Comment by spongebobstoes
8 months ago
i think it is romanticizing poverty. most poor people don't get the opportunity to do anything to excellence. survival takes precedence
I think it is also an inaccurate view of the world that most capable people drop their passions in pursuit of a career and monetary gain. not only that, but talent is multidimensional, and being a great engineer does not imply making great rice wine under different circumstances
poverty, and lack of social mobility, is largely a curse of wasted potential, not a silver lining of talent molded into artisanal goods
That's true. If you're African, your talent goes wasted. If you're British, the smartest guy ends up working on gov.uk for £40k/year. If you're American, the smartest guy ends up a billionaire.
The "more meaning" business is cope because as societies add more ability to excel, people of ability switch into economically rewarding activities at a high rate.
There's a nice middle where you can exploit them for positive externalities. In the past, through religion (many monks were undoubtedly great researchers) and today through a mediocre (but not awful) society.