable because I was most efficient worker…then gave me a $1 an hour raise. So a few weeks later I retired. Luckily I made it to 62, so I’ll have a few years of detox before my paltry Social Security is taken away and I’m forced into breaking bad and piracy. 🏴☠️ There’s so much to say on this topic. Thanks for writing about it.
Thank you for capturing a tension that has significantly impacted our ability to function in corporate America. This analysis - “…if efficiency doesn’t serve the higher purpose, then it’s in the way. In this instance the more important considerations are maintenance and integrity of the structural hierarchy.” - summarizes so much of what I have personally observed and experienced in my career. I don’t know where this leaves me but the clarity feels like a necessary next step.