 |
| |
|
|
|
Australia touts itself as nation unburdened by class divides. Soon after moving here, I was told of the so-called ‘tall poppy syndrome’ – the idea that people who brag about their success and wealth would be ostracised from the community.
Of course, this is not true. Elitism exists here like it does in almost every countries. A glaring example is Australia’s disproportionate number of expensive private schools, where the well-to-do give their kids ‘the best possible opportunities’. (Astonishingly, Australian tax payers even subsidise those private schools.)
Despite its egalitarian ideals, Australia is not alone in upholding social hierarchies. This contradiction between principles and practice is evident in most Western democracies, but nowhere is it as stark as in the US. Journalist Hamilton Nolan writes in Everyone Into The Grinder: “The theory of ‘a rising tide lifts all boats’ does not work when you allow the people with the most influence to buy their way out of the water.”
Nolan argues that in order to incentivise improvements in our flawed public system, we must eliminate the escape routes that allow the wealthy and powerful to avoid experiencing its shortcomings.
“Private schools and private limos and private doctors and private security are all pressure release valves that eliminate the friction that would cause powerful people to call for all of these bad things to get better. The degree to which we allow the rich to insulate themselves from the unpleasant reality that others are forced to experience is directly related to how long that reality is allowed to stay unpleasant.
When they are left with no other option, rich people will force improvement in public systems. Their public spirit will be infinitely less urgent when they are contemplating these things from afar than when they are sitting in a hot ER waiting room for six hours themselves.”
The truth is, many of us are guilty of occasionally indulging in the ‘VIP treatment’ reserved for those who can afford it. But if we want a more equitable society, we should focus our time and resources on improving public services instead of perpetuating a two-tier system.
“All of us can think more deeply about the injustices that surround us. All of us can resist the temptation to purchase our way out of public problems and promptly forget about them. And all of us can enforce a social sanction – shaming – against extremely rich and powerful people who, one way or another, build a rocket to go to space while the planet burns in their wake.”
– Kai
|
| |
|
Become a Friend of DD today →
With a modest contribution of just $1.83 per month, you’re not only helping keep Dense Discovery going, you can also turn off all ads in this newsletter, receive special discounts, get access to the DD Index (a searchable catalogue of past issues) and a range of other benefits. Plus, it removes this message.
You receive this email because you subscribed to Dense Discovery, a weekly newsletter with the best of the internet, thoughtfully curated. Writing to you from Melbourne is Kai Brach. Do you have a product or service to promote in DD? Find out more about advertising in DD.
|
| |
Why Are Humans So Complex? SPONSOR
|
Weekly stories from the world of anthropology
What did Indiana Jones get right about archaeology? What can freediving teach us about kinship with the sea? Did Neanderthals make art? Join 50,000+ people and gain critical insights into how and why humans behave and believe as they do. Subscribe to the SAPIENS newsletter for new stories every Friday.
|
|
| |
Apps & Sites
|
|
A DD reader sent in this alternative to the previously featured Kindred (DD294). There is a small yearly fee but then swapping homes is free. Home Exchange is a certified B Corp and it claims to have over 150,000 subscribers from 145 countries.
|
|
|
Sumo is a whole suite of web apps that includes apps for painting, music making, video editing, 3D creation and more. You can jump into each app without having to sign up and it’s free or just $4/month for pro features.
|
|
|
I still feel a bit uncomfortable with the idea of introducing business concepts to our personal relationships, but if you’re looking for a tool that helps you organise your social interactions with friends and extended family, Monica looks like a nicely designed and open-source app to do that.
|
|
|
Ha! “Sans Bullshit Sans is an experimental font using the power of ligatures to turn bullshit language into bullshit images.” Automatically replace marketing buzzwords and meaningless PR drivel with a Comic Sans-styled censorship bar.
|
|
| |
Worthy Five: Jade George
|
|
Five recommendations by co-founder of The Carton magazine by Jade George
|
A piece of advice worth passing on:
In the words of writer and satirical humorist Kurt Vonnegut: “There ought to be a manual to hand to little kids, telling them what kind of planet they’re on, why they don’t fall off it, how much time they’ve probably got here... A first grader should understand that his or her culture isn’t a rational invention; that there are thousands of other cultures and they all work pretty well; that all cultures function on faith rather than truth; that there are lots of alternatives to our own society... It means we don’t have to continue this way if we don’t like it.”
A video worth watching:
Telling Strings by Anne-Marie Haller is a short documentary released in 2007 that shadows the brilliant Palestine musician Kamilya Jubran and her family members in their homeland. A gentle reminder that everything we do – from making music to buying bread – is a political act.
A quote worth repeating
This quote by photojournalist W. Eugene Smith: “I am searching for that which is real of my heart, and which when completed I can stand humble to one side of and say: ‘This is it, this is how I feel, this is my honest interpretation of the world; this is not influenced by money, or trickery, or pressure...except the pressure of my soul.’”
A book worth reading:
Flights by Polish writer, activist and public intellectual Olga Tokarczuk is one of the best books I’ve ever been given. Though at first glance it feels like she’s written a travel memoir, the author intricately describes nuances of the human condition that I never thought could be captured in words.
A recipe worth trying:
Think of a culture that you have no particular interest in, find a traditional cookbook or online recipe written by a native, and try to follow it word-for-word – from finding the right ingredients to serving it the proper way. Food remains one of the most powerful tools to understanding that, despite the fact that we’re all infinitely unique, we’re all kind of similar.
(Did you know? Friends of DD can respond to and engage with guest contributors like Jade George in one click.)
|
|
| |
Books & Accessories
|
The rise of a corporate ‘1% feminism’
A strong, impassioned rebuke of the Sheryl Sandberg’s best-selling business advice book Lean In which called on ambitious women to break down barriers and achieve their professional goals. The late Dawn Foster argued that Lean In proposed a model of feminism that was individualistic and unthreatening to capital. “The purportedly feminist message of Sandberg’s book neatly exempts patriarchy, capitalism and business from any responsibility for changing the position of women in contemporary culture. It looks at the rise of a corporate ‘1% feminism’, and at how feminism has been defanged and depoliticised at a time when women have borne the brunt of the financial crash and the gap between rich and poor is widening faster than ever.”
|
|
When landlords win, renters pay the price
We’re in the midst of housing and housing affordability crisis. The well-off use real estate as an investment vehicle, while the idea of owning a secure home has become a pipe dream for many renters. In Against Landlords, Nick Bano, a barrister who specialises in representing homeless people, residential occupiers, and destitute and migrant households, argues that the housing crisis is not a supply problem, but a problem of the law.
|
|
| |
Overheard on Mastedon
|
|
Stop blaming yourself and others.
Learn Feng Shui and blame the furniture.
|
| |
Food for Thought
|
|
To improve flawed public systems, the wealthy and influential should be required to use them rather than opting out through private alternatives. Journalist Hamilton Nolan argues that when the powerful are forced to experience the same inadequacies as everyone else, they will be motivated to push for improvements. “The degree to which we allow the rich to insulate themselves from the unpleasant reality that others are forced to experience is directly related to how long that reality is allowed to stay unpleasant. When they are left with no other option, rich people will force improvement in public systems. Their public spirit will be infinitely less urgent when they are contemplating these things from afar than when they are sitting in a hot ER waiting room for six hours themselves.”
|
|
|
Some interesting, short thoughts on debt by finance and money writer Morgan Housel. I like the framing of debt leading to fewer options and possibly diminished hope. Although, it’s worth adding caveats such as the fact that a lot of people end up with crippling amounts of debt due to little fault of their own. “I love the quote from author Kent Nerburn that, ‘Debt defines your future, and when your future is defined, hope begins to die.’ ... I’m not an anti-debt zealot. There’s a time and place, and used responsibly it’s a wonderful tool. But once you view debt as narrowing what you can endure in a volatile world, you start to see it as a constraint on the asset that matters most: having options and flexibility.”
|
|
|
A fun, light-hearted conversation about the dos and donts for a happy, long life that (mostly) avoids the usual clichés. You’ll learn, for example, that becoming a grandparent is – statistically – one of the easiest ways to ‘achieve happiness’ in the final stages of your life.
|
|
| |
Aesthetically Pleasing
|
|
Jorit Ciro Cerullo (or just Jorit) is a crazy talented Italian street artist known for painting giant portrait murals – recognisable by the red stripes on their cheeks.
|
|
|
Enjoy the dramatic, atmospheric images by Brooklyn-based photographer Billy Dinh.
|
|
|
This little 42-square-metre apartment not far from where I live is another wonderful example of how small spaces can be renovated to be more pleasing on the eye while improving thermal efficiency and liveability. And the renovation ‘only’ cost A$24,000 – essentially the cost of two coffees.
|
|
|
Gigafly is a sharp-looking contemporary high-contrast sans-serif display typeface designed for branding and impactful posters.
|
|
| |
Notable Numbers
|
|
Forced to tighten their belts by triple-digit inflation and a recession, beef consumption in Argentina is down almost 16% this year so far.
|
|
|
Swap a beef burger for a chicken one, and you’ll cut the carbon footprint of your dinner by around 80%. The problem, however, is that you’ll need to kill 200 times as many chickens as cows to get the same amount of meat.
|
|
|
A proposed budget by the Biden administration (which is unlikely to make it through Congress) would end the abuse of corporate jet write-offs. The proposal would hit corporate and private jet users with new taxes, raising jet fuel to $1.06 per gallon from 21.8 cents per gallon over five years.
|
|
| |
Classifieds
|
|
Hell Yeah, Bookkeeping: we help creative businesses run better. Bookkeeping, business management and consulting for creatives.
New World Same Humans is a newsletter and community focused on trends, technology, and our shared future. Want to understand the new world taking shape now? Join us!
Ready to teach but don’t know how? Our 2-week program helps you explore what makes a great Learning Experience Designer. Gain the clarity and confidence you need to guide others.
Are you in business? Have a question? Submit it to our advice column. Anchor & Orbit specialises in business coaching, growth strategies, cash flow planning, and productivity.
|
|
Classifieds are paid ads that support DD and are seen by our 36,000 subscribers each week.
Book yours →
|
|
| |
The Week in a GIF
|
|
Reply with your favourite GIF and it might get featured here in a future issue.
|
|
| |
|
DD is supported by Friends and the modern family office of  .
|
| |
