Business

I once heard it said that, in the given economic system, if something that needs to be done cannot generate a profit, it will be left undone, while if something that does not need to be done can generate a profit, labor will be invested in the effort. I’m certain more studious minds will compile a substantial list of things that need doing left undone, but the example I think of is the preserving of the great barrier reef.

This is not to say there are no people willing to preserve the great barrier reef. There are plenty and they are working on it now. How do these people get financing for their efforts? Who pays them to preserve the great barrier reef? I’d presume most people involved in such an effort don’t do it for the money, but they need money none-the-less. Eating, in our economic system, is tied directly to money. And these nerds who know how to preserve the great barrier reef but don’t know how to command a market are fortunate enough to get enough to eat. These jobs, it seems, require government grants and private donations, perhaps funding from academic institutions, different kinds of welfare for jobs important yet unfortunate enough to not have a product to sell on the market.

What if these people were employed by the great barrier reef itself? Why not think of the great barrier reef as a corporation? GBR Corp. A corporation is awarded certain rights of persons. Why should the great barrier reef not be awarded the rights of a corporation?

It seems, in order to enjoy the right to exist, persons and objects of nature must justify themselves as businesses.

We could qualify the contribution of GBR Corp. to our ecosystem in terms of economic value, like a business. What does GBR Corp. produce? This product cannot be defined by it’s value to all those non-human things that depend on it. The economy is unconcerned with the existence or the quality of existence of non-human things. Further, it’s not interested in the existence or quality of existence of human things. The product of GBR Corp. must be defined as something that contributes value to an abstract system called the economy. Once we clearly define the product of GBR Corp. we then, through a purely linguistic process (why not? The economy is composed of words) quantify the revenue generated by GBR Corp. We tax GBR Corp.’s revenue, however the great barrier reef gets out of paying any taxes. GBR Corp. hires lobbyists and buys politicians to create tax loop holes. It sets up a Swiss bank account. GBR Corp. of course, hires human accountants and lawyers on its behalf.

GBR Corp., thus generating an income, could, under a board of directors, begin competing with lesser coral reef systems. GBR Corp. would buy smaller reef systems operating in different territories. Of course, it would make sure to keep some competition alive, so as not to become a monopoly. GBR Corp. and it’s competition would sell its product at the exact same price, conveniently.

GBR Corp. would not need to worry about being preserved. If it seemed to be failing, the government would bail it out saying, “the great barrier reef is too big to fail.”

I work for a country club. I have a boss. He also works for the country club. I have met my boss. I have never met the country club.

I work for the country club eight hours every day, with only every other weekend off. I am part of one of the departments that work to maintain the operation of the country club. Each department has a specific task necessary for the maintenance of the country club. My department is tasked with maintaining the grounds; we are landscapers. When I was hired, my boss told me, “Here, we believe details on details make perfection.” In the lunch room, there is a poster on the wall, on which is written, “When a member asks for something, there are three right answers. Absolutely! Can Do! My pleasure!”. No effort is spared in the effort to preserve, to perfection, the country club. Gallons of gasoline fill the lawnmowers. Gallons of water are poured upon the grass. The grass is constantly maintained at the ideal height, day after day the grass is cut so as to not exceed this height. Weeds are killed so as to not steal the grass’s resources and pervert the view. I have sprayed cyan weed killer on bright yellow dandelions while bees, busy at work, tried to avoid me.

There is a fence around the grounds. One must pay $10,000 and be approved by vote in order to stand on these grounds.

In order to succeed as an artist, one must be one’s own brand. It’s not exactly a product that the artist produces. It’s an experience. Brands producing experiences. Experiences of what?

Proximity to the image.

When aliens observe us, I wonder if they note all the businesses.