I received a message from a friend about the incentives post I wrote recently. This was from a friend whose opinion I respect greatly.
They questioned whether it’s healthy to have a POV that life is run by incentives (particularly emphasising non-financial aspects).
I think this highlights a classic mental malfunction: not being able to separate reality from what we want.
If I wrote about how I BELIEVE the world should function, those ideas would seem like fiction.
Instead, I’m only interested in how it actually works in reality. Many people have led very bad lives through not believing in reality.
For instance, if you want to believe that everyone should be paid exactly what they strike to obtain, then that’s a very dangerous idea that will leave you very frustrated. Because it ignores reality.
I’m only interested in reality in my key thinking. I indulge in fiction through films and books in large amounts to fill the mismatch in reality/non-reality thinking.
I believe it’s indisputable that life (basically everything) is run by incentives. We are all at the mercy of incentives. It explains pretty much all current events, political, geopolitical, macro and micro economic.
And it’s a liberating and great perspective to have. Learn about oil markets. Learn about negotiation. Learn about the basics supply & demand and you’ll understand.
I haven’t found anyone that can steel man this line of thought yet.
I’ll leave you with this:
“It is difficult to get a man to understand something when his salary depends upon his not understanding it.”
Apply that to recent labour disputes. And basically everything 🔥