Globalization has had adverse effects on Western society, impacting every facet of life, from jobs to social interactions. If a job or interaction can be codified, it means it can be outsourced, linked to the East, or automated through STEM fields. When any of these options become feasible, everything is inevitably devalued to sustain OPEX.
Take, for example, transactions and points of sale. Previously, I highlighted the difference between using a screen or self-checkout, an immigrant working at a donut shop, and receiving full-fledged service from a waiter at a restaurant.
The first two, more procedural transactions, are likely to rank low in terms of customer experience but may offer the perk of modest efficiency. More importantly, however, is the potential for an exceptional service experience that could come from the waiter. Although rare, it can sometimes be an extremely pleasant surprise.
I should point out that the employees at Apple all seem to be highly engaged, without the mundane soullessness I might encounter at the donut shop. Is there an English proficiency exam at Apple retail because my point hold’s true irrespective of race or creed there.
For many, a bastion of modern life is to STEM or codify every experience, to the point where people in the West run the chore to discern what is authentic or not. Consider the sheer volume of predictable encounters: emails and phone calls about packages from a supposed Saudi prince, a homeless person approaching on the street, or the routine lines and greetings everyone repeats. It makes the tip oriented door man appear to be the most human of all which is astonishing.
It completely eviscerates all encounters and interactions, as most codified interactions bombard the average person daily. This has dramatically reduced genuine, positive interactions, even in high-population-density areas. A great example of this was being in a metropolitan area on November 5th, where people could only truly express how they felt in safe spaces or on social media.
Western society has now acclimated itself, through globalization, to a form of collectivism, normalizing behavior akin to that of an NPC (non-playable character).
Taking this a step further, consider the expression, “Don’t hate the player, hate the game.” I genuinely believe most people do hate the game because they lack the awareness or wherewithal to recognize when not to act like an NPC.
In 2024, the real winners will be those who are pure of heart. That’s right, I said it—“pure of heart.” What does that mean? First and foremost, it means having the nuance to avoid being codified and acting without ulterior motives - genuine and sincere.
It is those who are genuine and sincere—qualities that are so rare these days—that will reap the benefits of divine multiplication, or in other words, scale. A scale that is unconditional or exponential, and that doesn’t feel so “NPC” and globalized.