On the Use of a Life
While thoughtful, this missed an opportunity to write about a deeper dynamic.<p>Most of us spend our lives chasing the creation of transactions (with employers or the market, whether grants, purchases, or contracts) and maximizing the benefit we receive from those transactions.  While I appreciate that this holds us to producing in ways that others adversarially agree is valuable and can incentivize efficiency... It also holds us in competition against rather than cooperation with.  It focuses us on transaction creation, not on life improvement.  If something would make everyone better off but that value can&#x27;t be captured it often isn&#x27;t done.  If something should efficiently make us all happier but costs the decision maker any money it often isn&#x27;t done.<p>These are necessarily generalizations.  Instances of it being otherwise occur.  Some contexts, like families and collectives allow for contradictions to my statements.  These rarely scale.<p>I think of the dynamic that children will happily help out the family and do chores.  Many parents find that when compensation for chores is offered the children become less helpful.  They switch from joyfully (or at least meaningfully) participating in the family endeavor that supported and supports their growth and well being (and if lucky showered them with love).  They switch to demanding compensation for everything and end up doing less to help.<p>If this describes our economic engagement, how much more could we all be happily accomplishing at greater efficiency with our time and energy?<p>I recognize this could sound like it would depend on some idealistic prosocial world.  What assumptions hold that in place?  What if the little supports we give and the forgone advantages were noted to our credit?  What if our game theoretic strategies for engagement influenced the rules under which we labored and the willingness of others to interact with us?  How do we better optimize?