What we value
Examining what this "value" thing is we are all trying to create
What we value
So this is not going to be fun 13 years, but it’s not going to be entirely bleak either.
every story is a degrowth story
This is a very bleak look at things, and I believe won’t age well. I predict that most of his biggest concerns will be alleviated in the next 2-3 years, because if we don’t, I think we won’t make it past those
This is the paradox of our time: the very tools designed to free us from labor are trapping us in an endless cycle of escalating work.
Tina He • Jevons Paradox: A personal perspective
Yes.
A quote by Muhammad Ali
goodreads.com
Friendship quote resonated.
In early 2021, while most founders were chasing quick exits, I was laying the foundation for something more sustainable. The digital fingerprints are clear in my content DNA—establishing values and identity wasn't just personal branding. It was memetic groundwork.
The Time Architect: From Building in Public to Bending Time
What’s your content DNA look like?
- Paladin saves the world? Degrowth story.
- Barbarian masculine energy saves the world? Degrowth story.
- Enlightened sexless bureaucracy saves the world? Degrowth story.
- Nurturing feminine energy saves the world? Degrowth story.
- Unbridled technological acceleration saves the world? Degrowth story.
- Unbridled GDP growth saves the world? Degrowth story.
- Saintly
every story is a degrowth story
These I agree are degrowth stories.
I think the connection he’s making is to the book, so that the loss of complexity in society leaves people feeling lost and unvalued, and that leads to societal collapse.
What if we don’t tie society to complexity?
The binge eating and compulsive spending, the perfectionism and procrastination, the ways we habitually go into hiding.
The Source 🌊
A lot of this is rooted in societal pressures.
- Earn money in as many different ways as possible
- Build a portolio of income streams that act as a high probability “floor” of income
Paul Millerd • Designing Your Own Infinite Game In The Creator Economy - Boundless
Diversification + stability are the key attributes
Collapsed states are simpler states, so anyone working towards a simpler state — and anyone telling an intelligible tale is doing precisely that — is working towards a collapse. The failure of a world begins with a failure of the imagination to comprehend increased complexity, and an urge to retreat to greater simplicity.
every story is a degrowth story
I don’t think this is necessarily degrowth, it’s compression. This feels like simplicity is a return to understanding of what’s valuable after building on top of it. It’s the flower budding, blooming, wilting, and blooming again. It’s cyclical and growth oriented, because uncapped growth is deadly to the environment and will be rejected.
Efficiency doesn’t necessarily reduce our workload—it expands it. The more we’re capable of producing, the more we expect of ourselves and others. The more output becomes possible, the further the goalposts are moved on what is considered “enough.”
AI Turned Me Into a Content Agency of One
This statement is the key. The expectations grow with technology, and wages don’t grow with expectations. Wages are based on past values.