So, here I am encouraging you to turn your passion into profit, while every now and then, if you read my column, you'll hear my ethical opposition to capitalism and its effect on the world. Is there a contradiction here? Perhaps, but first some definitions are in order.
Capitalism defined
“Capitalism” is defined in the textbooks [and wikipedia] as: “an economic system in which the means of production are privately owned and operated for a private profit; decisions regarding supply, demand, price, distribution, and investments are made by private actors in the market rather than by central planning by the government; profit is distributed to owners who invest in businesses, and wages are paid to workers employed by businesses and companies.”
The operative word in that definition is “profit.” In capitalism, the motive for producing goods and services is to sell them for a profit, not to satisfy people's needs. The capitalist's prime directive could be stated as:
“We do WHAT we do, we do all that we CAN do, and we do what we MUST do, in order to earn a profit. Nothing else matters.”
This is a very important point to file away in your mind for future reference.
Capitalism practiced
With that said, what we commonly experience as the effects of capitalism, and the profit motive behind it, is a bit less clinical, and has very noticeable and often severe consequences. Admittedly, people on various ends of the ideological spectrum will define capitalism and its effects quite differently. Here's my take on some of the distinguishing features of capitalism as practiced in our society.
1. Exploitation/class distinction
The capitalist exploits the wage earner for her labor and pays her the lowest wage possible as a percentage of the value she creates for the private capitalist owners. In a capitalism-as-practiced system, you can never be paid the true value of your time and labor. That would negate the whole profit motive.
Similarly, the land and its natural resources are exploited by capitalists who take, deplete and destroy, but rarely replenish.
As a result of the exploitation of people and the planet, capitalism, as it is allowed to be practice, invariably creates a working class and a capitalist class-i.e. the “have nots,” and the “haves.”
2. No real value created
The most glaringly obvious fallacy of the whole system is that in the greater scheme of this concept we call life on the planet, there's no real value being created by capitalism-as-practiced. In other words, there's activity, there's distraction, there's buying and selling, and what passes for economic growth, to be sure, but very little of real value is transferred from seller to buyer.
There's no inherent value to a high-priced luxury car that costs $200,000, is there? Its value is a figment of one's imagination. The seller has convinced you that you need such an extravagance. The buyer is convinced that he does.
Even among the basics of food, clothing and shelter, the value in most of the things we strive for are totally contrived! About 99 percent of what exists to be sold in the average supermarket has no real value. The frozen dinners, the canned goods, the preserved, colored, flavored, pesticide-sprayed food has limited nutritional value and is, in many cases, actually harmful to your health-it is destructive and has negative value. However, these products were all created, harvested or using the time and labor of individuals who are paid a minimum wage, and the resources of the land, which is exploited but not replenished. In other words, the things of real value that we have (our time, labor and the planet's resources) are traded for, or converted into these things of contrived, imaginary value, and are then sold to us for more than the real value used to create them...for the ultimate benefit of the private capitalist owners.
Capitalism in a nutshell
So, essentially, you have an economic system and a way of life fueled by advertising which encourages consumerism, and that consumerism is based on the desire for non-essential goods of imaginary (and even negative) value, all built on the premise of exploitation.
Said another way: In order to survive, people are convinced to trade their most valuable asset of real value-their time-for pieces of paper of fluctuating, and ever-decreasing value, so that they can purchase things of lower and negative value that they and others have created. To keep the whole system going, they are encouraged to buy things they do not need, to eat food that provides no health benefits, and to drive cars that pollute the air, and wear clothes that are all produced in ways that exploit those who do the work to create them, that deplete the Earth's natural resources and ultimately lower the quality of life for the planet's inhabitants.
But it's all prosperity, isn't it?
At this moment, I'm looking out of my hotel room at a high-rise building construction in a huge lot across the street. There's the buzz of activity that says capitalism all over it.
Let's assume it's a hotel. Is this a sign of prosperity? Sure, everyone benefits in some way. Architects and engineers are rewarded for their design. Construction workers earn a salary. Suppliers sell their lumber and concrete. The owners of neighboring restaurants and shops benefit from the mealtime activity. Furthermore, when the hotel opens, even more workers are employed, and the city's leaders can boast that the economy is boosted based on the number of jobs created. Hotel profits increase, shareowners reap dividends, and everybody's happy! That's prosperity, isn't it? Perhaps. But, look, there's a flaw in the foundation.
The foundational flaws
There are a few beliefs and practices I've identified that point to flaws in the foundation of capitalist thinking
1. I've already alluded to one: the concept that no exchange of real value is required to be successful at capitalism. This violates a basic ethical principle of true prosperity that requires that equivalent value be exchanged such that both parties benefit.
2. Infinite growth. Economic growth in capitalism-as-practiced is based on the belief that every month and every quarter, the capitalist corporation can (and must) post higher and higher profits. This is flawed thinking. You cannot sustain infinite growth on a planet with finite resources. Something has to give.
So, how do we reconcile our wish to turn our passions into profit, without violating our ethics, and/or without falling into the trap of an essentially flawed business premise? Next week: The Passion Prosperity Reconcile.
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Part 2
The only way to take control of your life, raise your standard of living and move beyond merely surviving is to create your own unique product or service that you offer to increasing numbers of people in exchange for the things of value that you desire. This simple formula applies to countries as well as people. A self-sufficient economy has its own products or services of value to export to the world. Similarly, a self-sufficient individual has something of value to exchange in the global marketplace. That thing of value is based on your natural talent, skill, or interest-in other words, your passion!
Recap: So, here I am encouraging you to turn your passion into profit, while every now and then, if you read my column, you'll hear my ethical opposition to capitalism and its effects on the world. Am I contradicting myself? We all exist and are pursuing our dreams within a capitalist paradigm. We are all forced to some degree, to participate in it. However, I suggest to you that it is built on the following faulty premises:
The foundational flaws
There are a few beliefs and practices I've identified that point to flaws in the foundation of capitalist thinking:
1. The concept that no exchange of real value is required to be successful at capitalism. (i.e. “I'm in this to make money, and will sell whatever people are willing to buy.”) This violates a basic ethical principle of true prosperity that requires that equivalent value be exchanged such that both parties benefit.
2. Infinite growth. Economic growth in capitalism-as-practiced is based on the belief that every month and every quarter, the capitalist corporation can (and must) post higher and higher profits. I suggest to you that one cannot sustain infinite growth on a planet with finite resources. Something has to give.
So, the question is: “How do we reconcile our desire and efforts to turn our own passions into profit in such a system?” In other words, “how do I succeed in business without exploiting people and destroying the planet?” Is it even possible?”
Revolution!
Right after last week's column I watched Capitalism: A Love Story, the film by Michael Moore, which highlights the more evil aspects of the greed, the callousness, the exploitation and disregard for humanity that has been encouraged and elevated to an art by capitalism's “profit at all costs” mentality.
This, to me, is the most glaring downside to the whole pursuit of business within a capitalist ideal: that people confuse and equate exploitation with survival and prosperity. The truth, however, is that sustenance, survival and prosperity are all possible without having to resort to capitalism's darker side.
One key point made in the movie is that if we are to change the system as it is practiced, such a change needs to be global and total. In other words, nothing short of a revolution, a complete dismantling and overhaul of the entire system will work to stop the exploitation and save the planet.
However, there are many obvious, and not so obvious challenges to such a revolution. First, of all, according to the film: “The system has built into it propaganda: the ability to convince people who are victimized by the system to support the system and see it as a good.”
In other words, some of the most vocal resistance to changing the system will come from those at the very bottom of the system's hierarchy-the workers-who have been convinced that their future success is tied in to maintaining things as they are.
Rethinking the paradigm
Therefore, we must first dispel many misconceptions about what Capitalism is, and also and see it clearly for what it isn't. We must uproot a fundamental belief system about what it means to be successful within this paradigm. This may be the greatest challenge. In fact, even now, as you read this, you too, may be experiencing thoughts and words like “subversive,” “un-American,” “dictatorship,” etc. as a result of the emotional connection many people have with what it means to strive within a capitalist ideal.
However, here are some new ideas, among many others that one needs to accept and realize as true:
* Capitalism does not provide for the well-being of all of people.
* Capitalism creates wealth for one class at the expense of another.
* Capitalism does not equal democracy and freedom.
* Capitalism is not holy and just.
* Success in business does not have to be a win-lose proposition.
* There is harm being done to others as well as the planet as a result of the system as it is practiced. This destruction may be irreversible.
Remaking the paradigm
As these changes in thought take hold, we can then begin to change our behavior. The things that we create and sell, how we create them, and the underlying basis of it all can be remade according to some new ideals including:
* Refuse to create or sell anything that destroys life, lowers the quality of life, infringes on the rights and freedoms of others or that is manufactured in ways that do.
* Practice “fair exchange” (not exploitation) as the basis of prosperity.
* Create value for the consumer in the form of a product = “a high quality object or service in the hands of the consumer, in exchange for a valuable.”
* Implement democratic ideals in the marketplace (one enlightening feature of Moore's film focused on businesses that are actually owned and operated by the owners in a true democratic one-person, one-vote fashion.
What it will require
Such new practices will require certain discipline and decisions:
It will require being an independent thinker.
It will require having an inviolable set of beliefs and behaviors, and the courage to act according to them despite how the masses act.
It will require sticking to those beliefs and behaviors and to accept the consequences of those actions.
It will require developing a long-time perspective. In other words, it means realizing that your activities have consequences on others and on the planet, and choosing to act now based on the long-term consequences of your actions.
The reconcile
Admittedly, the above is a gross simplification of a complex topic intended to be a starting point for discussion. The simplicity of the approach is not meant to imply that such a global revolution in thought and practice is easy. However, if such a revolution in thought and practice is to come, it must be adopted first by those on a local, individual level. Such a revolution will only come when there are sufficient numbers of people who are thinking and acting differently about themselves, about their goals, and the rights and freedoms of others, and the sustainability of our actions and practices on the planet. Only then can we truly reconcile our pursuits of “profit” so as not to lose our souls in the process as we pursue true prosperity.
As the title of my book, Turn your Passion into Sustainability wouldn't have had quite the same ring to it, but perhaps, those of us with an eye on the true significance of what we seek as passionpreneurs can unofficially choose a new mantra: Turn Your Passion Into Prosperity! Now THAT has a nice ring to it!
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Note: Where will your passion take you? What sort of life would you experience if you could? Find out what's possible as you turn your passion into profit. Check out my new adventures on jamaicaninchina.com.
Note: Ever wanted to direct your friends and family to a set of websites that revealed the best things about Saipan? Do what I do: Send them to www.bestofsaipan.com!
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Until next week, remember, success is a journey, not a destination!
Send article suggestions, entrepreneur nominations and feedback about this article to walt@passionprofit.com.
Walt F.J. Goodridge is author of 16 books including Turn Your Passion Into Profit. Walt offers coaching and workshops to help people pursue and profit from their passions. Originally from the island of Jamaica, Walt has grown several successful businesses in the US, and now lives a nomadpreneur lifestyle. To learn more, visit www.passionprofit.com.
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