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Mailbag: A Modern Vocational Curriculum
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This commentary is being provided to you as general information only and should not be taken as investment advice. The opinions expressed in these materials represent the personal views of the author(s). It is not investment research or a research recommendation, as it does not constitute substantive research or analysis. Any action that you take as a result of information contained in this document is ultimately your responsibility. Epsilon Theory will not accept liability for any loss or damage, including without limitation to any loss of profit, which may arise directly or indirectly from use of or reliance on such information. Consult your investment advisor before making any investment decisions. It must be noted, that no one can accurately predict the future of the market with certainty or guarantee future investment performance. Past performance is not a guarantee of future results. Statements in this communication are forward-looking statements. The forward-looking statements and other views expressed herein are as of the date of this publication. Actual future results or occurrences may differ significantly from those anticipated in any forward-looking statements, and there is no guarantee that any predictions will come to pass. The views expressed herein are subject to change at any time, due to numerous market and other factors. Epsilon Theory disclaims any obligation to update publicly or revise any forward-looking statements or views expressed herein. This information is neither an offer to sell nor a solicitation of any offer to buy any securities. This commentary has been prepared without regard to the individual financial circumstances and objectives of persons who receive it. Epsilon Theory recommends that investors independently evaluate particular investments and strategies, and encourages investors to seek the advice of a financial advisor. The appropriateness of a particular investment or strategy will depend on an investor’s individual circumstances and objectives.
There’s a shortage of plumbers, electricians, HVAC, skilled welders, carpenters, almost all the trades. These jobs will be little affected by AI and can’t be outsourced. By the time robots can climb into attics and do duct work, they’ll kill us all or keep us as pets. We still make a lot in this country and what we’ve made and imported needs to be kept running. Nobody needs to code or anything. Join the local union and apprentice. Here in Florida, we’re a right to work state, so not so much but really now, the “degree” pedigree is just such a false narrative as you Ben point out. There are millions of Jobs That Matter ™ we just need to point our youth that way. And train/retrain all those people who think the current occupant of 1600 Pennsylvania will get their jobs back to mine coal, or do drudgery in factories where immigrants didn’t steal their jobs or were outsourced, they’ve been automated.
What we need to teach young people, above all, is the profound realism that we’re basically pack animals, who are forced to interact in much larger social units. (ET even uses the word ‘pack!’) The dislocation, disillusionment, and unhappiness that come from having to deal with this great divide is the human condition.
Unfortunately, we’re biologically wired to really care only about those we’re personally connected to (historically shown to be at most 100 to 150 people, for most of us.) If you want to know why the larger society never seems to work, and why the most enduring and powerful units of organization always seem to be exploitative empires, this is why.
Education tries to turn the youth into good-boy and good-girl adherents of one religion and another, be they progressivism, conservatism, patriotism, capitalism, socialism, or any of the traditional religions. (And let’s face it, money in any form is arguably among the most successful of religions.) While this may be necessary under the circumstances (religion is what allows larger societies to survive and function, such as it is,) there is no long-term happiness at the end of the road, and an improvement in education typically furthers the power of the elites to exploit and destabilize the rest of society.
Most importantly, most of life’s key issues spring from this divide. A full human being must be able to face this reality head-on, to see with clear eyes, avoid being exploited, and, most of all, see through the nature of ‘success’ under this system and avoid being lured into pursuing it through exploitation. When enough of us truly understand, who knows, maybe someone will come up with a solution, some day.
For sure, the field of economics, the monastery with flexible devotional arrangements, will have to be changed!