Fruits of labor
During the safety demonstration on a plane, they say that in the advent of loss of pressure, to secure your own mask before attempting to help others. As a parent, instinct may want to protect a child before taking care of the self but, being unconscious isn't helping anyone.
I find that in order to help the most people, one must be able to take the same approach as on the plane and help oneself first. And then, spiral outwards from there. If one is continually increasing their own skillset, opportunity and value and then taking some small percentage to help locally, it has more effect than giving all of oneself, all of the time with nothing to give, but time.
It is not that time is not important to give, it is likely the most valuable aspect but, if one is struggling to make ends meet and survive themselves, how much help can they be for another doing the same?
Of course, there are different approaches and ideas as to what is valuable but, it is not noble to suffer with nothing in a bid to help others as it is largely counter productive.
I often hear people talk of greedy rich people and yes, there are plenty of those but, the ones that I know personally far outstrip most others in their charitable activities and it isn't just paying their way. Most actively spend their free time helping out in numerous ways as they have the time to spare if they choose. And they choose.
They continually develop wealth but the percentage they spread to others increases also, as does its value. They also spend quite a lot of time doing business with others and encouraging more people to take part in the charities they are involved with. Perhaps it is in their best interests to do so but, does that matter?
The ones they help locally in turn help others who then help others. In time, the spiral starts to spread and even though the core of the spiral has the highest concentration of value, it goes much wider than someone on the edge trying to help with nothing in the tank.
With many such centers radiating outwards, eventually the waves of one will meet those of another and the lowest points will be able to get supported by several spirals. Some of those helped will actually benefit and grow greatly and are more likely to have a pay it forward approach in their future.
Of course, the problem is the human endless capacity for greed and rather than spend time building and sharing to help others build, it is building only. This is of course a shortsighted view that creates many unnecessary future conflicts.
There is also, the when is enough enough problem as once the building is started, it is very tempting to keep building and fall into the 'not yet' category, greed. This is why I think that everyone should put a little into charitable giving no matter the personal wealth. It need not be money, it could be a good conversation.
One of the problems at Steem I hear about is the 'circle jerk' issue where a group continually upvote themselves and keep the spread of wealth very narrow. It would be much more beneficial for the platform that these circles were spirals instead where the people who are getting the wealth distribution are themselves people who will distribute it on further.
This way, Steemit would be able to much better provide value for a wider and more diverse group and the ones that get the most, will also be the ones who give the most to the community through various revenue streams.
In the long-term, this would mean significant increases in value which means that the investment now is worth much more in the future. But, if the rewards are going to a very narrow group and that group is only holding without spreading or only selling Steem for other alt-coins, the value will remain relatively low and will not be attractive as a platform as a user and therefore, for investment potential either.
Personally, the higher my SP gets the wider I am spreading it and as it grows, I will keep finding ways to increase my value and the value of Steem. That would mean getting those others looking to really take the platform's future seriously and upvoting them to increase their value so they can find others to do the same.
It is not a race or a competition to accumulate the most, it is a process of building a community. We already have a world that has massive gaps in wealth, health and education, why would we want to build another one when we have a chance to do so much better?
Taraz
[ a Steem original ]
The spread of wealth seems like a global issue when in truth it is more closer to being an individual issue. Spread of wealth only becomes an issue when wealth in concentrated in a hands of a few individuals, otherwise spread of wealth would just be another statistic.
Of course the community can build some pressure on them to let some of it flow back into the quarters that need it the most but at the end of the day we need to make a personal decision. One day some of us might be in that position - so are we ready to deal with it?
People like to blame society but, it is all made up of individuals. Same with governments and faceless corporations. It is individuals who work together for the best and worst we as a species create.
What you speak is true, I have seen many cases where a group of people only vote themselves in articles, comments, they are free to do what they want, are their accounts. But unlike other people who create quality content, they often do not get anything.
Taking into account that to obtain a vote of 0.01 you have to have a lot of SP. For my part, I sometimes comment and give suggestions to new or newcomers so they can adapt a bit more to the community and I will continue to do so.
Current prices are very low but it only requires around 50 SP for a 0.01 cent vote. that is ~80 dollars US if buying-in howerver, it can be built relatively quickly if posting decent content regularly and continually powering it up. As prices raise of course, tat vote value will increase. Steem is quite 'easy' to get now but unfortunately, where most people fail is in their consistency. It is good that you help newcomers but, help yourself first. There is no better way in this community than to be able to support with an upvote of value to encourage people. I had a look at your own content, the last post was 10 days ago so, I can't even upvote you.
They always say during those First Aid recertifications that you must "check yourself" before you try to help others.
'check yourself, before you wreck others' ;)
Excellent reflection are not necessary great riches to give service and support others with acts of charity, not everything is to give money, you can give community service, moral support and thus contribute to a better society
@taraz, I agree with many of the points you'e made here, and I wholeheartedly agree that Steemit is not a race for accumulation of value.
I also take note of your observation of the generosity of wealthy people. I have seen such behavior on a continuum from selfish to generosity. I suppose it might not be fair to do so, but I find that the disposition of wealthy people in relation to others correlates well with public policy outcomes.
At least here in the United States, it's been fairly well documented that the average person has near zero influence in public policy outcomes, and that wealthy individuals and organizations have the most measurable, if not exclusive influence on public policy outcomes. I have also seen it well demonstrated that for the last 30-40 years, public policy decisions have had the effect of concentrating income at the top or, to put differently, to distribute income upward.
It is this long term trend of income distribution with public policy decisions permitting such distribution that, to me at least, indicates just how generous the wealthy are in America.
I am a long term believer in Steemit. It took me a long time figure out what to do here, and I think I've finally hit upon a direction and attitude that works for me. I have also seen that distribution of the reward pool has flattened a bit and will continue to do so.
As you can probably guess, I like to write. That is what I will do here on Steemit to build a following and be a part of this community. I will find other ways to create content as well, as I've been dreaming up ideas for videos, too.
I suppose my one biggest weakness is that distribution thing myself. I have been making a point to vote daily, vote often and look for content that I like and spread my votes around. I also want to comment more often, too.
I am aware of the circle jerk issue you describe and have seen well documented cases of that kind of behavior. My best response is to keep writing, keep posting, keep voting for content that I like. Over time, it will average out if everyone just did that.
Probably the most significant insight that I've learned about Steemit is that it's a gift economy. That one thing has brought about an enormous shift in my attitudes about writing and posting here, as well as voting. That alone has made it much easier for me to focus on quality, rather than quantity.
It is my hope that Steemit learns from the public policy mistakes that have brought such extreme inequality to the United States, and that it creates a genuine virtuous circle where participants can all prosper, together.
You make a good point about the wealthy being able to influence public policy in their favour which hints at them also being able to influence themselves to be in that position to do so. People also often forget that for many of the whales here, they were wealthy before steemit too.
As far as it goes that the policy is to shift mney upward, I agree except, it is the lowr reaches that facilitate it through consumption and ignorance of various systems in play. The system is set up to enslave but for the most part, it is a willing decision to be shackled. Many people spend a great deal of time watching sports yet have any excuse as to why they can't do this or have that. Personal responsibility should be at the core of everyone's value system yet, it isn't.
Steem is a kind of gift economy but, it is not a charity for the most part. There has to be reciprocity of some kind. A vote for good quality or an app update but, not just for showing up. Too many don't understand the system but still feel entitled to reward.
I am glad that you have it figured out.
Crazy thing is that despite given the chance to create a more equal society with this platform for instance, we'll probably make the same mistakes and empower just a few
Imagine a world where everything was equal from the start, how long until it is unequal again? I think that in time, inequality will always eventuate and will likely lead to institutionalised inequalities as some people will take power and some will release it until children are born with or without opportunity depending on the positions of their ancestors.
This is insightful, and I agree with your emphasis on building a community. I think that "spreading the wealth" can also help the community by encouraging good content. Through our upvotes, we can get good writers/posters seen by more people. This gives them a chance to become more successful on Steemit, but also to become more widely read in general. For writers, there's a satisfaction in just knowing that people want to read what you post!
People need to become a lot more proactive in their interactions here and really start learning how the system works. Good content just isn't enough as the platform requires development first.
That's a good point. Building a community is all about give and take, or supporting others and being supported.
There is an imbalance of wealth and correct in saying we need to spread it over a wider circle. If the circle jerks open their eyes they would benefit in the long run if the community was stronger. I don't think they care though as if you are up voting in a group you don't need anyone else.
Upvote this blog post https://steemit.com/christianity/@bible.com/verse-of-the-day-hebrews-4-16-nlt
Hello!
Great post!
As we say at home, what you sow, you'll reap