Good Name, Empty Hands

[slapper]

There's this idea in economics about the way countries used to have what they called "moral capital". Basically, their reputation as being good or neutral or humanitarian gave them actual protection in the world. And like, you could not simply bully them since they had this invisible protection in terms of respect and trust. And that shield is fading away too, and it is forcing me to reevaluate all the ways that value works.

ICRC cut thousands of jobs because the donor countries decided to spend money on weapons instead. The entire purpose of the organization was to help people in the war zones, and they've been doing it for over a century. And none of it made a difference when the money ran out. The moral capital that they'd built for generations couldn't pay salaries or fund operations. It just evaporated.

From this, I relized that I've been running the same calculation in my life all wrong. I've been developing reputation, good will, trust, expertise. All these intangible things that are supposed to protect you and create opportunities. And I still think they matter, but I'm starting to understand that they only matter as long as the other side values them. The second someone says your reputation isn't worth anything to them, it is worthless. You can be the most trusted person in your field, but your reputation goes down with it if the field ceases to exist or cease to be profitable.

This change occurs rapidly, ironically. One year, being known as reliable and ethical is your greatest asset. The next year fast and cheap is all anybody cares about. You didn't change. The world shifted its value system and suddenly all that you built is obsolete. People who spent decades cultivating respect and relationships getting passed over for people who just offer a better transaction right now. The long game ceased to work, but no one declared it.

If reputation and moral capital can simply disappear that fast, what is actually of value? Is it just raw leverage - to be able to walk away, the thing other people need that only you've got? Because that is cynical but it play out everywhere. The people with leverage end up getting what they want. The people with just reputation are squeezed until they either get leverage or go irrelevant.


The Ambassadors (Holbein), Hans Holbein the Younger, 1533

[Alpha Marine]

All that matters these days is who's got the money, power or authority. Nothing else matters. Values don't mean anything. There is no line people cant cross for what they want. People have no principles or guidelines anymore.
But I don't believe you have to be just like them to survive in this world. You can have values and principles and lines you cant cross and still be successful in that field. You may not be as successful as they are, but you're not in a competition with them.

My country had an election where the sitting candidate lost, and people expected him to fight because it was assumed that the election was rigged, but he didn't fight; he gently stepped down, and till this day, people call him weak, but not to me. There would have been so much bloodshed of innocence if he had decided to fight, and he doesn't want that on his conscience, and that is something I can respect, especially from a politician. He moved on to better things today simply because he held on to his values and never crossed the line he set for himself.
So we don't need to be the way society or the world sets for us, we can be different.

You can do things differently from the way the world expects of you. You might not win, but if it makes you feel better and have peace within, then it's worth it. Having a conscience doesn't make you a weak man; it makes you a human being.