Is the world we live in today turning everyone into a merchant?

This an the idea that I’ve been pondering since reading ‘Shibumi’, where author Trevanian so eloquently suggests that we are a society of merchants, where everything has a price and a good man is one who bargains well. (Trevanian., 2011)

What are the implications of this on our ability to live, survive, or perhaps even thrive? You need to sell something. You need to sell your art, you need to sell your time, you need to sell your brain power, you need to sell your life force, and you need to sell your energy.

My issue is not with working, this is a necessity because without working we would go hungry. I’m not referring to some quasi-spiritual ‘awakening’ where society has a collective epiphany that we need to relinquish all our responsibilities in life and chase every new idea that comes into our head. Let us not nurse infantilization! Rather, I’m proposing that as a society we are making a large category error. We have placed something important (our direct quality of life) low on our list of priorities, while elevating something of slightly lesser importance (the specific means by which we gain our quality of life) abnormally high - and more often than not it seems to be the entire list. In short, we are confusing the ends with the means to reaching those ends.

As a pianist, I have been immersed, since I was very young in an occupation that, by its nature, is creative. I believe that peoples’ creative output can convey the truth of life and the nature of being. When I hear a beautiful piece of music - I get chills as if in the presence of the numinous. In that moment I feel a connection with something other-worldly and greater than the sum of its parts.

In the Mysticism of Sound and Music, Hazrat Inayat Khan said, “Someday music will be the means of expressing universal religion. Time is wanted for this but there will come a day when music and its philosophy will become the religion of humanity.” (Inayat Khan, 1996)

The importance of creativity, even in the most seemingly mundane aspects of our lives, cannot be denied. However, I believe that this idea of our society being merely a society of merchants, endlessly chasing easy dollars and losing sight of more intangible forms of value is what stops us from not just creating a host of new forms of expression, art, science and culture - but indeed blocks us from the very experience of enjoyment in harder-to-quantify aspects of our lives.

Here’s a set of questions that I see posed to all of us more often. What is your brand? How do you market yourself? How do you stand apart? How many followers do you have? Who is your target audience, the demographics out there in need of the product of “you”?

Suddenly, human is no longer human, it is some sort of commodity.

With the rise of technology and all the good that it has brought it has also highlighted some fatal flaws in our society, and maybe even in human nature itself. Take for example the claim that Facebook & Social Media in general has made people more narcissistic. (Psychology Today, 2012). Now obviously Facebook cannot take ALL the blame - the buck stops with you. Social Media does help to facilitate narcissistic behaviour – that’s their entire business model. The monetisation of your personality. It facilitates the building of your brand, it facilitates turning your life and others into a highlight reel – in order to assist them to sell products and advertising space more effectively. But really, is this at all satisfying? Are you an image, a data-set to be mined, a product or commodity? Or are you a human, with complexity, goals and depth beyond the latest Buzzfeed quiz?

We glorify not success, but a superficial appearance of success. Human value is reduced to the size of your bank account and how many likes appear on your screen – nothing anymore that’s “real” or providing lasting satisfaction, after all it’s only points in a video game. I’ve noticed the change in people’s attitude towards those who have (money that is) and those who don’t – and more ironically between those that can successfully PRETEND to have, over those who genuinely do have it, but don’t flaunt it. It’s something of a snowball effect: the more money you have, the more you can build your brand. This leads to more money (through countless avenues). On the flip side, less money (and the extra time and resources that money offers), means that while you can still build your brand – it’ll take a lot more effort. You can still sell yourself, you can still be a commodity – but in this new market place there’s a strong feedback effect that’s working against you.

Some friends of mine were discussing these ideas recently at a late night bonfire-and-drinks event. One of them asked what success actually was. One of them summed it up nicely, “I believe; success is your level of satisfaction and contentment with your life and your journey.”

We can scoff or scowl or roll our eyes, but success can only be defined by ourselves in terms of our genuine interests. The meaning of life will be different to everyone – and it’s very unlikely to be directly related to a few toys you have acquired. This is the “Merchant” mentality at play – unlike an “Artisan”, “Artist” or “Craftsman” who seeks enjoyment in the production of real value (that then provides financial rewards as a happy side-effect) we seem to have been side tracked into being “Middlemen” – even debasing our OWN value & happiness so as to make a quick buck without thought to our other needs. It’s the attitude of the thoughtless spammer – rather than exerting minimal effort to create something of lasting value and appeal, to try and generate quick cash. And funnily enough – this very attitude, of parasitism of the creations of yourself and others, is far LESS profitable in the long run.

Now again, before I continue on with my rant about success, I’m in no way against having money, wanting money, working hard for money. If you don’t eat – you’ll discover how quickly all noble notions fly out the window. You’ll start to desperately hustle, scrambling for survival. It’s how our society is structured, and it’s how we must deal with the hand we are dealt when we enter the world. My reminder is simply that you are NOT a Merchant, and you’re not a PRODUCT, you don’t have to be, to be successful. You obviously should do what you need to, in order to survive. But try to remember you are a person, a human being – not just a can of soda in need of repackaging. You have dignity and that is free for all. You have passion, creativity, hopes and dreams. You have the ability for deep relationships that go beyond mere “likes” and followers on social media. So, keep creating! Keep your passion alive in what you do - because if you are reduced to a commodity a brand, with you as the merchant aren’t you really selling yourself short because you have debased your own value?

Every once in a while take a step away from thinking about how to Monetise and remember to Humanise. Humanise yourself and humanise others as well. Imagine if something you created or achieved generated no income - but instead simply inspired, transformed or gave hope to someone in need. Maybe you could gain something more valuable than any mere Merchant ever could.

Reference List:

Trevanian. (2011). Shibumi. London: Headline, p.65.

Inayat Khan (1996). The mysticism of sound and music. Boston: Shambhala.

Psychology Today. (2012). Is Social Media to Blame For the Rise In Narcissism?. [online] Available at: https://www.psychologytoday.com/blog/compassion-matters/201211/is-social-media-blame-the-rise-in-narcissism [Accessed 5 Jan. 2018].