A Post in which Maynard contemplates work, and even tries his hand at it.
The picture above is of some shelves (not yet finished) that I’m building. I recently moved my ancient stereo system, and I want to stack the components. I glanced at some cheap shelves from China that would have worked just fine, but for some odd reason I went into this building frenzy instead. It’s crazy; I have no skills for this sort of thing. But the idea of buying stereo shelves would brand me as a yuppie in my own eyes. I am a yuppie (unless you stop being a yuppie at a certain age, since the “y” stands for “young”), but I don’t want to admit it.
And then I had an odd flashback to those post-college days, improvising shelves out of cinder blocks and particle board. And the idiotic image of Kevin Spacey in American Beauty, quitting his upscale job to flip burgers. (I actually rather liked that movie, but most of you probably wouldn’t, so don’t take this as a recommendation.) And I knew what I had to do. I wanted crude, wobbly shelves of raw wood; stuff that I fitted together with my own hands. It’s a stupid dream, but it’s my dream.
…which brings me, in roundabout fashion, to our topic of the day. Boys and girls, please understand that I know nothing about this topic, nor do I know anything about anything. But neither does anybody else, so although my disadvantage may be absolute, it perhaps isn’t relative. So here goes. The post-industrial economy.
At some gut level, we sense we’re losing our souls as we lose our manufacturing base. How can we survive as an independent nation when everything is imported? What will our workers do? How will we pay for all the stuff we get? The balance of payments deficit is horrendous. One day we’ll find ourselves broke and destitute.
Then again, maybe it’s not that bad. Maybe this is an unavoidable detriment of being at the top of the food chain. It’s what happens when you become a nation of supervisors rather than a nation of low-level laborers. The supervisor makes a lot more money and is, in theory at least, responsible for more productivity. Without visionary management, labor is inefficient to the point of worthlessness. Is it our job to be, in large part, the world’s managers? If the job must be done, I’d rather we do it than the other idiots and savages out there.
The implicit question behind all this is, what is “real work”? The purpose of an economy is to move and shape things (both physical goods and information) from a state and place of lower value to a state and place of higher value. Work isn’t work just because you’ve exerted yourself; it’s work because you’ve added value. If you find a valuable painting at a garage sale and buy it for a dollar and then sell it to a collector for a fortune, have you “worked”? On one hand, it seems that you’ve done nothing worthy of compensation, and you’ve taken advantage of another’s ignorance.
On the other hand, the painting had no value in its original position, and its value only became meaningful because of your intellectual capital that gave you the basis to discover and exploit that value. Just as oil under the ground isn’t valuable unless someone knows how to find it and extract it and utilize it. Before oil was understood to be a useful commodity, it was an annoyance. Dammit, I drilled a well for water, but I can’t drink this stuff! Or, for a different example, consider the power of the Internet. Think of something you need to buy; anything at all. In the old days, it was a struggle to find what you wanted in any shape or form, let alone finding it at a good price.
Now, sitting at your desk, you can locate exactly what you want, quickly pinpointing the best price at the nearest location. A process that once required effort can now be accomplished instantly. Yes, you have effectively accomplished real work. Now multiply your enhanced power by a hundred million wired Americans, and you’ll see how this vast network, although it manufactures nothing in itself, is of incalculable value to productivity.
Thus I support my thesis of the value of information management (that is, work that isn’t really “work”). But do I believe what I’m saying? Not entirely. Perhaps my doubt exposes a conflict between head and heart. In my brain, I understand the wisdom of the economists who tell us that the post-industrial economy is a healthy manifestation of an advanced civilization. The numbers work (except for that little detail that the United States is, at this time, vastly out of balance — but set that aside for the moment). And yet, life is more than numbers. We’ve got to feed our souls as well. There’s something about a touch of “real work” that satisfies and anchors us in reality. If we’ve moved completely out of the realm of building and sweating, then we’re not real (no slight intended to the feminists, Tammy!) men.
And so I build my silly shelves, and somehow feel good about this. And I wonder whether our public policy should encourage more people to build stuff, not because of economic theory, but because of social theory. I have no answer, but I think the question is worth pondering.
Maynard-
I’m moving into a new house next week that will need some additional shelf space in the kitchen. After seeing the pic of your shelves, you want to come and build some for me?
Actually, I understand the deeper point you’re trying to make in your post and I’ve pondered it myself before.
I know nothing about nothing either, so I most certainly will not comment on the economy. Good for you for building the shelves yourself. There is something about doing it yourself that gives you a great sense of accomplishment. If I can do something on my own instead of hiring someone I will do it myself all the time. Of course many things I would have to call on ( electric for example ) but hell, I’ll take a whack at building my own shelves. I don’t know if they will look like shelves when I’m finished but hey, if it serves it’s purpose that’s great. It’s not a stupid dream my good man, it’s your dream and you are doing a fine job on that shelf.
Here’s another angle on this I was thinking about. If we continue the trend that we have for the last X thousand years, what will be the result? That is to say, we have collectively labored physically, sometimes exhaustively, to build a civilization that requires minimal physical effort to obtain the things we want or need. The mark of a truly advanced society might be measured by how much physical effort is required to function in that society. If all of this is followed to its logical conclusion, then we will arrive at a destination where no physical body is needed at all. Only a properly functioning brain will be necessary. Our bodies will of course deteriorate but that problem could be solved through robotics. Place the human brain in a robotic body, make all the required synaptic connections, and presto the cyborg is complete. Is this a utopia or a nightmare?
Deeper comments agreed with.
But. There is NO SUCH THING as a Balance of Payments Deficit, or Surplus, for that matter. This is the kind of nonsense they teach at Harvard, and other such places.
If there WERE it would be a GOOD THING! See, we’d print money, the idiot Japanese would accept that money (payment) and give us a real CAR, and we’d never have to give them back anything real!!! If there really were such a thing as a Balance of Payments Deficit, that is……
Julia: Your comment reminds me of a science fiction story. If it hasn’t already been written, maybe you could write it.
Actually, Maynard, let me ask you one question: Who is better off, the guy who works in the factory, or the guy who can afford to buy what he makes? Economics, like everythng else, has an evolutionary path. You might be, allegorically speaking, yearning for the old days when we all walked around on four legs. Maybe this walking around on two legs thing won’t be good for us in the long run.
I have a feeling that ancient stereo system is in its last stages of usefulness, unless you’re just hanging onto it for sentimental value. But time marches on and those compact surround sound systems (even the ones made in the USA) sound awfully good. Get one – today. Then to employ the surround sound system to its full potential (i.e., let it “breathe” so to speak) you’ll need a high definition TV that’ll accommodate inputs from a DVD player, a satellite dish or high definition cable broadcast, and … oh hell, go for it … your computer hard drive. Of course you’ve already compiled the mandatory 4-500 CD’s, right? That tower-type shelving you’re working on seems a little anemic at this point, doesn’t it? You could embellish it to accomodate all the hardware, but you might end up with something that resembles that famous Three Stooges Curly-in-the-bathroom scene where he’s totally surrounded by a cage of pipes he’s built around himself. So figure on buying a custom made entertainment center console where you can have everything centrally located w/multi-room control capability built in. And while you’re enjoying your new universe think of all the work you’ve provided to the people who built all this stuff and the money you’ve thrown into the already burgeoning economy. All because you decided to dabble in a little self-discovery exercise.
Bill Smith: You have it exactly right. The “balance of payments” or “trade deficit” bogeyman was cooked up by unions to protect themselves from foreign competition. As Milt Friedman so sagely pointed out: “I have a trede deficit with my greengrocer.” It just means we are wealthier than almost anyone else. We can afford to buy their stuff, and they can’t afford to buy ours.
One of the hallmarks of the American culture is pride in the ability to make things. So here you will find very rich and powerful people bragging about repairing their stuff themselves. Or they have various hobbies making things. Here it is a mark of pride for a PHD chemist to also be able to do his own carpentry. In most of the rest of the world, the ability to do manual labor is looked down on as lower class only. George W goes down to his ranch and clears brush to relax, can you imagine some French politician doing that? Or even being capable of doing it. Of course, the image of Jacques Chirac with a chain saw is rather scary.
Hey Ballistic,
What a great episode, I loved that one. nyk nyk nyk.
Maynard: Your comment “If you find a valuable painting at a garage sale and buy it for a dollar and then sell it to a collector for a fortune, have you “worked”? On one hand, it seems that you’ve done nothing worthy of compensation, and you’ve taken advantage of another’s ignorance.” Illustrates how necessary basic economic education is for the population at large. The worth of the painting is decided by the demand for it. By supplying that demand, the purchaser of the painting is enriching us all. The money he or she makes passes out into the economy, and thus benefits many. The purchaser might use that money to educate his or her children, and thus they become more productive. The one who had the painting in the garage was depriving many of benefit. That is the value added. The reward is appropriate.
The main thing is you are making it yourself and learning in the process. These little projects not only give one the satisfaction of self-sufficiency, although quite limited in that respect, they also save some money. We aren’t talking about building a house from scratch or replacing all the plumbing here, just a simple component that most people can do. Basic tools are not that expensive nor are those do-it-yourself books. The main thing is to go slowly at it and think about what you are doing in conjunction with the manual. It is a good feeling to make something like this with your own hands that doesn’t look too bad and works. We know these things won’t win awards but they are ours, made by our own hands and we know we aren’t getting ripped off by unscrupulous contractors.
Maynard,
I hope you paint, varnish, or shallac those shelves with several coats. Otherwise, they are going to warp severely, as they appear to be “flat-sawn.” That is, they will “cup” counterintuitively toward the convex side of the grain pattern.
You could also nail on some hardwood edging across the endgrain. This will almost certainly make the shelf split, but at least it won’t cup.
Thanks, Ballistic.
Evil Roy is right. Rich Americans have always liked working with their hands. In the antique tool market you will find for sale “Gent’s saws.” These were made for gentlemen cabinet makers who liked to putter with tools.
I personally know celebrities who still like to work. One is a licensed A&P mechanic who maintains his own small fleet of airplanes, and farm equipmen which he calls his Big Boy Toys.
Another A-list Hollywood film editor who, until recently, still showed up to build sets at our community theater. He was a very good carpenter, with a fine set of well-used tools — the only one besides me who could cut stairs.
I glanced through the comments quickly, but I got the impression that most of you missed the point.
I think he is refering to the shacky base on which our oppulent information age economy sits. Instead of being based on agreculture or manufacutring, we have an economy based on superficical and unstable commodities like services that in a pinch could be done without. An economic house of cards, that the big bad wolf of China and or Japan could blow over.
Or maybe Maynard went right over my head.
Well, back to work inspecting aircraft parts for me.
Talk to you all later.
That urge within to express ourselves with our own true selves, that little voice we first met as children that inspired us to make things of our own. It wasn’t there to demand money or that we achieve success or prestige in the eyes of others. It came/comes from our soul and reminds us to not forget that we create because we are special, important, powerful and honest.
Thanks for showing us your creation, Maynard. It’s beautiful.
P.S. I hope that at the end of your life, Maynard, your dear and wisened old hands will have knuckles swollen with hundreds of stories.