Jerry asks: “You say
that you rejected the stock market because investment would be too risky. Why
wouldn't contributing to the exploitation of labor or worse perhaps, gaining
materially from the exploitation of labor be a reason for not investing?”
Two reasons for saying what I did: First, I was trying not to pontificate and
sound self-important; Second, because I was aware that any participation in
capitalist investment implicates one in the entire system, not just running a
sweat shop, as it were. Indeed, that is
very much the point of the extended example.
I struggle not to treat my apartment merely as an investment property. That means not charging the most I could, freely refunding a deposit at the last minute even though the little agreement I drafted says there will be a charge for last minute cancellations, advertising only in the NYRB and Harvard Magazine, and so forth. My goal is to break even, so that owning the apartment is not a drain on my personal finances. I think of the homes I have owned in much the same way. Leaving to one side the Paris apartment, I have bought, lived in, and sold five homes in my life, four houses and a condo. I have made money on two, lost money on two, and broken even on one. All in all, I think I am financially even. But this is my life, not a portfolio. It makes more sense to me to ask, In which have I been happiest? [or perhaps, in which did I do my best work?]
6 comments:
Sorry, Professor, for the misunderstanding. My apologies. Anyway, I wouldn't have considered it some ethical breech; I was more curious about how someone who knows capitalist exploitation inside and out dealt with these sorts of problems that come our way. In this case in particular, those who have real jobs probably have an IRA or some such thing which may automatically may be managed by an investment managing company - and have no choice in the matter. I haven't had to cross such bridges. It's a question I would ask any of my Marxist academic friends - again, not out of a gotcha motivation....simply as a ...how does one navigate these things. Thank you for your answer.
Okay, now that I read the blog carefully, I wish it hadn't broken off. And given S.W.'s comment, I shall place myself on the hot seat and invite critiques.
I currently live in a rather nice house which my wife and I had built. Expensive too, although I have never had a good income. My SS is about 1k per month so that ought to tell you something.
But, I lucked out: on three separate occasions in my life I about property to live in. Once a house and twice a condo. I never intended to sell these properties when I purchased them. On each occasion I thought, "This is it." And yet, in all three instances I sold the property (after the second time we moved to Italy) and each time I more than doubled my money. So 4 years ago I took all of the accumulation of those sales and built a house.
So I have wondered, am I a scoundrel? I didn't buy for investment; as I said I just lucked out. But at the same time, am I taking advantage of the vagaries of the housing market? I have never invested in the stock market given what to me are rather problematic aspects to it. So while my income is meager, I think I have lived a good life (to use SW's yardstick) and won....although covid may yet again push me to try for #4. Anyone?
I don't intend to criticize your life at all, Jerry and still less to maintain that mine is somehow ethically superior. However, for me a good life in a situation of systematic injustice is Che Guevara or Martin Luther King. If I'm not 24 hours a day struggling against injustice without worrying about my own personal safety, my career possibilities, my health, what I'm having for dinner, my need to spend a lot of time discussing big ideas and reading about them, having a good nap in the afternoon, I feel that I'm somehow complicit in that injustice. Since I'm not Che Guevara, I accept that I'm complicit in the system and try to avoid sermonizing others about their lives.
S.W. ...that is quite a standard....not sure anyone but the real heroes could measure up....I definitely, then, am not living the good life, despite my regular and capital directed kvetching.
Jerry Fresia,
We could talk all day and all night about what it means to live a good life and whether it's necessary or even good to be a hero. There's an article by Susan Wolf on moral saints and she wonders whether it's even good to be a moral saint and that could be applied to moral heroes to.
My main points are that I and most of us are complicit in the system, that I and most of us do not speak out every time we witness an injustice in our daily life and that I and most of us benefit from our relative privileges in many aspects of our daily lives. When I go to see a doctor paying for the visit instead of waiting weeks or months to see a doctor in the public health system, I'm certainly benefiting from my relative financial privilege. I even know people who could pay for a doctor, but who out of principle only receive medical care in the public health system in spite of the long waits and bureaucracy.
I could cite many other examples of instances where I'm complicit in the system or take advantage of relative privileges. I try not to preach or to cast the first stone or to set myself up as a model for others and on the other hand, I don't spend much time feeling guilty although I used to.
Thanks - that's interesting. I will add, in my (happy) experience, you were very reasonable in relation to the Paris apartment. (I have found a few other airbnb landlords to be like this, but in all these cases, they were people renting out rooms either in houses they lived in, or attached to the property they lived in. I wouldn't be surprised if that made a difference to people.)
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