Which narrative is valuable and which is pernicious depends on *which one is true.*
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Unfortunately, it’s hard to measure statistically, for the same reason it’s hard to answer the question “is dieting an effective way to lose weight?”
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You can measure how many people achieve a goal (be it increased wealth or weight loss) but if that number is low, is it because the method doesn’t work, or because few people try, or because those that do try are doing it wrong?
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“How often can productive work result in personal wealth?” is an empirical question but a hard one to answer, so we often resort to anecdote and intuition, which aren’t enough to resolve the question.
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It’s obvious that not *all* wealth is acquired through productivity (see: aristocrats, lottery winners, con artists) and that wealth can *ever* be acquired through productivity (see: Thomas Edison) but the magnitude matters.
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Replying to @s_r_constantin
It's also difficult to gauge/explain what is productive. Labor Theory of Value discounts the value of effective systems, which consequently are ignored by people who focus solely on labor as not being useful for getting ahead. They ignore value that doesn't align with their view.
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Replying to @peterlarson233
It is difficult to explain. I don’t understand the next sentence, can you unpack?
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Replying to @s_r_constantin
Some value isn't tied to the amount of work a person does, but the quality of the work or the outcome of the work. This especially applies in creative work or relational work.
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Replying to @peterlarson233 @s_r_constantin
An inventor may produce nothing most of the time, but then suddenly find success and make something that saves others millions of hours of labor. A sales person nurtures relationships with potential customers and wins them over, which isn't dependent on amount of time "working."
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Replying to @peterlarson233 @s_r_constantin
People like to say Jeff Bezos didn't do anything for his money, and maybe he doesn't "deserve" all of it, but Amazon is a huge and powerful organization and he had a large part in making it work. Regardless of "how much" work he did, his contributions were extremely valuable.
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I agree! That makes sense, thanks.
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