I was just having a few random thoughts about AKMA's latest posting. Since I haven't followed the thread of the conversation very closely, I figured I'd spare him from writing on his comments and just waste my own space to think out loud.

Thought one: economists are not exclusively interested in financial/commercial dealings. This is quite tangential to any larger points being made, but I thought I should at least point out that economics, as I learned it, is concerned with man's preferences and decision making, or to put it another way, allocation of scarce resources. This can include how you choose to spend time, how you decide who to marry, or if you should marry, etc. Related to this is the fact that our non-commercial/financial selves are not entirely separable from our money spending selves, which maens that even "the market" has some reason to care about who we are in the non-commercial realm.

Thought two: I do think that american culture, on the whole, is guilty of financial reductionism. As Wordworth said, "getting and spending, we lay waste our powers." I don't know if there is an appropriate place to lay blame for this, or even if it would be fruitful to try to find out why it is the case. I'll leave that to the intellectually ambitious. But I do see few people in my circles who are content with their place in life. This includes me as well. Everyone seems to want more income, a "nicer" neighborhood (i.e. a different one, not to try to fix up their own), a newer car/truck/SUV, new gadgets (especially I've noticed lately people fixating on stereo equipment), and on and on. Also, as I picked up from Habits of the Heart, I see few people who think about the social/religious/moral consequences of their work. Of course many people are willing to criticize other people's work, but I can't recall hearing anyone say "I gave up tobacco farming bacuse I didn't want to participate in the cigarette industry/contribute to the lung cancer rate", or "I gave up my job in the entertainment industry because it seemed pointless/didn't contribute to anyone's well being." Now I'm sure there must be SOME people like this, but they are the exception who prove the rule. When it comes to work, people usually say if it's legal and moral and remunerative, I'll do it. Some leave out either of those first two.

Thought three: I had a third thought, but I rambled too long on thought two and forgot it. Maybe I'll remember it later.