Last week I said, "Business relationships are built through market transactions using market currencies." I would like to extend that thought. Business relationships, market transactions, and market currencies were originally established to satisfy the needs of a community for basic consumable and durable goods; goods such as food, clothing, materials for housing/shelter, medicines, tools, etc. As quality of life seemed to improve by pooling resources via technology and specialization, individuals, families, and small tribes were suddenly no longer self-sufficient; the necessity of a market was born. Somewhere though in the evolution of the marketplace, it knotted itself, reversing the means and the ends in that originally the ends (a communal need for basic goods) was the driver behind the means (market transactions and market currencies), but today those same means not only drive the ends (consumer goods) but also define those ends by telling the consumer what goods and services are necessary; (or more accurately, telling us that all goods and services are necessary). In turn, over the centuries and millennia since the birth of the marketplace, we have slowly transitioned from 8 parts human / 2 parts consumer to 2 parts human / 8 parts consumer; (the numbers are illustrative and vary by individual, but from where I sit they seem, on the whole, pretty accurate). So market currencies not only dilute the human relationship (as noted last week), but they also dilute the human.

There are some that may not see the problem, and I guess that depends upon your perspective. If your Life goal is to accumulate stuff, there is no problem. ...I think there is a problem... it appears that the marketplace has brought us from human savage to civilized human to consumer drone. So what is next?

I ended last week's post with the following:

"The introduction of market currency changes Truth and cheapens Wisdom. In many arenas it will be difficult to stem the flow of market currencies, strengthen the viability of human currencies, and synergize the certainty of counterpart currencies, but as a starting point (and at the very least) we must know the difference."

It doesn't feel right (or practical) to suggest we turn the bus around, so once we are readily able to identify each currency and gain an awareness of the give-and-take amongst the varying currencies, how do we go about controlling, strengthening, and synergizing?

There appears to be no magic bullet (though I will continue to look), but as stated above it begins with education; we must learn (and teach) the differences between the currencies (market, human, and counterpart - see last week's post) so each individual can, in any given moment, know if they are a consumer (involved in a market transaction) or a human (participating in a human transaction). If we know our role we can then make a better-informed decision to continue or not, or to inject additional currency into the transaction. I believe when one has a choice, more often than not, one will choose to add human currency, thus strengthening human relationships. There is more potential for growth in a human transaction than there is in a market transaction.

One can determine the essence of a relationship (business or human) by carefully checking for the prevalence of market currencies. It sounds simple, but like Russian nested dolls some business relationships reside within human relationships which reside within higher order business relationships and on and on and on; and to further complicate matters, some business relationships paint on the face of a human relationship and then these painted-up hussies (and their gigolo counterparts) start procreating leaving behind superficial spawn that arouse feelings ranging from morbid curiosity to intoxicating attraction that confuse and bewitch to a point where Truth has changed and Wisdom has cheapened - Damn Dolls!

It is difficult to know the Truth of any relationship that deals in 'any' quantity of market currency. Last week I listed market currencies as "including money, power, influence, marketable goods and services transacted impersonally, policy and procedure, incentives, and consideration for the greater good." It is up to each individual to determine what is meant by 'any quantity of market currency.' How much influence or power is too much? How many rules before we begin to trip over them? If these layers of market currencies are relatively thin or few compared to the human currencies then perhaps it is predominantly a human relationship. The mistake we cannot make is to confuse words with actions; human currencies (identified last week as "including consideration for the individual, productive two-way communication, emotional interaction, trust, compassion, understanding, responsibility, respect, and goodwill") should trump pretty talk. If we study actions and behaviors to interpret the words (as I did in this post), and ask lots of questions from a fortified position of doubt and uncertainty, then we are less likely to be fooled by shallow rhetoric.

So to summarize: if we educate in order to recognize and understand the currencies by asking questions and studying behaviors, then one may identify the transaction or transactions (market or human), and from there better define the essence of the relationship (business or human) ... Right? ...maybe. (I know I am repeating myself) but as market currencies continue to evolve (specifically policy and procedure, incentives, power, and influence), it is more and more difficult to differentiate between market and human transactions.

I am in a quandary; lost amongst the Russian nested dolls, seemingly unable to stem their flow of procreation. The only suggested resolution I have come up with, and keep returning to, is education; and seeing it alongside the enormity of the global marketplace is (quite honestly) intimidating and discouraging. I can't just walk outside and poke Earth in the eye to get its attention, yet that is what this fells like.

Russian nested dolls, painted-up hussies and their gigolo, spawn of consumerism, poking Earth in the eye, a speeding bus; I have noticed that the greater my uncertainty and/or perceived weakness in the proposed resolution, the more I tend to use visual analogies to emphasize and clarify the problem; I guess in the active hope that others may better understand and work with me. So why not one more visual: if we do not stem the flow of market currencies soon, we may one day see (as suggested in the work of fiction 'Cloud Atlas' by David Mitchell) corporate logos on the wings of butterflies and advertising projected on the face of the moon. We already have temporary and permanent tattoos as advertising and parents attempting to sell the naming rights to their unborn children. I'm not sure which question is more relevant - Where will it stop? or; Will it stop? For me, the greatest tragedy is the current degradation and continued erosion of the human relationship and of the individual human.