In economics, surplus value refers to the difference between what is needed to produce something, and the additional value created by these efforts. One of the measures of adulthood, is the point at which we produce more value than we consume- emotionally, financially or otherwise. Simply put, are we a net contributor or not? It may depend on what the measuring stick is, but it seems to me to be a good way to tally the accounts of our lives. Net positive or net negative? Imagine the sense of regret and loss if at the end we do our math and find our lives to be in the negative column.
It has been suggested by some that a regular inventory be done: where have I been a positive, where less so? The problem with doing something like this on one’s own is that most of us, myself included, have a rather distorted view of ourselves. It is best to do these sorts of things with the help of someone else, since if we are negatively inclined, this could lead to a massive self-esteem mudfest, or, on the other side of the coin, a wildly deluded sense of entitlement. What we can do on our own though, is to make a regular weekly note of things we feel good about and things/people/events that trouble us. My experience has been if I am troubled, it is due to either fear of a possible future outcome, or less-than-perfect behavior on my part, such that I feel the need to blame some person/event/place instead of looking in the mirror.
It takes a certain sort of person to even care about the idea of their surplus value; as it is antithetical to the inner workings of some folks’ zero-sum worldview. Thankfully the world is not zero sum. One of the ways humans won out over the Neanderthals seems to be that we were better able to cooperate and share, while the stronger Neanderthals couldn’t quite crack that nut. On net, we humans have done rather well for ourselves, and it is in large part due to our ability to share our surplus value- in other words, to be virtuous, to help out, to listen and to understand that it is the goodwill of others that helps us more than us just looking out for ourselves. Of course, don’t be a martyr, don’t lead with the chin, take care of yourself and your family, and there will still be many opportunities to contribute. Even if this is just a smile, just a hello, it counts. As much as we admire her, we don’t all have the surplus of a Mackenzie Bezos, although she gets the gold star for adulting with money this year.
Onward and upward,
David
