Stiles/Market: The Market Curve

Another note in a series on Is the American Dream Killing You? by Paul Stiles.

Chapter Nine, “The Market Curve”

OK, I really have to scan in this one and show it to you.

It’s on page 240, and Mr. Stiles seriously thinks this is a helpful chart for showing us the relationship between the power of the market and the benefit to, um, affluent white people. Or something. Not only does he print this chart—and no, this is not one of those charts people show as an example of stupidity and dishonesty in the visual representation of data, or of lack of data, in this case—twice, but three times. This one, again on page 242, showing (with an American Flag symbol) how we are, you know, too far along the Market Curve, and then unbelievably again on page 246, this time showing how we ought to be on the top, right in the middle, with—I shit you not—a dotted line from where we are to where we want to be. It’s that easy! Just move to the left! Er, not that left, the Gdless left, but the, oh, the hell with it.

Note, by the way, that there is no data whatsoever in the book to show that the curve might actually look like that. Honestly, I have no idea what that data might look like, because I have no idea what he means by benefit, or for that matter power. And it’s an example of how much he’s pissed me off, because if you said to Your Humble Blogger, over a nice glass of port or a pastrami sandwich, that a market system can provide a lot of benefits to society, but that if the market grew too powerful, that it would be actually detrimental to society, and that it would lead to materialistic greed at the cost of ethical behaviour, Your Humble Blogger would undoubtedly say that you were totally right. In fact, let’s imagine this conversation:

Mr. S.: A market system can provide a lot of benefits to society, but when the market grows too powerful, it is actually detrimental to society, and it leads to materialistic greed at the cost of ethical behavior.
YHB: That’s totally right. Totally.
Mr. S.: It’s like there’s a, a, a curve, where it goes up—
YHB: Yes. You’re right.
Mr. S.: And then down.
YHB: Absolutely.
Mr. S.: Look (grabs a napkin and starts drawing)
YHB: I get it.
Mr. S.: And we should be here.
YHB: Yes, I get it.
Mr. S.: But we’re way over here.
YHB: I understand.
Mr. S.: And the liberals are pushing us to the right.
YHB: I—what?
Mr. S.: They’re, like, the stormtroopers. The stormtroopers of the Market.
YHB: Wait a minute—
Mr. S.: I’m writing a book about it!
YHB: I have to go now.

Sometimes you just have to sing along with Jim: “It's a valuable muscle/near the base of the spine/and I know I'd be sorry if I ever lost mine/but it stinks when you're always full of shit/all the time/cause you're an asshole”.

chazak, chazak, v’nitchazek,
-Vardibidian.