Author Archives: Ron Byrnes

I’m A Socialist

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Weight loss drugs inventor Lotte Bjerre Knudsen says proudly adding, “I don’t care that much about money.”

One two-part myth people in the (dis)United States ignorantly perpetuate about socialism is that it fails everywhere because it zaps people’s motivation to work. That absent economic incentives, people won’t achieve much of anything.

Ethnocentric capitalists maintain their collective ignorance of socialists, and socialism, by not knowing the Lotte Bjerre Knudsens of the world. Cue a recent LBK interview.

DER SPIEGEL: You have made Novo Nordisk Europe’s most valuable company, with a greater market capitalization than Daimler, Bayer, Lufthansa and BMW combined. Do you benefit financially?

Knudsen: I don’t care that much about money, I’m a socialist! Here in Scandinavia, we teach our children teamwork from an early age. It’s not about the individual. And that’s how I am too. I have never asked for a raise in 34 years.

DER SPIEGEL: You never got more money? Not even now?

Knudsen: Yes, of course. But I didn’t push. I can’t see that capitalism and money make people happy. At Novo Nordisk, I have always preferred to use my credibility to demand more funding for science, not more salary for myself. I also have no intellectual property rights. They belong to the company because I gave them up when I was employed.

I don’t care about money? It’s not about the individual? I can’t see that capitalism and money make people happy?

Holy blasphemy.

On Today’s Run

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I listened to Ezra Klein talk to Gloria Marks about her book,“Attention Span: A Groundbreaking Way to Restore Balance, Happiness, and Productivity”. Marks is a professor at UC Irvine.

I probably wasn’t paying close enough attention, but I was underwhelmed by Marks who confirmed Klein’s view that we’re easily distracted these days and how helpful walks in nature are to our paying attention and well-being more generally. Despite Klein’s borderline annoying earnestness, Mark’s came across as “All hat and no cattle.”

And let’s not rule out the very real possibility that I’m just jelly that I don’t have a remotely similar platform for my own peabrain ideas.

Maybe if I did a deeper dive into Mark’s work, I’d be more impressed, but having been around the academic block a few times, I suspect her academic profile is the result of two things—focusing exclusively on a highly relevant topic and mastering the art of self promotion. Do note the slick personal website.

Often, there’s a weak correlation between the intelligence and importance of a person’s writing/speaking and their relative popularity. It’s rarely, if ever, what you see is what you get.

I prefer more original writers/thinkers that cast wider nets, blur the lines between disciplines, and challenge my preconceived assumptions about things.

Paragraphs To Ponder

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The cost of living in New York City edition.

“As an environmental engineer, Michael Quinn is accustomed to making logical decisions. But two years ago, after getting divorced and selling the family house in White Plains, N.Y., he tried not to be so analytical.

‘I decided to listen to my heart and let that guide me,’ said Mr. Quinn, 56. Although he had never lived in the city, he took a chance on Manhattan and landed in a Murray Hill luxury building, paying $4,700 a month — which, after a year, rose to $4,850 — for a ‘flex’ one-bedroom with 850 square feet.”

The Church Is Up Against It

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Post pandemic congregants not returning to the pews. Evangelicals under Orange Jesus’s spell. Secularism running amok.

As if that’s not enough Oregon spanked Liberty 45-6 in the Fiesta Bowl. Add to that, today’s ESPN headline, “Grambling women beat College of Biblical Studies 159-18”.*

Don’t be surprised if historians point to the College of Biblical Studies loss as the church’s low point.

*Reminds me of one of the youngest’s middle school basketball games, which her team lost 49-7. “Dad,” she said afterwards, “we lost by the square root!”