Temple Worship

Some teacher friends and I were discussing what lessons we thought students would be drawing from this moment decades from now. And I think just now I'm coming up with the means of articulating it. We're nearing the end of an era in which assets were king, and the ownership of those assets was what really mattered. And this cult of asset ownership eclipsed other more ordinary ways to make a living, like working or building.

Supposedly, Calvin Coolidge said that he who builds a factory builds a temple, and those who work there worship there. It seems like a fairly crass assessment of who matters and who doesn't. I think the use of the world "build" matters, though, in that quote. For at the time Coolidge said that, many of the builders were still alive, or had not been out of the scene very long. Ford. Durant. Carnegie. Rockefeller. Some might view this group as a rogues gallery of corporate titans. And some of them (Ford comes to mind most prominently) espoused some odious views on human nature. They were builders, though, and made their fortunes through building something and then in large part owning that something. 

The last half century has been something different, though, in terms of wealth accumulation. It's more of a Jack Welch society of building shareholder value. Ownership of the assets are still key. But one doesn't need to build that asset. Just somehow own it. And then do what is necessary to maintain and build up its value. 

This ethos justifies the slashing of payroll costs and shutting of divisions. 

This ethos glorifies stock buybacks. 

This ethos rewards buying low and selling high. 

This ethos emphasizes short-run gains over long-run nimbleness. 

There are certainly builders in our economy. Many of them lead enterprises that, though successful, are too humble to garner much attention. And those builders who are prominent, such as Bill Gates, stick out as somewhat unusual compared to their peers-in-wealth. More philanthropic than most. And more focused on affairs that will outlive themselves.

But those builders aren't in this highest corridors of power. Those who worship at the temple of asset ownership reside there, and rule there, and write the rules to keep themselves in positions of wealth and prominence. And we continue to overlook the things that matter that will outlive ourselves.