I was on the south side of the metro. Was no reason to try to battle my way back home during the depths of rush hour, so I drove around, stopping in on different southern-metro friends, even got myself a cigar at one of my favorite cigar lounges.
The GF wasn't getting back till later as she was working for a side client that evening, so I decided to stop by and visit my buddy Craig. It wasn't much past 8 PM, but you would have thought it was 3 AM when he answered the door. He was in his plaid pajamas, wearing his old man slippers, and a fleece sweatshirt, I think he even had a cup of tea in his hand.
Regardless, he was awake and not about to go to bed so we stayed up and chatted a bit. Talked about his various business ventures, any new ideas he had or was pursuing, and what his financial game plan was for the next 10 years. We spent nearly an hour discussing nearly every other social, political, career, and entrepreneurial aspect of his life, until I almost forgot that he recently became a bachelor and I never inquired about his dating life.
"So, any word from the girly girl front?"
And all he said was, "No, I have absolutely no energy for that. I just want to pay the mortgage and go hunting."
And that was it. That was the summation of his past year of dating life. "No, I don't have the energy."
It wasn't an editorial comment. It wasn't one of "I tried, but dem womenz be crazies." It had no passion or emotion in it. It was merely a statement of fact:
"No, I don't have the energy for it."
And though I had intuitively known this for a while, it was once again one of those things that had yet to make its way to the frontal lobes, turning itself into a concrete observation.
Men do burn out.
I had speculated about this before. A theory about whether men have "unlimited energy" when it comes to the pursuit of women, or if there's a finite amount of energy and men will inevitably stop their pursuit. And though speculate I did a few short years ago, in that time I've gained the experience, observation, and wisdom to realize the later is true. Men only have a limited amount of energy. And my friend Craig was proof of it.
Of course, while the fact men do burn out had consequences for my friend Craig, they also have consequences for women in his market. For while Craig was sitting at home in his PJ's, sipping away at tea, preparing for a speech he had to give the next day at 8PM, it also, by necessary default, meant he wasn't at the bar or the club or online trying to pine for the affections of women. He wasn't asking women out. There was one less man on the market. And one of those proverbial "good men" women are always looking for.
This made for an interesting juxtaposition, for while Craig was sitting there, comfy in his plaid PJ's and old man slippers, he conveyed to me the story of when he last went out socially. He met up with some old high school buddies of his, mostly of the female persuasion. They were all in their mid 40's, but while he was focused on work, his career, and various professional associations he joined, the women were all divorced, all had their children at the baby sitters and were living it up like they were 24 again. Boozing, drinking "woooing." He said, "I just don't get it. I did that shit when I was 24. It's the last thing I'd want to do now! And here they are thinking it's fun or something." He didn't leave in disgust, but because of boredom and having "been there done that."
However, the utter lack of anything genuine or intellectually stimulating ultimately led him to the observation and an explanation why he stayed in and had no incentive to even try to go out to date:
The amount of investment required to be successful in dating was not worth what he'd get in return. And that is why this "Good Man" (TM) was at home with his tea, instead of out there looking in the dating market. It is also why many 40+ women "can't find a good man."
In the eternal quest for women to "find a good man" and then immediately complaint of "why can't I find a good man" the answer, as always, can be found in economics.
Today, millions of 40 something men like Craig have to face a decision. Do they spend the time, money, and resources pursuing women or do they invest those resources in something else. And while at the age of 18 with hormones raging and economic opportunity costs near $0, the decision was a simple one - chase girls, at the age of 43 things are different.
At 43 men have garnered more and more economic success and more and more economic opportunities. They have also likely develop hobbies, skills, and intellectual endeavors that also provide a positive rate of return on their lives. And let's not forget they're no longer 19 year old horn-balls raging around the prairie.
So when they look at what it precisely takes to get a woman on a date, let alone in bed, the costs are daunting:
10 hours a week hitting the clubs/dating sites/"hunting" in general
4,000 calories of energy being witty/funny/engaging to convince a girl to go out on a date
1/4 dates will flake, bail, cancel at the last minute
What dates you do have only stand a 30% chance of leading to a second
The second dates of which only have a 30% chance of leading to a third
And then the "lovely" last-minute-resistance of having sex
All in all you're looking at 2 weeks of labor, time, and money to "maybe" get laid, and that says nothing about whether the girl would qualify as long-term quality girlfriend material.
And while at the age of 18 when you literally had NOTHING else going on in life, no real man of any significance is going to have that much time to piss away on an investment with such a low expected rate of return in his 40's.
In other words, ladies, the men are just plain burnt out. They're spent. When presented with the required investment to "maybe" be successful pursuing a girl, most men post 35 will scoff at it and do something else, hoping something lands in their lap. And while you may not like that, or may find it "insulting," none of that changes the fact it's true. The "good men" you are looking for are at home or at the office, and just plain don't have the energy any more to pursue you.
This means, as all major economic upheavals in markets do, that its participants change their actions. "Wooing" it up at the bar, getting hammered at 43 while your dad subsidizes your child and mortgage is not a product that's going to get an industrious middle aged man to pursue you. Going to the same old bar and club where the same old guys and men from 1994 using the same old "can I buy you a drink" tactic is going to result in the same results you had the past 20 years. And wearing the same old clothes, whoring it up, will result in that one night fling you'll fakely claim you regret, but certainly not the "good man" you're looking for.
Ultimately, you're going to realize that you get to live up to the feminist dream of being truly equal to men now. You get to hunt, you get to strategize, you get to trial and error your way into finding a "good man." And while you'll rapidly point out that men are thirsty at the bar for you, and your POF profile is full of e-mails (and that is all certainly true), we all know those aren't the "Good Men" you're looking for because you would have snagged one of them by now and would CERTAINLY not be complaining about the "lack of good men" today.
So sorry girls. Once more unto the breach....well, for you it will be the very first time.
Thursday, April 09, 2015
Wednesday, April 08, 2015
Republicans - Apple's and Starbuck's Favorite Bitch
It's alright Republicans and Conservatives. It's all OK. Everything clear now. You can go back to buying the products of corporations that hate you and then at the same time complain, "we must do something." We know your precious little suburbanite princess' demands to own the latest Apple product outrank the future freedom of this country and the protection of liberty, and so we are giving you the green light to go ahead and fund these companies with additional billions because you're, frankly, all a bunch of hypocrites who can't be "inconvenienced" with something as "tragic" as a boycott.
Enjoy your lily white SWPL suburbs...you know...while they last:
Enjoy your lily white SWPL suburbs...you know...while they last:
Women Are Wedded to the Government
Like school teachers
Social workers
and all the other government make-work jobs,
women disproportionately have easier, but overpaid and completely unnecessary make work careers at the expense of the taxpayer.
And feminists still complain about it.
Social workers
and all the other government make-work jobs,
women disproportionately have easier, but overpaid and completely unnecessary make work careers at the expense of the taxpayer.
And feminists still complain about it.
Tuesday, April 07, 2015
Video Games No Longer for Adults
Sunday was a sad day because I had to admit to a reality I just didn't want to:
Video games are no longer made for adults.
Yes, yes, I know you may be past the proverbial age of 18 and you may find video games still interesting, but the truth is with the latest generation of consoles and the games that have (thus far) been made for them, they just aren't made for people who have jobs and certainly not those people who have children.
Again, at first I didn't want to admit it. Desperately hoping I just had a string of "bad" video games. But the empirical evidence was too numerous and damning.
First, Assassin's Creed Unity, aka "You Like Pirate Ships? F@ck You!" I was desperately hoping it would be an improvement upon Assassin's Creed Black Flag. But after spending damn well near 2 hours just getting the basics down, finding a weapon, and finally getting into the "world" I would be operating in, I found out that world, frankly, sucked, the fighting was not the same as Black Flag, and, oh yeah, no pirate ships.
Second, Call of Duty Ghosts. Solid FPS, not terribly steep learning curve, but the movie was childish and boring. Matter of fact, I would have preferred they just load up the game with three more missions and cut the entire "backstory" out.
Reversely, third, Wolfenstein NWO. The story was great, but the utter lack of crazy uber-Nazi experimented enemies was a let down. Still, a solid game, but not worth the $60 I dropped on it.
Fourth, thank god I learned my lesson to wait for reviews to come out because I had dodged a bullet in not dropping another $60 on The Order 1886. And dodging this bullet took some effort because I so wanted to believe this would a revolutionary game, or at least a solid one.
Nope, horrible. Just horrible. So bad were the reviews I don't even have a timid curiosity to try it.
And finally, Bloodborne.
Thinking I'd be crafty and buy the most highly rated video game, I had done all of my chores, done all of my work, and purposely set aside an entire weekend to veg out on this 9.5 out of 10 video game.
Things seemed to be going well. The fighting was a little obtuse, but I'd get used to it. And after 2 hours of slogging through a bunch of enemies, I got killed,
respawned
back where I started 2 hours ago
with all the enemies I just slew, revived as well.
F@ck you, "Form Software." F@ck you.
Here's the sad economic truth about this latest generation of video games and nearly every video game developer better start paying attention.
This isn't 1988 where we were nerdy kids with an entire summer to blow away to get past that one impossible stage of "Ghouls and Ghosts" or "Ninja Gaiden 2." We don't have the time or the luxury anymore to "learn" whole new ways of fighting or button combinations as if we're the Asian engineering students playing Mortal Kombat at the college arcade. And, sadly, we have built up enough self-respect to know when you are giving us a digital finger when you ammo starve us or put save points 2 hours of game play apart.
Additionally, who can afford $60 a pop for video games?
The last time I really spent that much money on a previous console was Pitfall II for Atari 2600 (adjusted for inflation). And I got months of play out of that. Now a "Red Dead Redemption" or "Black Flag" is the exception, not the norm for these multiple-hundreds of millions of dollars-in-development-costs games. And I just don't have the finances to buy 5 $60 games in the hopes one might be good.
Admittedly, a lot has to do with generational changes. Gen X is now "responsible adults" with things like jobs, mortgages, and children. But who do you think are the ones in charge of the purse strings? Gen X is the "richest" generation that plays video games, but still have budgets (both of time and money). Today's kids are subject to this same budget as they are now relying on their Gen X parents to buy these *COUGH COUGH WHEEZE WHEEZE* "block buster" games. And you can't even rely on the Millennial gamers as they're besieged with student loans, student budgets, and lousy employment prospects.
So maybe game developers and the people who review them need to get out of the "video game echo chamber." They need to realize that while their lives of creating, reviewing and playing video games, are not representative of the largest segment of the gaming market. Sure, if I was a game developer or reviewer and my job was to play and review video games, I could go back, restart Blood Borne, and waste another 2, 4, even 6 hours getting to the next save point. But I had wood that needed splitting, clients that needed consulting, and a girlfriend that needed sexing.
Of course, I could be proven wrong. Gen X'ers may still blow $60 per game in the vain hopes one is worthwhile. Millennials may continue to make equally bad decisions in purchasing games as they did worthless degrees. And kids may convince and cajole their parents to buy them the latest heavily-marketed video game, until they bore of it quickly and retreat to the world of social media.
But if my economic spidey senses are right (and they usually are) this latest generation of consoles are facing a huge underlying problem and it's making games that appeals to developers and full time professional gamers/reviewers, and not your regular, normal people who just like a good freaking video game.
Related:
Video games are no longer made for adults.
Yes, yes, I know you may be past the proverbial age of 18 and you may find video games still interesting, but the truth is with the latest generation of consoles and the games that have (thus far) been made for them, they just aren't made for people who have jobs and certainly not those people who have children.
Again, at first I didn't want to admit it. Desperately hoping I just had a string of "bad" video games. But the empirical evidence was too numerous and damning.
First, Assassin's Creed Unity, aka "You Like Pirate Ships? F@ck You!" I was desperately hoping it would be an improvement upon Assassin's Creed Black Flag. But after spending damn well near 2 hours just getting the basics down, finding a weapon, and finally getting into the "world" I would be operating in, I found out that world, frankly, sucked, the fighting was not the same as Black Flag, and, oh yeah, no pirate ships.
Second, Call of Duty Ghosts. Solid FPS, not terribly steep learning curve, but the movie was childish and boring. Matter of fact, I would have preferred they just load up the game with three more missions and cut the entire "backstory" out.
Reversely, third, Wolfenstein NWO. The story was great, but the utter lack of crazy uber-Nazi experimented enemies was a let down. Still, a solid game, but not worth the $60 I dropped on it.
Fourth, thank god I learned my lesson to wait for reviews to come out because I had dodged a bullet in not dropping another $60 on The Order 1886. And dodging this bullet took some effort because I so wanted to believe this would a revolutionary game, or at least a solid one.
Nope, horrible. Just horrible. So bad were the reviews I don't even have a timid curiosity to try it.
And finally, Bloodborne.
Thinking I'd be crafty and buy the most highly rated video game, I had done all of my chores, done all of my work, and purposely set aside an entire weekend to veg out on this 9.5 out of 10 video game.
Things seemed to be going well. The fighting was a little obtuse, but I'd get used to it. And after 2 hours of slogging through a bunch of enemies, I got killed,
respawned
back where I started 2 hours ago
with all the enemies I just slew, revived as well.
F@ck you, "Form Software." F@ck you.
Here's the sad economic truth about this latest generation of video games and nearly every video game developer better start paying attention.
This isn't 1988 where we were nerdy kids with an entire summer to blow away to get past that one impossible stage of "Ghouls and Ghosts" or "Ninja Gaiden 2." We don't have the time or the luxury anymore to "learn" whole new ways of fighting or button combinations as if we're the Asian engineering students playing Mortal Kombat at the college arcade. And, sadly, we have built up enough self-respect to know when you are giving us a digital finger when you ammo starve us or put save points 2 hours of game play apart.
Additionally, who can afford $60 a pop for video games?
The last time I really spent that much money on a previous console was Pitfall II for Atari 2600 (adjusted for inflation). And I got months of play out of that. Now a "Red Dead Redemption" or "Black Flag" is the exception, not the norm for these multiple-hundreds of millions of dollars-in-development-costs games. And I just don't have the finances to buy 5 $60 games in the hopes one might be good.
Admittedly, a lot has to do with generational changes. Gen X is now "responsible adults" with things like jobs, mortgages, and children. But who do you think are the ones in charge of the purse strings? Gen X is the "richest" generation that plays video games, but still have budgets (both of time and money). Today's kids are subject to this same budget as they are now relying on their Gen X parents to buy these *COUGH COUGH WHEEZE WHEEZE* "block buster" games. And you can't even rely on the Millennial gamers as they're besieged with student loans, student budgets, and lousy employment prospects.
So maybe game developers and the people who review them need to get out of the "video game echo chamber." They need to realize that while their lives of creating, reviewing and playing video games, are not representative of the largest segment of the gaming market. Sure, if I was a game developer or reviewer and my job was to play and review video games, I could go back, restart Blood Borne, and waste another 2, 4, even 6 hours getting to the next save point. But I had wood that needed splitting, clients that needed consulting, and a girlfriend that needed sexing.
Of course, I could be proven wrong. Gen X'ers may still blow $60 per game in the vain hopes one is worthwhile. Millennials may continue to make equally bad decisions in purchasing games as they did worthless degrees. And kids may convince and cajole their parents to buy them the latest heavily-marketed video game, until they bore of it quickly and retreat to the world of social media.
But if my economic spidey senses are right (and they usually are) this latest generation of consoles are facing a huge underlying problem and it's making games that appeals to developers and full time professional gamers/reviewers, and not your regular, normal people who just like a good freaking video game.
Related:
Tuesday Night Linkage
Florian Ulrich reviews Bachelor Pad Economics, thank you Florian!
A socialist paradise, minus toilet paper.
What would the SJW Utopia look like?
Mr. Aurini also chimes in on the faux MGTOW cult.
Owning a gun makes you racist.
Sponsored links for tonight:
Sabrina Erdely Blues
We don't elect First Ladies. They should remember that.
A socialist paradise, minus toilet paper.
What would the SJW Utopia look like?
Mr. Aurini also chimes in on the faux MGTOW cult.
Owning a gun makes you racist.
Sponsored links for tonight:
Sabrina Erdely Blues
We don't elect First Ladies. They should remember that.
Monday, April 06, 2015
Episode #89 of the Clarey Podcast!
"You're a sell out!"
Do Millennials like money?
What the Harlem Globetrotters teach us about childhood
Downtown hotels are overrated
Women only offer sex once
Helping out The Varmint
Athiests and Agnostics are not discriminated against
Fan mail!
and MORE!
IN THIS EPISODE of The Clarey Podcast!
Do Millennials like money?
What the Harlem Globetrotters teach us about childhood
Downtown hotels are overrated
Women only offer sex once
Helping out The Varmint
Athiests and Agnostics are not discriminated against
Fan mail!
and MORE!
IN THIS EPISODE of The Clarey Podcast!
Sunday, April 05, 2015
Help "The Varmint" Weekend
Howdy All,
I'll be keeping the "Help the Varmint" donation campaign up until Monday at which time I will close the donation page and give "The Varmint" all the donations you have charitably given.
Ergo, if you wanted to donate but haven't yet, then do so NOW because it closes on Monday.
If you want to make a donation (or have no clue what I'm talking about) go here and read through the instructions.
Thankfully, a woman has already volunteered to buy Varmint two new dogs at the Humane Society so we do not need any more offer to buy/donate dogs. She also has had her computer replaced. Basically, the money raised will be going to replace stuff like clothes, toys, etc., and any excess funds will go into a college fund.
MANY THANKS to all of you who have donated already, I'm keeping the amount secret so as to have it be a surprise later on.
Best,
Cappy
I'll be keeping the "Help the Varmint" donation campaign up until Monday at which time I will close the donation page and give "The Varmint" all the donations you have charitably given.
Ergo, if you wanted to donate but haven't yet, then do so NOW because it closes on Monday.
If you want to make a donation (or have no clue what I'm talking about) go here and read through the instructions.
Thankfully, a woman has already volunteered to buy Varmint two new dogs at the Humane Society so we do not need any more offer to buy/donate dogs. She also has had her computer replaced. Basically, the money raised will be going to replace stuff like clothes, toys, etc., and any excess funds will go into a college fund.
MANY THANKS to all of you who have donated already, I'm keeping the amount secret so as to have it be a surprise later on.
Best,
Cappy
For All Finance and Economics Majors
I posted this a while ago and noticed it has over 50,000 views. That's very rare for a video of mine, but after revisiting it I realized that it's very important this message gets out.
DO
NOT
MAJOR
IN
FINANCE OR ECONOMICS
Please retweet or forward or whatever is necessary to prevent you or a loved on from making such a horrible mistake:
DO
NOT
MAJOR
IN
FINANCE OR ECONOMICS
Please retweet or forward or whatever is necessary to prevent you or a loved on from making such a horrible mistake:
Friday, April 03, 2015
The DIY Poverty Trap
In my previous post I explained how allowing people to specialize in a trade or a skill drastically increases the standards of living for society by allowing us to produce not only MORE, but higher quality goods and services. However, such specialization, by necessity, requires superiority and excellence, both of which have been under increasing attack since the 1960's. These attacks have economic consequences, which is the topic of today's post - the "DIY Poverty Trap."
Because of what amounts to nothing more than rank parasitism and envy, America's pillars of excellence, superiority, achievement, accomplishment, and success are all under attack. The attacks come from all fronts, be it political (the rich don't pay their fair share), educational (privilege, sexism, racism, and all the other childish pablum of academia), corporate (CSR, diversity, etc.), racial (stop acting white, Oreo), or social (27th place trophies, not keeping score, fat acceptance, etc.). However, while this results in a general, society-wide hatred of those who wish to pursue excellence, the economic effects fall into two general categories.
The first is that it deters those who have already achieved excellence and production in their respective fields. A doctor, an entrepreneur, an engineer, etc., somebody who is making good money stops and asks him/herself,
"Why the hell should I work more? Why the hell should I pay more in taxes? Why am I working for these parasites, ESPECIALLY when they villainize me and blame me for all of their-largely-self-inflicted problems? Screw that, I'm going Galt/on vacation/moving the headquarters overseas/etc."
The result is less economic growth than what would have been had these people not been as progressively taxed or politically and socially stigmatized. Medtronic would not have moved overseas. Google and Apple wouldn't be parking their money in the Caymans. And people might be willing to invest in the US. It's hard to estimate what economic growth would have been had we championed success, rich people, and excellence, but in merely getting rid of corporate tax rates an estimated $2 trillion alone would be repatriated over night into the US economy. Regardless, because success and excellence are under attack, those capable of it choose to scale back or not participate at all.
The second economic effect is a consequence of the first. With all those "nasty" productive, successful specialists leaving or at least not investing in the US, economic growth has dropped to about 55% of what it used to be back in 1940's-1960's. Naturally, employment has suffered both in terms of UNemployment and UNDERemployment, especially amongst the younger generations. So instead of being contracted right out of a high school metals program to work at Boeing in 1948, you are begging and pleading to get a job at Starbucks with your Masters in Nutrition in 2015, replete with $70,000 in student loans. Regardless, they too are not achieving nor pursuing excellence. They are merely getting by because of the lack of economic opportunities.
But while both groups are not producing specialization and excellence, the reasons are quite different. Group 1 is capable of it, but CHOOSES not to. They have no incentive, they have no desire. They are opting out of gracing society with their excellence. Group 2, however, doesn't have a choice. They are not CAPABLE of providing excellence and specialization either because they lack the skills or there is no economic opportunity for them to do so. Thankfully, for Group 1, it doesn't matter. They've largely "got theirs" and can afford to merely scale down. But because of the lack of economic growth it is the young generations stuck in Group 2 that fall into the "DIY Poverty Trap."
To understand the "DIY Poverty Trap" you have to think of it as the opposite of The Law of Specialization. With specialization, as evidenced in the previous post, you are allowed to trade your units of time for other people's units of time so that you may specialize and create superior, cheaper goods for them, as they in turn create superior, cheaper goods for you. It is why it's nearly 300% MORE EFFICIENT for my girlfriend to work in her specialty (accounting) and pay for a professional who specialty is manicures and nails, than try to do it herself.
However, this hinges on one very important assumption that was (purposely) kept out of the previous post's discussion - wages.
The only reason it was economically efficient for The Girlfriend to outsource her French nails to a pro was because her wage was adequately high enough to afford the specialized services of the salonist. Had she no SPECIALIZATION or EXCELLENCE in her field of accounting, she would only be making $8 as an unskilled laborer/nanny/barista and instead of 119 minutes of her life spent on getting French nails, it would have cost her 265 minutes.
Thus the importance of CHAMPIONING the specialization of labor and achieving excellence in a specific field, and NOT CRIMINALIZING IT, PUNISHING IT, OR MOCKING IT IN SOCIETY.
However, it is sadly not just merely an issue of getting a "specialty" in something and then "boom" the problem is done. Different economic and sociological variables have conspired that has resulted in a perfect "economic storm" that creates an effective "event horizon" that keeps people in poverty and in the DIY trap.
When you take the:
1. Low economic growth
2. Few economic opportunities
3. Worthless degrees the majority of young people have earned
4. The crippling debts they took on to buy said worthless degrees, and (heaven help you)
5. Any illegitimate children they might have had
they are stuck in the DIY poverty trap and will likely never achieve the "escape velocity" needed to get out of it. The reason why is that they can't even afford to go back to college to retool themselves and learn an actual skill or trade that is specialized enough to pull them out of it.
In short, since they don't have a specialization or are excellent in anything, they cannot barter for other people's highly specialized (and infinitely economically more efficient) skills, condemning them to this effective "lower tier" part of the economy.
And this is where the DIY Poverty Trap comes in.
Since they can't afford specialized services, nearly everything has to be done on their own because it's "cheaper." Of course, financially it may be, but not time wise. This ends up costing them more of their time, denying them the ability to spend that time specializing in something.
For example, no more than two years ago, it largely "financially" paid me to fix my own motorcycle. One time, in what seemed was going to be a "simple fix," I had a piston misfiring, which led me to believe it was time to change the spark plugs. While my diagnosis was correct, my estimation of what it would take to fix my motorcycle was woefully inadequate.
The spark plugs were underneath a stubborn airfilter and carburetor and very leaky fuel system. But none of those could be accessed until I removed a very NOT intuitive gas tank. After many tries, I still couldn't get the motorcycle to turn over correctly, until I realized that in taking off the gas tank I had damaged the starter wire.
When all was said and done it took the following amount of time:
360 minutes of amateurish mechanical work
1,220 minutes of working up at $15 an hour to pay for the $280 mechanics bill
Total life lost: 1,580 minutes.
However, that was when I worked as an UNSPECIALIZED, NON-EXCELLENT security guard. Well before I discovered I had a god-given talent at being a SPECIALIZED and EXCELLENT asshole and started billing out $100/hour at my new company Asshole Consulting.
Now of course, I don't work 40 hours a week making $100/hour, but for the sake of analysis, assume I did. And let's also assume instead of trying to be macho, I admit I would probably make things worse and outsource my motorcycle repairs to a professional. My new "total life lost" would not have been 1,580 minutes, but rather...
108 minutes.
Now this of course assumes the pro would not have severed the starter wire and that I was a full-time "professional asshole." But they key point is that it shows you just what a DRASTIC and POWERFUL gravitational pull the DIY Poverty Trap is. It is (in this instance) 10 TIMES LESS EFFICIENT THAN SPECIALIZATION. A 10 fold "time sink." And forget motorcycles, consider that nearly every aspect of your life has to be "do it yourself."
Cleaning
Oil change
House repairs
Computer repairs
Cooking vs. eating out
Grocery shopping
The list is endless and the damage is incalculable to your economic life.
The larger point is to realize NOT just how insane it is that our society, politicians, teachers, professors, racial groups, and media types punish and ridicule excellence, achievement, and specialization, but to realize just what an economic price is paid, especially by those who are in the poorer classes and trapped by the DIY Poverty Trap. Not only are they kept in poverty by the gravitational pull of low wages, but are lied to about how to get out of it simply so certain leftists political parties and academians may stay in power.
And whereas normally I would feel pity and sadness for people stuck in such a position, when they viscerally and enthusiastically accused me and other people who pursued excellence as "privileged," hate us and call us "racist" or "sexist," and dare to demand that I pay more in taxes to bail them out of their mistakes...I just kick back and say...
Enjoy the decline.
Because of what amounts to nothing more than rank parasitism and envy, America's pillars of excellence, superiority, achievement, accomplishment, and success are all under attack. The attacks come from all fronts, be it political (the rich don't pay their fair share), educational (privilege, sexism, racism, and all the other childish pablum of academia), corporate (CSR, diversity, etc.), racial (stop acting white, Oreo), or social (27th place trophies, not keeping score, fat acceptance, etc.). However, while this results in a general, society-wide hatred of those who wish to pursue excellence, the economic effects fall into two general categories.
The first is that it deters those who have already achieved excellence and production in their respective fields. A doctor, an entrepreneur, an engineer, etc., somebody who is making good money stops and asks him/herself,
"Why the hell should I work more? Why the hell should I pay more in taxes? Why am I working for these parasites, ESPECIALLY when they villainize me and blame me for all of their-largely-self-inflicted problems? Screw that, I'm going Galt/on vacation/moving the headquarters overseas/etc."
The result is less economic growth than what would have been had these people not been as progressively taxed or politically and socially stigmatized. Medtronic would not have moved overseas. Google and Apple wouldn't be parking their money in the Caymans. And people might be willing to invest in the US. It's hard to estimate what economic growth would have been had we championed success, rich people, and excellence, but in merely getting rid of corporate tax rates an estimated $2 trillion alone would be repatriated over night into the US economy. Regardless, because success and excellence are under attack, those capable of it choose to scale back or not participate at all.
The second economic effect is a consequence of the first. With all those "nasty" productive, successful specialists leaving or at least not investing in the US, economic growth has dropped to about 55% of what it used to be back in 1940's-1960's. Naturally, employment has suffered both in terms of UNemployment and UNDERemployment, especially amongst the younger generations. So instead of being contracted right out of a high school metals program to work at Boeing in 1948, you are begging and pleading to get a job at Starbucks with your Masters in Nutrition in 2015, replete with $70,000 in student loans. Regardless, they too are not achieving nor pursuing excellence. They are merely getting by because of the lack of economic opportunities.
But while both groups are not producing specialization and excellence, the reasons are quite different. Group 1 is capable of it, but CHOOSES not to. They have no incentive, they have no desire. They are opting out of gracing society with their excellence. Group 2, however, doesn't have a choice. They are not CAPABLE of providing excellence and specialization either because they lack the skills or there is no economic opportunity for them to do so. Thankfully, for Group 1, it doesn't matter. They've largely "got theirs" and can afford to merely scale down. But because of the lack of economic growth it is the young generations stuck in Group 2 that fall into the "DIY Poverty Trap."
To understand the "DIY Poverty Trap" you have to think of it as the opposite of The Law of Specialization. With specialization, as evidenced in the previous post, you are allowed to trade your units of time for other people's units of time so that you may specialize and create superior, cheaper goods for them, as they in turn create superior, cheaper goods for you. It is why it's nearly 300% MORE EFFICIENT for my girlfriend to work in her specialty (accounting) and pay for a professional who specialty is manicures and nails, than try to do it herself.
However, this hinges on one very important assumption that was (purposely) kept out of the previous post's discussion - wages.
The only reason it was economically efficient for The Girlfriend to outsource her French nails to a pro was because her wage was adequately high enough to afford the specialized services of the salonist. Had she no SPECIALIZATION or EXCELLENCE in her field of accounting, she would only be making $8 as an unskilled laborer/nanny/barista and instead of 119 minutes of her life spent on getting French nails, it would have cost her 265 minutes.
Thus the importance of CHAMPIONING the specialization of labor and achieving excellence in a specific field, and NOT CRIMINALIZING IT, PUNISHING IT, OR MOCKING IT IN SOCIETY.
However, it is sadly not just merely an issue of getting a "specialty" in something and then "boom" the problem is done. Different economic and sociological variables have conspired that has resulted in a perfect "economic storm" that creates an effective "event horizon" that keeps people in poverty and in the DIY trap.
When you take the:
1. Low economic growth
2. Few economic opportunities
3. Worthless degrees the majority of young people have earned
4. The crippling debts they took on to buy said worthless degrees, and (heaven help you)
5. Any illegitimate children they might have had
they are stuck in the DIY poverty trap and will likely never achieve the "escape velocity" needed to get out of it. The reason why is that they can't even afford to go back to college to retool themselves and learn an actual skill or trade that is specialized enough to pull them out of it.
In short, since they don't have a specialization or are excellent in anything, they cannot barter for other people's highly specialized (and infinitely economically more efficient) skills, condemning them to this effective "lower tier" part of the economy.
And this is where the DIY Poverty Trap comes in.
Since they can't afford specialized services, nearly everything has to be done on their own because it's "cheaper." Of course, financially it may be, but not time wise. This ends up costing them more of their time, denying them the ability to spend that time specializing in something.
For example, no more than two years ago, it largely "financially" paid me to fix my own motorcycle. One time, in what seemed was going to be a "simple fix," I had a piston misfiring, which led me to believe it was time to change the spark plugs. While my diagnosis was correct, my estimation of what it would take to fix my motorcycle was woefully inadequate.
The spark plugs were underneath a stubborn airfilter and carburetor and very leaky fuel system. But none of those could be accessed until I removed a very NOT intuitive gas tank. After many tries, I still couldn't get the motorcycle to turn over correctly, until I realized that in taking off the gas tank I had damaged the starter wire.
When all was said and done it took the following amount of time:
360 minutes of amateurish mechanical work
1,220 minutes of working up at $15 an hour to pay for the $280 mechanics bill
Total life lost: 1,580 minutes.
However, that was when I worked as an UNSPECIALIZED, NON-EXCELLENT security guard. Well before I discovered I had a god-given talent at being a SPECIALIZED and EXCELLENT asshole and started billing out $100/hour at my new company Asshole Consulting.
Now of course, I don't work 40 hours a week making $100/hour, but for the sake of analysis, assume I did. And let's also assume instead of trying to be macho, I admit I would probably make things worse and outsource my motorcycle repairs to a professional. My new "total life lost" would not have been 1,580 minutes, but rather...
108 minutes.
Now this of course assumes the pro would not have severed the starter wire and that I was a full-time "professional asshole." But they key point is that it shows you just what a DRASTIC and POWERFUL gravitational pull the DIY Poverty Trap is. It is (in this instance) 10 TIMES LESS EFFICIENT THAN SPECIALIZATION. A 10 fold "time sink." And forget motorcycles, consider that nearly every aspect of your life has to be "do it yourself."
Cleaning
Oil change
House repairs
Computer repairs
Cooking vs. eating out
Grocery shopping
The list is endless and the damage is incalculable to your economic life.
The larger point is to realize NOT just how insane it is that our society, politicians, teachers, professors, racial groups, and media types punish and ridicule excellence, achievement, and specialization, but to realize just what an economic price is paid, especially by those who are in the poorer classes and trapped by the DIY Poverty Trap. Not only are they kept in poverty by the gravitational pull of low wages, but are lied to about how to get out of it simply so certain leftists political parties and academians may stay in power.
And whereas normally I would feel pity and sadness for people stuck in such a position, when they viscerally and enthusiastically accused me and other people who pursued excellence as "privileged," hate us and call us "racist" or "sexist," and dare to demand that I pay more in taxes to bail them out of their mistakes...I just kick back and say...
Enjoy the decline.
A Sad Day in Cappy Land
Howdy All,
Bad news every one.
Some of you may or may not know of "The Girl That Is Not Mine" that I reference in my podcast. This is a little child of a friend of mine I've known since she was 6. I take a particular liking to her because she comes form a divorced family, is a tough little booger, and when I pick on her she not only can withstand it, but kind of throws it back. We have very much an antagonistic older brother/younger sister relationship, and though we SWEAR we are "sworn enemies," clandestinely we "may" not loathe each other that much.
Sadly her house burnt down and among half her worldly possessions, she lost two dogs.
I'm not much of one to ask for charity (and frankly am waiting for the day for a lawsuit or free speech issue to come down the pipe, and THEN I'll be asking for your help), but in the meantime if any of you wanted to help the little kid out, I'd sure appreciate it.
I would like to raise enough money to replace two dogs, get her some flowers, and ice cream, as well as any excess funds that would go to replace her material stuff she lost in the fire. Any additional money raised will probably go into a college fund or something. So if you want make a donation using the button below (or the pinup girl "DONATE" button on the side bar) please do so. ALL FUNDS WILL GO TO THE KID, not me!
Because PayPal doesn't make things easy,
1. PLEASE PUT "VARMINT" (that's the nick name I gave her) in the description box
2. Then the amount you want to donate in the "Item Price" box.
3. Hit "update" and then off to your right you will have to click "Pay With Debit or Credit Card" to use a credit card to make a payment
4. You will also have to provide some personal information, and THEN YOU NEED TO:
5. Decline signing up for Paypal and other painassery to make the payment go through.
In short, make sure you get to the page that CONFIRMS the payment went through.
Anyway, if you know anybody else that would like to help certainly feel free to forward this to them.
Many thanks for your help!
Cappy
(PS - If you wanted to leave a kind message for Varmint below, please do!)
Bad news every one.
Some of you may or may not know of "The Girl That Is Not Mine" that I reference in my podcast. This is a little child of a friend of mine I've known since she was 6. I take a particular liking to her because she comes form a divorced family, is a tough little booger, and when I pick on her she not only can withstand it, but kind of throws it back. We have very much an antagonistic older brother/younger sister relationship, and though we SWEAR we are "sworn enemies," clandestinely we "may" not loathe each other that much.
Sadly her house burnt down and among half her worldly possessions, she lost two dogs.
I'm not much of one to ask for charity (and frankly am waiting for the day for a lawsuit or free speech issue to come down the pipe, and THEN I'll be asking for your help), but in the meantime if any of you wanted to help the little kid out, I'd sure appreciate it.
I would like to raise enough money to replace two dogs, get her some flowers, and ice cream, as well as any excess funds that would go to replace her material stuff she lost in the fire. Any additional money raised will probably go into a college fund or something. So if you want make a donation using the button below (or the pinup girl "DONATE" button on the side bar) please do so. ALL FUNDS WILL GO TO THE KID, not me!
Because PayPal doesn't make things easy,
1. PLEASE PUT "VARMINT" (that's the nick name I gave her) in the description box
2. Then the amount you want to donate in the "Item Price" box.
3. Hit "update" and then off to your right you will have to click "Pay With Debit or Credit Card" to use a credit card to make a payment
4. You will also have to provide some personal information, and THEN YOU NEED TO:
5. Decline signing up for Paypal and other painassery to make the payment go through.
In short, make sure you get to the page that CONFIRMS the payment went through.
Anyway, if you know anybody else that would like to help certainly feel free to forward this to them.
Many thanks for your help!
Cappy
(PS - If you wanted to leave a kind message for Varmint below, please do!)
Thursday, April 02, 2015
French Nails and Capitalism
I looked at The Girlfriend and said, "Girlfriend!"
She said, "Yes, Boyfriend?"
"I have decided I like French nails!" I decreed.
"Really, why is that?" she asked.
"Because it goes well with your white lingerie numbers, plus they just look classy."
And sure enough within 48 hours she was downstairs with a French nail kit trying to do her own French nails.
While the operation to get my girlfriend to do something for me went smoothly, the same could not be said about her endeavor to do her own French nails. For not only had she never done them before, but doing one's own nails requires that one hand, by necessity, not be used. At best they came out "average." Lines not perfectly geometric, depth not perfectly uniform, the coating not perfectly applied, etc. But they were still cute and the fact she did it for me is all that really mattered. However, she was not personally satisfied with the results, and when the varnish and nail polish chipped and deteriorated away within 10 days, she went and had them professionally done.
I wasn't expecting anything much different, but when she returned the difference was jaw-dropping. The shine and sheen were perfect. The color spot on. And the craftsmanship in terms of precision and uniformity was obvious. The difference was blindingly obvious even to a boorish bachelor such as myself.
Curious as to how much this cost I said, "What did that set you back?"
And to my shock she said, "$30."
Immediately my SAEG(TM) mind went into action. The materiel The Girlfriend purchased to do her nails the first time was at least $10. Then a solid hour was spent doing them, followed by at least 20 minutes of incapacitation because she couldn't "touch anything" as they dried. But in what was no more than a 40 minute professional job, and for a mere $20 more in price she had far superior French nails when all was said and done.
But the amazing French nails did not stop amazing there. A full MONTH had passed and they were STILL in perfect shape, showing no signs of wear or chipping. And it is here my economic mind noticed just what testament to the powers of capitalism French nails were.
To simplify this important economic lesson we will do away with things like wage and opportunity cost (that will follow in the sequel to this post) and focus solely on the only unit of economic value - time.
The original outlay of time The Girlfriend had to spend on doing her own French nails was this:
26 minutes of labor earning the money to pay for the materiel
60 minutes actually doing the nails
20 minutes running around with a gay-esque hand pose as they dried
Total Investment - 106 minutes of life
The outlay of time needed to afford a pro to do her nails for her was this:
79 minutes of labor earning the money to pay the pro
40 minutes sitting time while her nails were done
0 minutes waiting for them to dry because they have an infrared drying device that cures the varnish
Total Investment - 119 minutes of life
However, while at first it may seem it's still better to "DIY," keep in mind when she did it herself, it only lasted 10 days. The professional job lasted three times that long. So assuming The Girlfriend would have to do her nails three times a month, the real effective costs are:
318 minutes (for a marginal job I might add) vs. 119 minutes for a professional job.
It is here we plainly see what is arguably the most important and powerful aspect of capitalism - the law of specialization. In allowing people to specialize in a trade or skill, not only do prices dramatically drop, but the quality of the goods and services dramatically increase. This increases people's purchasing power, as well as improves the quality of the goods and services we consume, increasing overall standards of living.
However there is a problem with specialization. It requires you be really good at something. It requires that you "excel" in something. And excellence is increasingly becoming a four-letter word in today's ever-more socialist society. And as society has decided to lash out, punish and tax excellence, it has ignorantly also lashed out, punished, and attacked one of the key engines of economic growth and human advancement.
The consequences of which are the topic of our next post.
She said, "Yes, Boyfriend?"
"I have decided I like French nails!" I decreed.
"Really, why is that?" she asked.
"Because it goes well with your white lingerie numbers, plus they just look classy."
And sure enough within 48 hours she was downstairs with a French nail kit trying to do her own French nails.
While the operation to get my girlfriend to do something for me went smoothly, the same could not be said about her endeavor to do her own French nails. For not only had she never done them before, but doing one's own nails requires that one hand, by necessity, not be used. At best they came out "average." Lines not perfectly geometric, depth not perfectly uniform, the coating not perfectly applied, etc. But they were still cute and the fact she did it for me is all that really mattered. However, she was not personally satisfied with the results, and when the varnish and nail polish chipped and deteriorated away within 10 days, she went and had them professionally done.
I wasn't expecting anything much different, but when she returned the difference was jaw-dropping. The shine and sheen were perfect. The color spot on. And the craftsmanship in terms of precision and uniformity was obvious. The difference was blindingly obvious even to a boorish bachelor such as myself.
Curious as to how much this cost I said, "What did that set you back?"
And to my shock she said, "$30."
Immediately my SAEG(TM) mind went into action. The materiel The Girlfriend purchased to do her nails the first time was at least $10. Then a solid hour was spent doing them, followed by at least 20 minutes of incapacitation because she couldn't "touch anything" as they dried. But in what was no more than a 40 minute professional job, and for a mere $20 more in price she had far superior French nails when all was said and done.
But the amazing French nails did not stop amazing there. A full MONTH had passed and they were STILL in perfect shape, showing no signs of wear or chipping. And it is here my economic mind noticed just what testament to the powers of capitalism French nails were.
To simplify this important economic lesson we will do away with things like wage and opportunity cost (that will follow in the sequel to this post) and focus solely on the only unit of economic value - time.
The original outlay of time The Girlfriend had to spend on doing her own French nails was this:
26 minutes of labor earning the money to pay for the materiel
60 minutes actually doing the nails
20 minutes running around with a gay-esque hand pose as they dried
Total Investment - 106 minutes of life
The outlay of time needed to afford a pro to do her nails for her was this:
79 minutes of labor earning the money to pay the pro
40 minutes sitting time while her nails were done
0 minutes waiting for them to dry because they have an infrared drying device that cures the varnish
Total Investment - 119 minutes of life
However, while at first it may seem it's still better to "DIY," keep in mind when she did it herself, it only lasted 10 days. The professional job lasted three times that long. So assuming The Girlfriend would have to do her nails three times a month, the real effective costs are:
318 minutes (for a marginal job I might add) vs. 119 minutes for a professional job.
It is here we plainly see what is arguably the most important and powerful aspect of capitalism - the law of specialization. In allowing people to specialize in a trade or skill, not only do prices dramatically drop, but the quality of the goods and services dramatically increase. This increases people's purchasing power, as well as improves the quality of the goods and services we consume, increasing overall standards of living.
However there is a problem with specialization. It requires you be really good at something. It requires that you "excel" in something. And excellence is increasingly becoming a four-letter word in today's ever-more socialist society. And as society has decided to lash out, punish and tax excellence, it has ignorantly also lashed out, punished, and attacked one of the key engines of economic growth and human advancement.
The consequences of which are the topic of our next post.
Wednesday, April 01, 2015
"My Child Goes Well With the Drapes"
You see, a narcissist does not have children because they want to love
and nurture little humans so they can grow into healthy individuals and
be successful on their terms. Rather, a narcissist has children because
they need reassurance in their own self, they need to feed their ego,
and because they want someone to unquestionably do their bidding; so say
I, the lackey gas-pumping, errand-running, house-cleaning daughter, but I digress.
Foreigner STEM Uber American STEM Workers
Giving our outsourcing to China under Clinton, Obama's rejection of the Keystone Pipeline, and now STEM jobs under Bush/Obama, I believe you can assume, going forward, politicians will always sell out Americans and do what's worse for them.
Wally The World's Greatest Economist
Hi-freaking-larious.
And this is exactly how we did it at Norwest (purchased by Wells Fargo back in the 00's)
And this is exactly how we did it at Norwest (purchased by Wells Fargo back in the 00's)
Tuesday, March 31, 2015
Governor Pence Has No Balls Podcast
In this relatively curse-free podcast
Bottleneck people strike again
Never buy a Google phone
The end of talk radio
How the baby boomers never helped, but hindered younger generations
Does anybody attend baby boomer funerals?
Kids faking they have mental diseases
Murdering Aaron Clarey
Indiana's Governor fails the leftist shit test
AND MORE!
in THIS EPISODE of THE CLAREY PODCAST!
Bottleneck people strike again
Never buy a Google phone
The end of talk radio
How the baby boomers never helped, but hindered younger generations
Does anybody attend baby boomer funerals?
Kids faking they have mental diseases
Murdering Aaron Clarey
Indiana's Governor fails the leftist shit test
AND MORE!
in THIS EPISODE of THE CLAREY PODCAST!
Drunk Tuesday Afternoon Linkage
Why I Hate the 60's (The truth is NOBODY liked them!)
Leslie gives me some love.
The fun you have with a shitty world reserve currency.
Chris Betchloff accepts a fight challenge from Rich Stanton. I predict Rich will chicken out.
Leslie gives me some love.
The fun you have with a shitty world reserve currency.
Chris Betchloff accepts a fight challenge from Rich Stanton. I predict Rich will chicken out.
Monday, March 30, 2015
Book Review - The Way of Men by Jack Donovan
"The Way of Men" by Jack Donovan is one of those books that if there ever was to be a "Manosphere Bible" it would be a "must" to be included, just as the Book of Matthew or Exodus. It encapsulates some of the key tenets of being a man in today's world, and compiles and succinctly presents millennia of wisdom from our forefathers. I would consider it to be "required reading" for anybody out there traipsing upon this realm of the internet and not to procrastinate in going to buy and read this book.
Of course, it was only until now I read it, but my procrastination and hypocrisy aside, the above paragraph is 100% true. This is an ABSOLUTE MUST-READ book.
The reason is simple - it provides men of all ages an explanation of what it means to be a man.
At first this may sound a bit esoteric, even a bit effeminate. Who asks themselves "what does it mean to be a man?"
But without answering this very basic and fundamental question, most men are condemned to wander this world and waste their lives. It is a question that needs to be answered because it not only identifies you in respect to this world, but explains to you your basic function here. This book not only answers that vitally important question, but provides guidance, context, and wisdom about how to live your life given that you have the answer to that question.
From here Mr. Donovan goes into the four basic traits of what it means to be a man:
Strength
Courage
Mastery and
Honor
I did not particularly like this part of the book in that through empiricism and age I (at the risk of sounding arrogant) "already knew it." But this does not lessen the part of the book's value to younger men or men who have yet to find their way in life. Jack goes into logically-supporting detail as to what each is and how men can attain those traits.
From there the book goes into what I would consider it's general premise:
That men, and thus our psyche, have largely evolved outside of civilization. And that with the relatively recent advent of civilization the purpose of men, the way of men, is becoming obsoleted no matter how hard our frontal lobes may try to adapt.
This results in a BRILLIANT comparison of true masculinity that was required (and thus gave men their true purpose in life) in pre-civilization days to today, where technology and the state have largely replaced men, and we now go vainly looking for "substitute masculinity." Specifically, there are three forms of substitution:
Simulated Masculinity - Sparing, rolling, UFC, sports, etc.
Vicarious Masculinity - Watching sports, war documentaries, playing video games, etc.
Intellectualized Masculinity - Focusing on yourself, self improvement, within the confines that society allows
But regardless of how men cope with their obsolescence, it doesn't change the fact that they aren't wired to do so, and that the civilization that has replaced them is flawed and not feasible in the long term. This has resulted in an identity crisis for men, as well as a full blown assault on maleness and masculinity. What worked in the past and allowed civilization to form was manliness, strength, and men. However, now that civilization exists, technology serves our every need, and the state has supplanted men when it comes to women, there is nothing for men to do but play video games, read about WWII and jerk off to porn. Worse still is the criminalization on all things male and masculine by various political forces as their obsoleted skills are not only no longer needed, but a threat to those in power. And making matters even worse, the masculine skills of foresight, logic, and common sense makes the collapse of society perfectly predictable to most men, but because of democracy and civilization, they are powerless to do anything about it, rendering them "Mythical Cassandras" and causing untold amounts of frustration and insanity.
But Jack Donovan knows civilizations collapse. No empire lasts forever. And Rome did fall. And in preparation for that, his book becomes instructional.
His last few chapters focus on what can be done despite an insane, and largely, anti-male civilization. Working out, finding purpose, finding agency, etc. However, the very last chapter is titled "How to Form a Gang," in that a gang was the original unit of society that not only survived in a non-civilized world, but is the origins of the way and meaning of men. This was particularly useful and insightful in that it spoke directly to my experiences that I was happiest NOT when I was richest or had the most amount of money, but when I was absolutely my poorest, but had the most amount of male friends in the exact same horrible environment I was in. Yes, food was an issue. Yes sleep was a problem. But the mental sanity that came with having my own crew and own team is one no amount of money or financial stability can replace. And it is this last chapter that explains why that is.
So if you are confused or need guidance. If you are a young man looking to understand your place in this world, or an old man who could never find it. Or you still have a lot of questions about society, where it is going, and why certain groups of people seem hell-bent on villainizing you, I cannot recommend enough that you read The Way of Men.
You can find Jack Donovan's website here.
Of course, it was only until now I read it, but my procrastination and hypocrisy aside, the above paragraph is 100% true. This is an ABSOLUTE MUST-READ book.
The reason is simple - it provides men of all ages an explanation of what it means to be a man.
At first this may sound a bit esoteric, even a bit effeminate. Who asks themselves "what does it mean to be a man?"
But without answering this very basic and fundamental question, most men are condemned to wander this world and waste their lives. It is a question that needs to be answered because it not only identifies you in respect to this world, but explains to you your basic function here. This book not only answers that vitally important question, but provides guidance, context, and wisdom about how to live your life given that you have the answer to that question.
From here Mr. Donovan goes into the four basic traits of what it means to be a man:
Strength
Courage
Mastery and
Honor
I did not particularly like this part of the book in that through empiricism and age I (at the risk of sounding arrogant) "already knew it." But this does not lessen the part of the book's value to younger men or men who have yet to find their way in life. Jack goes into logically-supporting detail as to what each is and how men can attain those traits.
From there the book goes into what I would consider it's general premise:
That men, and thus our psyche, have largely evolved outside of civilization. And that with the relatively recent advent of civilization the purpose of men, the way of men, is becoming obsoleted no matter how hard our frontal lobes may try to adapt.
This results in a BRILLIANT comparison of true masculinity that was required (and thus gave men their true purpose in life) in pre-civilization days to today, where technology and the state have largely replaced men, and we now go vainly looking for "substitute masculinity." Specifically, there are three forms of substitution:
Simulated Masculinity - Sparing, rolling, UFC, sports, etc.
Vicarious Masculinity - Watching sports, war documentaries, playing video games, etc.
Intellectualized Masculinity - Focusing on yourself, self improvement, within the confines that society allows
But regardless of how men cope with their obsolescence, it doesn't change the fact that they aren't wired to do so, and that the civilization that has replaced them is flawed and not feasible in the long term. This has resulted in an identity crisis for men, as well as a full blown assault on maleness and masculinity. What worked in the past and allowed civilization to form was manliness, strength, and men. However, now that civilization exists, technology serves our every need, and the state has supplanted men when it comes to women, there is nothing for men to do but play video games, read about WWII and jerk off to porn. Worse still is the criminalization on all things male and masculine by various political forces as their obsoleted skills are not only no longer needed, but a threat to those in power. And making matters even worse, the masculine skills of foresight, logic, and common sense makes the collapse of society perfectly predictable to most men, but because of democracy and civilization, they are powerless to do anything about it, rendering them "Mythical Cassandras" and causing untold amounts of frustration and insanity.
But Jack Donovan knows civilizations collapse. No empire lasts forever. And Rome did fall. And in preparation for that, his book becomes instructional.
His last few chapters focus on what can be done despite an insane, and largely, anti-male civilization. Working out, finding purpose, finding agency, etc. However, the very last chapter is titled "How to Form a Gang," in that a gang was the original unit of society that not only survived in a non-civilized world, but is the origins of the way and meaning of men. This was particularly useful and insightful in that it spoke directly to my experiences that I was happiest NOT when I was richest or had the most amount of money, but when I was absolutely my poorest, but had the most amount of male friends in the exact same horrible environment I was in. Yes, food was an issue. Yes sleep was a problem. But the mental sanity that came with having my own crew and own team is one no amount of money or financial stability can replace. And it is this last chapter that explains why that is.
So if you are confused or need guidance. If you are a young man looking to understand your place in this world, or an old man who could never find it. Or you still have a lot of questions about society, where it is going, and why certain groups of people seem hell-bent on villainizing you, I cannot recommend enough that you read The Way of Men.
You can find Jack Donovan's website here.
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