The Gift of Madness

[consider the lunacy of our world]. To not participate wholesale in that lunacy is a form of madness.

And in this case, madness becomes a gift - a gift to the world. One has to step outside the confines of set rules and norms to be able to create - or be creative. To half subscribe to the traditions and inhibitions of lunacy yet wanting to thrive in creativity, to make a difference while being confined by the same, is another pattern of lunacy. Outright rejection of the major norms, not for the sake of rebellion or being different, but to own the freedom to create and be is labelled madness - and perhaps that's really what the world gone looney needs this Christmas.

Creating a model of business not for the end-all goal of profit but to benefit society. Not to create more lust and desire but to create a platform where awareness and consciousness can flower in learning, so that those lusts and desires are turned into introspection which will, hopefully, fan the ember of insight and self-awareness.

What is business today? A cold, mechanical method of meeting bottom lines and a superficial attempt at bettering livelihoods by creating 'jobs'. The aim of business is not faulty, it is one particular element of humans that gives it the energy and moementum to wreak havoc on earth and on human souls. Greed. If the entire system of doing business can be replaced with concepts which still operate under the same methods of meeting bottom lines, increasing efficiency, creating jobs, etc but not in a cold, mechanical way - in an empowering, creative way. The value generated towards the economy remains, the profits of enterprise harvested through jobs created, the benefit of proliferation of affluence, skills and knowledge inherited by the next generation.

Makes no sense that a person possessing the knowledge, skills, on both sides of the technology, product, distribution channels, marketing would not want to increase capacity exponentially and profit from it. It makes no sense only to the looney world we're in, but makes perfect sense in meeting the ideals and ethics of a better human race, of an economy that genuinely guards the physical environment of human beings and the spiritual environment of mankind.

Argument that those who can't refuse to compete. But the premise and spirit of competition in itself is flawed. What is competition? And what does it lead us to? What does it etch and carve into the values of society and eventually, creating the lust and the drive that thrives on such competition? Does competition in itself creates the value of a thing? Conventional business studies cloaks the word competition to mean a kind of rivalry that creates a market force for producers to improve on their goods and services. But would it not be a higher motive if producers create the highest quality product for the sake of the creativity in it and the benefit for others? What happens if producers are only motivated to improve based on fear of losing market share? Would it also mean that they will withold technology, knowledge and other information that can immediately improve on their product/service until they lose some market share before releasing the benefits? Would it not mean that producers would in a way, 'cheat' consumers to pay premium prices for products they know will be made outdated and obsolete, to cheat consumers of the same dollar that could buy the improved product, to cheat consumers of the time they spent using the old product at the same time they could've already owned the new one?

That is the way businesses are currently operating. Example, the electronics industry which contributes to tonnes of e-waste in the end. It makes the producers complete winners; they withold technology until the last model loses market share, launches the new one and in that creates a never-ending cycle of desire for more, newer and shinier.

Argument that that is what makes the economy (and the world) go round, that conservation and prudent spending will cause these industries to contract and the loss of billions of dollars, not to mention jobs. But take a look around, the current models for business has created this exact nightmare and hellish experience on a global scale. The anxiety attacks, dog eat dog situation is pandemic.

Understanding economics helps you understand that it is how people actually behave based on incentives. If more people see the incentive of creating a unified world instead of a fragmented one, to gain more self-respect and self-esteem in helping to heal instead of to divide, etc.....that is how the world will be. Creativity generates value and collective production of a set value creates an industry and industries creates economies. It is a simple matter of replacing a wasteful, destructive way of manipulating creativity with a sustainable, empowering form of economy.