Crash Course In The 3 Interconnected E’s: Economy, Energy, Environment
The future is going to be about moving from an ‘I’ to a ‘we’ culture … back to a bygone era, where neighbors weren’t just nice to each other, but relied on each other. As an informed person, it is now your responsibility to help others as best you can.” Chris Martensen, PhD, a post-doctorate neurotoxicologist-turned-economist, presents a 45 minute Crash Course on the economic crisis & describes the changes humanity faces. In the course, Martenson presents an analysis of economy, energy, and the environment (the 3 E’s, as he calls them) and the ways in which they are interlinked. He specifically outlines a “substantial mismatch between an economic model that must grow and a physical world of peaking oil and depleting resources,” and explains why the problems presented cannot be solved individually, but only by macro-cultural change. What Role Do You Want To Play? … in this dramatic turning point in our species’ history? Shall your life be filled with fear or a resolute sense of purpose? The only way these challenges can become insurmountable is if we let them, by ignoring them for too long.” –Chris Martensen introducing his Crash Course The 3 Interconnected E’s & The Problems They Pose Economy: …the banking system must continually expand – not necessarily because it is the right (or wrong) thing to do, but, rather, simply because that is how it was designed …the extremely wealthy are saving incredible amounts of money, while at the lower ends the savings rate is deeply negative. Why is this important? Because as the Greek philosopher Plutarch once stated, ‘An imbalance between rich and poor...
Meaningful Labor Explained By Prof. Dan Ariely
Merriam-Webster dictionary defines “labor” as: a : expenditure of physical or mental effort especially when difficult or compulsory. b (1) :human activity that provides the goods or services in an economy (2) : the services performed by workers for wages as distinguished from those rendered by entrepreneurs for profits.” But, says Prof. of Behavioral Economics, Dan Ariely, On an intuitive level most of us understand the deep interconnection between identity and labor… ‘What do you do?’ has become as common a component of an introduction as the anachronistic ‘How do you do?’ once was—suggesting that our jobs are an integral part of our identity, not merely a way to make money…” Here is Ariely describing the psychology behind how we view labor: Like Rats In A Maze? As mentioned in a previous post, behavioral economics differs from standard economics because it doesn’t assume that people are strictly rational. Ariely describes this difference in the perception of labor: … the basic economic model of labor generally treats working men and women as rats in a maze… all the rat (person) wants to do is to get to the food with as little effort as possible. But if work also gives us meaning, what does this tell us about why people want to work?” Blogging As An Example In his book, The Upside of Irrationality: The Unexpected Benefits of Defying Logic at Work and at Home, Ariely looks into what motivates so many people to write blogs: … blogs have two features that distinguish them from other forms of writing. First, they provide the hope or the illusion that someone else will read one’s...
Dan Ariely, Prof. of Behavioral Economics, Seeks To Account For Human Nature
From a rational perspective, we should make only decisions that are in our best interest (“should” is the operative word here)… and choose the option that maximizes our best interests… Unfortunately, we’re not.” This is where behavioral economics enters the picture. In this field, we don’t assume that people are perfectly sensible, calculating machines. Instead, we observe how people actually behave, and quite often our observations lead us to the conclusion that human beings are irrational.” The above and subsequent quotes are taken from Dan Ariely’s book, The Upside of Irrationality: The Unexpected Benefits of Defying Logic at Work and at Home. Ariely is a Professor of Psychology and Behavioral Economics at Duke University and author of other works on behavioral economics. Standard Economics Vs. Behavioral Economics: A Matter Of Perspective? … there is a great deal to be learned from rational economics,” he says, “but some of its assumptions—that people always make the best decisions, that mistakes are less likely when the decisions involve a lot of money, and that the market is self correcting—can clearly lead to disastrous consequences.” Social And Market Forces The Financial Crisis … think about the implosion of Wall Street in 2008 and its attendant impact on the economy. Given our human foibles, why on earth would we think we don’t need to take any external measures to try to prevent or deal with systematic errors of judgment in the man-made financial markets?” This is where behavioral economics veers far from standard economics, because it seeks to look at human evolution and psychology in addition to standard economics, in order for social and...![Inside Job [Film]](http://www.mutualresponsibility.org/wp-content/uploads/2012/08/inside-job_600.jpg)
Inside Job [Film]
Inside Job presents how a chain of actions and decisions underpinned by increasing self-interest in the U.S. financial sector over the past 50 years has brought the U.S. to its current worsening socio-economic state. Maximized Self-Interest – The Financial Crisis Time-Bomb Ticker The key point that Inside Job presents is how the “securitization food chain” developed – borrowers, lenders, investment banks, investors, ratings agencies – governed by the commonly held value of maximized self-interest at every rung of the chain. It shows how precisely this chain was the ticking financial crisis time-bomb that exploded in September 2008, the effects of which are felt worldwide until today. Here’s how maximized self-interest worked at every level of this chain: Borrowers wanted loans for buying homes or other high-cost assets (and since it was in the financial interest of people in the higher parts of the chain for as many people as possible to get loans, then loans were highly promoted during the first years of the 2000s) Lenders wanted the extra money they could make from any loans they provided, no matter how risky, since they sold all the loans to investments banks Investment banks wanted the extra money they could derive by collating all the loans they bought into complex derivatives called CDOs (Collateralized Debt Obligations), and selling those CDOs to investors Investors wanted the extra money they would get from the borrowers paying back the loans (the CDOs) Ratings agencies, which were hired by investment banks to evaluate the CDOs, wanted the extra money they would get from giving high ratings to the CDOs (since people in the ratings agencies would get paid more for giving CDOs...![Meltdown: The Secret History Of The Global Financial Collapse [Film]](http://www.mutualresponsibility.org/wp-content/uploads/2012/09/meltdown-620.jpg)