Change the World
In the midst of my current search for a job to serve as the basis of my Life after the MBA, one question has been weighing heavily on my mind: what is the best way to use my skills to do “the right thing”? I’m concerned my desire to “change the world” must seem suspiciously naïve, like the glassy-eyed answer of a Miss Universe contestant. But it’s still worthy of consideration.
In The Wealth of Nations, economist Adam Smith proposed that an “invisible hand” guides the market towards the best course of action, based on individual’s motivation to increase their personal well-being. Individuals in the market exchange goods of their own volition based on the benefits they receive from buying and selling goods, and therefore everyone wins. In this context, “the right thing” would appear to be making anything for which people are willing to pay. Free market rules, right? By this logic, any job for which I can get paid must be worthwhile to society, so I should quit my worrying and move on.
It seems simple, but there’s something wrong with this picture: people buy a lot of stuff from which they don’t really gain any real benefit, prodded by misinformation, celebrity endorsements and general consumer lunacy. In short, Smith’s “invisible hand” would appear to be missing a finger or two, allowing unproductive transactions to slip through its grasp and into the market. In addition, the “invisible hand” model fails to value the side effects of transactions which cannot be easily monetized. For example: when I buy gas from a gas station, both I and the station owner gain a benefit – I get gas (and access to convenient transportation), and the owner gets money for his product. However, the side-effect of this transaction to the environment is an un-priced externality – hence, the system is inevitably unbalanced: I buy more gas than I might if I had to pay the “true” cost of gas production and combustion on the environment.
In the context of this example, I think I’d rather be the guy building new engine technology to eliminate those un-priced externalities than the guy selling the gas.
but you’re making the judgement call of what is a worthwhile transaction then, which possibly defeats smith’s point that it’s all part of a well oiled machine.
altho, making anything that people will buy should include drugs, no? =)
Agreed, it’s definitely a judgement call. However, in Adam Smith’s world customers are rational, well-informed participants in the market, with government providing effective regulatory control to restrict behaviour that isn’t in the public interest (misleading advertising, for example). You’re right: Smith’s theory says it’s all part of a well-oiled machine. However, reality dictates something entirely different.
What I’m trying to point out here is that people are neither rational nor well-informed all of the time, and government cannot possibly regulate against all activities that aren’t in the public interest (again, a subjective definition). Thus, people’s willingness to buy does not necessarily signal its value to society or its potential to improve circumstances within society. Therefore, I’ve come to the conclusion that it’s up to me to make the extra effort to look beyond doing jobs for which I can get paid and attempt to find jobs that fulfill a higher need.
It has been my experience that doing what one is passionate about is not only its own reward, but one immerses oneself so completely in the enterprise that the devotion, care, and energy one invests inevitably result in a financially successful outcome. One night about 25 years ago, I came home from my programmer/analyst job ready for the basket. Hobby computing was my only respite from the grind, and my wife suggested that I figure out a way to sell the expertise I had developed after hours in my workshop. I did, and never looked back. I make more money than I can use by having fun with computers.
I ask people, “What would you do if you didn’t need money?” Once we get through the fact that hardly anyone really wants to lounge on a beach forever, we find that the vast majority of people would do something that someone else is willing to pay to have done. Find that, and the Invisible Hand starts writing checks.