Another conversation that provoked a blog.
I was arguing that it is modern commerce that provides our opportunities to be authentic people who love what we are doing. In Jessica’s case, she is in the most arcane of occupations, a designer of custom motorcycles.
Her argument is that she would have been content 100 years ago when she would only have been a housewife and mother. And that would have been sufficient.
So, can one be content in any circumstances, without the opportunities offered by modern commerce? My answer would be clearly ‘yes’. A few people would. They can be content anywhere under any circumstances. I might be one of them.
My experience with people is two fold.
- Even in the most rigid stable hierarchical tribal society there are many people who are not ‘content’ because they know they have far more capabilities that are not being used.
- Having a few people who are ‘content’ is not a viable goal for a society. A viable goal is for as many people to be ‘content’ as possible.
The Russian Orthodox Church has aspired to keep as many members as ignorant as possible as a religious goal to help those people achieve their personal contentment.
This doesn’t work in the real world because other societies begin offering appealing forms of authenticity and the ‘ignorant’ find out about it. They read about great women writers (Jane Austin). They hear about societies where robust health is abundant and they needn’t suffer from tooth pain, failing eyes or a deformed limb.
Therefore it is necessary for the world to have modern commerce as an option for the many people living who will seek their own authenticity once they know their development is possible.
An ordinary boy born and raised in Adelaide Australia, inherited a local newspaper. He was able to turn this tiny newspaper into a global media empire that includes Fox News, the Wall Street Journal, National Geographic and 21st Century Fox. Worth over $15 billion.
The transition for that talented boy needed a world of modern commerce. Rupert Murdoch found his authentic self expressed in a brilliant adventure and we have all benefited along with the hundreds of thousands of his employees.
Personal contentment is not a good measure for a social system. A better measure is authenticity for as many people as possible.