The Great Simplification with Nate Hagens - The Haves & The Have-Nots | Frankly #53

Episode Date: January 19, 2024

Recorded December 18 2023   Description   In this Frankly, Nate follows up the recent Reality Roundtable on poverty with a wider perspective on the different types of "wealth" in our society that go beyond the material. At the same time that the power dynamic of the economic superorganism leads us to a hyperfocus on the pursuit of growth and monetary wealth, other forms of poverty increase:  relationships, skills, health, and behavioral deficits. How do our assumptions and societal expectations align with the reality of what it means to be rich? Can reflecting on our own place within the various "Haves" and "Have-Nots" help us be more compassionate towards others and direct us to a more stable and sane place in society? How will the turmoil and decrease in total material wealth in the coming decades change what it means to be wealthy - and how does that influence the actions and investments we take on today?    YouTube Link here   For Show Notes and More:  

Greetings. On last month's reality roundtable, we talked about poverty. We talked about the haves and the have-nots. And in the discussion, we made a distinction between monetary or pecuniary need and poverty and also social or behavioral or community poverty. And there's quite a distinction between the two. And that made me think, what are the differences between the haves and the have-nots? When we say, oh, they're in the haves or they're in the have-nots, what do they have and what do they have-notes? And I'd like to do a brief reflection on that. Okay, so first of all, I live in the United States. The average income per year per capita is $60,000. But the median, which is the mid-term.

point of half the people are below it and half the people are above it is $40,000. So that is evidence of quite a bit of income inequality because there's a lot more people that make huge amounts of money relative to a lot of people that make not much. And the average ends up skewing higher than where most people are. So there definitely is a have and have not with respect to income and wealth. And this is relevant because we live in a culture. where we have to pay rent and utilities and medical bills and insurance and all these things. And if you don't have the money to do that, it is a huge burden on you, your mindset, your

family, et cetera. And I expect this is inevitably going to get worse. But one category is the haves and have-nots this generation versus in the past and in the future. We don't often think about it, but the average person in the world, again, I'm using the word average, uses 13 times more goods and services than they did 200 years ago. The average United States resident uses 50 times the goods and services that the average human did in the year 1800. What will the average human consume goods and services wise 100 years from now? Now, when climate and ecosystems are degraded, when the oil carbon pulse has run its course, etc. So the haves and the have-nots is a distinct place in time right now.

But what about other definitions on have versus have-not? So first of all, even if someone is monetarily poor, they could be socially rich. And I've seen this in many places in Zambia. Ecuador and in poor monetary places I've been around the world, there's an incredible cohesion on how people get along and they're resilient and they're in a struggle together and they feel connected as opposed to wealthy people who never leave their house and don't have many friends and they order Amazon trucks and all kinds of things online. And money is able to for now solve some of their problems.

So there's a social network aspect of haves and have-nots. And this goes beyond the individual level to the community level. I know I've got friends that live in Marseille, France. There's the solidarity there. There's a mutual respect that transcends socioeconomic, ethnic, and religious differences. And I'm told that there's this really special feeling that people wave to you. smile at you and this doesn't happen in Paris or Amsterdam or other places. There's a sense of belonging due to a strong social fabric. Boy, I would rather have less money and live in a

community like that, which are few and far between in the United States. Another have versus have not is skills. Right now we can spend our digital claims in the bank on hiring someone to do things for us. Also to bring up France again, they're called artisans, artisans, crafts people, where they work with their hands and the products of the land, carpentry, pottery, ceramics, building, all kinds of skills. There's a lot of people have skills and a lot of people have not. And I think skills are going to be something that measures and differentiates the haves and the have-nots of the future. Another category that we have or have not is our health.

One increasingly that we take for granted. We've got, you know, downstream effects of COVID and the vaccines and the pandemic and the long COVID. We've got increasing impacts from endocrine disrupting chemicals. We've got metabolic issues, especially in China and the United States and many places around the world. If you have your health, you have a lot. And if you don't have your health, having a lot of money doesn't really help you. A subset of that is mental health. And I personally think mental health is going to be one of the biggest crises in the next decade.

There are many, many people on medications for depression, anti-anxiety, ADD, all kinds of other things. and I think having a community and a network of friends and meaning in your life and skills is able to improve your mental health. I'm going to be exploring this a little bit more next year. One subset of mental health I mentioned ADD is the fact that many people no longer have the attention span to read a book or do anything long form because our attention span, over time, the ghost of dopamine past, have caused us to live in the mental shallows of the pool. And we cannot experience the deep end of the pool anymore metaphorically because we need

the current instant stimulation. And this is a real problem for people in the future that are going to need to plant gardens or learn new skills or do things that require long attention spans. If you think about it, many of you listening and watching to this are in the halves that you have a healthy brain and an attention span because you're self-selected for the people that can actually listen to a long form 90-minute podcast. Most people can't do it. I can't do it unless I absolutely have to. I can't sit through a 90-minute podcast. So possessing. the ability to defer the second marshmallow to the future to actually have an attention span

is a huge have for the future. Another have is having a voice. When people talk about being disconnected and not having, you know, any say in their outcomes, that's when they really despair. And whether they have monetary wealth or not, if you have a voice in what's going on, even if it ends up not changing things, and it's a little bit more than just the vote for president in our country, that's kind of been this prophylactic for having a voice in our system. But those people who have civic discourses in their towns about what's going on and can debate and share their opinions feel much more empowered. Even talking to another person about an issue, even if there's no resolution, reduces your cortisol, a stress hormone. It boosts your helper T cells, which are helped the immune system. Having or not having a voice is important. And on that note, there are many creatures alive today and in the future that are not human, that don't have a voice in our traviles and pathways of the superorganism and what's coming in human futures.

the difference is they don't know they don't have a voice. So some of us have to have a voice on their behalf, my opinion. What else on haves versus have-nots? Purpose, meaning. Since I've been alive on a planet, the purpose and meaning of our lives is to be successful and make profits and have savings and be a millionaire. And this is a very, very unique period in human history.

And I think that ability for most people, is now going to go away. Also our straight religion, the Abrahamic religions, that is waning as a goal. So we really do face a meaning crisis. And for those humans who have deep purpose, that is really motivating and powerful. I feel fortunate that I feel a purpose in acting as a golden retriever catalyst to expand the Overton window on having these conversations in hopes that we can meet the future halfway. And I don't know what that looks like, but I'm passing the baton to more of you.

And this feels like it's my purpose on the planet. So those people who have found a purpose for their life, that is something really valuable that also can't be measured by money. Two more categories. One is a pro-social benevolent to society outlook. There's something called the Dark Triad, which is a personality combination, where an individual has narcissism, Machiavellianism, and psychopathy, all three together at high levels. And it is estimated that around 10% of the human population,

has these three traits, which combined are called a dark triad, which lead to antisocial behavior, cheating, crime, tricking people towards individual gain, et cetera. Now, those people that, and by the way, I am told that it's probably higher than 10% because people who have those traits will naturally fill out the surveys so it looks like they don't have those traits. but the traits of the dark triad are much, much higher in high-level government and as corporate CEOs, et cetera. In fact, it's like the gauntlet to run requires those traits to get to the top.

Now, what's interesting is if you are listening to this and you are a dark triad personality, you might think, well, everyone's like that, of course. That's how I go through my life. And if you're not a dark triad, you're like, well, what? There's people like that. I had no idea. So that 10% of society and the 90% of society will kind of always be that way. And we have to be aware that some people have a pro-social outlook, most people.

But we're going to have to live in a society where 10% of them don't have a pro-social outlook. And that's a dynamic that we're going to have to internalize, recognize, and deal with have and have not pro-social outlook. Last but not least, lots of people listening to this program are going to make changes after what they hear on this show in their own life, in their community,

maybe you're in their work. But I've come to the conclusion that the superorganism and the power dynamics of humans are so powerful that we're going to need to change the consciousness or the mindset of the top few thousand people riding high on the superorganism, these are people who have the ability to really change the system.

And the rest of us in this sense are have not. We can make changes, but the broad changes to steer society away from the Wiley Coyote ecological precipice that we're heading towards, the vast number of us are playing small roles in that. And they may be additive. But my point is, is there are certain humans, some of them may be listening to this right now,

that have an outsized ability to change the future. And I think we need more of them to wake up and soon. Of course, if you're paying attention, the problem is that many of those last two categories are an overlapping demographic. Many of the ability, the people that have the outside ability to change our future for the better are in the dark triad demographic. So that makes it more of a puzzle. And of course, in a double entendre sort of way, I've just simultaneously pissed them off at the same time that I've empowered them towards positive change. So, long story, somewhat less long.

When we talk about haves versus have-nots, there are multiple different categories. Money isn't everything after basic needs are met. Many of you might not have much money, but you might be very rich in other areas, and vice versa. Something to think about, I will talk to you all soon. Thank you.