Wealth creation isn't as elusive or evil as it's often made out to be.
The stereotypical greedy, fat-cat capitalist doesn't align with the growing conscious capitalism movement and impact being made by young, eager entrepreneurs. Such individuals understand that wealth creation isn't limited—there is no fixed pie.
Three things create wealth: creativity, complexity, and free trade, according to Bill Whittle, a political commentator, blogger and capitalist. And, the only thing stopping this is the government.
“We believe that wealth can be created out of thin air,” Whittle said in this video elaborating on the concept of wealth. “That people can—through creativity, invention, and hard work—can essentially create new wealth virtually out of nothing.”
Simply put, wealth isn’t necessarily having money to burn in your pocket. Merely having money doesn’t mean you have wealth because there is a lacking of creative and complex components that contribute to having an entrepreneurial, capitalist mindset.
Whittle compares this mindset and this ambition to create wealth between political progressives and conservatives. He concludes that the entire action of creating wealth is associated with being more innovative and not held down by common misconceptions of the “wealthy” people living in our society.
“The rich man with the car, the houses, and the Learjet is not a villain, at all.” Whittle said. “On the contrary, he’s a hero. Not a good man necessarily—that depends on the individual—but, his personal wealth is just a small percentage of the much larger wealth that he has produced.”
Wealth is created, directly and indirectly, Whittle explained. Working in fields that require creativity to navigate complex issues provide individuals the ability to create wealth for not only themselves but for their employers and clients. Critically thinking and coming up with new processes or ideas that could better a person, a firm, or even an industry is wealth far from the physical restraints of currency.
Even in a position that doesn’t require that much creativity can still be a wealth generating endeavor. Whittle described his first experience as an office temp in an insurance company. He was placed against a brick wall, was paid $7.50 per hour, and had to confirm payments made and received by clients all by hand. He justified this menial work as a means to make his company slightly wealthier than they were as he also generated wealth—a paycheck and job experience—for himself.
“What I had done was: I had added a just a little to the complexity of the entire world,” Whittle said. “Therefore, I added a little bit of value because—this is important—crosschecked and confirmed list was more valuable than one that wasn’t.”
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