...

I consider myself something of a minimalist. Part of this lifestyle involved, for me, essentially taking a vow of poverty, at least for the forseeable future.

A crucial fact that evades many people is that: not everything is meant to be monetized.

Leftists hate Capitalism because it does not reward what they tend to be good at; making genuine, human pieces of art. Instead, it rewards a lot of bullshit, and tends to give breadcrumbs to the backbone of our society, such as construction workers and teachers.

Yet, we all feel as though we are forced to participate in this culture. The truth is, most of us are, but the secret they don't tell you is that you don't have to fully invest yourself into this game. It's okay to be a "loser." Being a "loser" under Capitalism does not make one's humanity less intrinsically meaningful.

Many artisans are frustrated, because they will spend hours sewing together a sweater, only for people to buy a factory-made one from Wal-Mart. They believe their clothes, or their art, or what have you, should be worth hundreds (if not thousands) of dollars, and will be frustrated when nobody buys it. You can sell things at those prices, and it helps if you have millionaire friends, but don't be surprised when people can't afford it. It's ironic, because these people often say the reason they charge so much is because the "economy is so bad;" if that's the case, where do you think people will get the money to pay for your stuff? And why didn't you choose something more lucrative if money is the end goal?

The fact of the matter is, you're not making this stuff because you want to get rich. At least myself, I do what I do because it gives me a deep sense of inner peace. Each and every day, I set aside some time for writing, reading, doing math exercises, spending time with the people I care about, and going for a little walk. I don't do any of this with the expectation of financial compensation, external validation, or audience retention. I do all of this because my life would otherwise feel empty.

The truth of the matter is, we can be a victim of our circumstances, play the oppression Olympics, and excuse our perceived lack of success. It is enticing, and very popular. Option two is to find a way; to make a way to get what we want, no matter the cost. And most people, myself included, do not want to do this. Anyone could in principle become a millionaire, but unfortunately it is not handed out to everyone as easily, so for the vast majority of us, this would include sacrificing too much personal happiness, free time, values, etc., to obtain a hollow and materialistic goal.

So, this is where the third option comes in: we redefine our narrative. Instead of money, the goal becomes health, inner peace, etc.; and this is honestly not only more realistic, but much more rewarding. I look at people like Elon Musk who have all the money in the world, but unfortunately that doesn't buy friendship. Hence the reason he was bullied off his own live stream. It is almost kind of sad.

On the other hand, you have people in all sorts of debilitating conditions, who somehow find a way to see the brighter side of life.

Redefining National Metrics

The country of Bhutan doesn't measure success based on GDP, but by their happiness index. Sure, it's an imperfect measure, but it tells us a much richer story than the Capitalist blackbox does. I propose that life expectancy should be the number one criterium used to judge the success of a nation, since happiness is correlated to health, and longevity implicitly encodes statistics such as child mortality, homicide, etc

Speaking of homicide, we need to view other countries less as aliens and more like "the town over." We should be including every war fatality caused by our hands in our homicide statistics. We should replace Veteran's Day with a national day of remembrance and grieving for all worldwide who met with an early demise.

Lastly, we should connect people with their local culture more by teaching not just world and national history in schools, but by teaching county, town, and state history with equal emphasis. This will allow people to relate with their lived environment more as a real place with a story, and then when we go to discuss world history, these ideas seem in turn more grounded and relatable.

Conclusion

My ideal world is not one where capitalism is ended or even unnecessary, but one where people do not fall into the trap of mistaking it for being the end-all-be-all. Regardless of whether someone is left-leaning or right-leaning, I think the merits of liquid currency can be appreciated, as well as the merits of living a life aligned with one's values. Capitalism should always exist as a game that one could play, but not everybody is going to be interested in maximizing their payoff. And, in turn, people should not be disappointed for "failing" to return huge profits, since that shouldn't be the main focus of life.

There is a "bigger" picture: and, just as the global economy can be pieced together from all the smaller ones (this reminds me of sheaves), so too can this bigger picture of the world be known from all the smaller pieces. Because, when nations go to war, or succeed economically, etc., this doesn't mean much, since nations are abstractions. Instead, we need to focus on the real individual people who are the victims and victors in this world, and ensure that as many people as possible can migrate from the former category to the latter.

There will always be people who care more about money than others, but at the end of the day we only really need to do the bare minimum to survive, and everything else is recreation and luxury.