Three months ago, I left my job at an international news corporation. The short version of why is that I wanted my life, including my work, to be more aligned with my principles.
I quit my job, but not my writing for Naked Capitalism, because here we have the freedom and the space to think. That is invaluable; that is why I ask you to continue supporting the site. (Hint: Go to the Tip Jar and give generously!)
Leaving my job was not an easy decision. I have a family and commitments, and the money was welcome. But is that all that matters?
Of course not. We all know that, but it is much more difficult to act on it. I’m trying. To some extent, I assume that most of our readership at Naked Capitalism is trying to act on that, too—that there are things more important than money.
We all have to make ends meet, and we all have different ways of approaching that challenge. We also have different financial circumstances, which is why we ask you to help us sustain this space with a contribution as small or as big as you are comfortable with.
To me, the future is exciting, yet a little uncertain. It is not the first time I’ve steered my life in a different direction, so I have a certain tranquility born of experience. I have also made some prior arrangements to make the landing easier.
But I don’t have a lot of savings, or a rich dad, or an inheritance waiting. Likewise, Naked Capitalism does not have big money behind it. We depend on your contributions to keep running. So please go to the Tip Jar to help all of us here keep doing our best for this community.
And I think it’s important that we do. What we all try to do here—both the writers and the commentariat—is to sharpen our understanding of the world and separate the wheat from the chaff.
I want to take this opportunity to apologize to the commentariat for not always replying to comments—even on my own articles. The time difference between my posting time and the sun’s cycle where I live makes it so that I’m usually on my way out for the day, and late to the party when I get back.
Back to how to separate the wheat from the chaff, I, in particular, try to take a metapolitical approach. Not only in the sense that Alain Badiou means it, as analyzing the level where collective mentality and popular consensus are created, but also in terms of the forces—power, resources, ideologies—that move public politics and geopolitics.
For example, a hypothesis that I started developing here through a series of articles is that much of what is happening in the U.S. can be attributed to the enrichment of a new elite. This is the Silicon Valley elite, who are now demanding a seat at the table and pushing their ideology.
I might not always be right; we are talking about things that in many cases are purposely hidden, and sometimes one has to be guided by an intuition that later gets either confirmed and refined or rejected. I appreciate your comments in helping with that very much. And I think that the above hypothesis is proving itself correct.
In this particular case, that new elite controls most of the online spaces where these discussions can happen, which means they end up controlling the discourse itself. Naked Capitalism does not fall into that category.
That’s why these conversations can happen here. And that’s why it is important that we continue them, with your help. So please, remember to stop at the donation page and dig deep to preserve this vital enterprise.
As for me, Naked Capitalism does not still pay my rent, so I will continue lighting a cigar from time to time on your behalf.
By
