Sunday, March 22, 2015

Wall Street & Capitalism

     In Karen Ho's first two chapters she talks about "smartness" on Wall Street and the phenomenon of Wall Street hunting down the "best and brightest" from the top ivy league schools. That is an interesting concept, because there had been research that reveals that stock trading and investment brokering doesn't really have any aspect of skill involved in it. Those who say that their rates of success are better than anyone are mostly working with biases that make it seem like they make better investments.
     Those findings paint an interesting picture of Wall Street, making it seem like a profound waste of brain power, in my opinion. I think that this massive convergence of undeniably smart people on Wall Street is a product of the capitalist urge for self-advancement. The need for those who come to Wall Street from a top tier school to "live the lifestyle" just shows how there are so many things that influence success on Wall Street other than smarts. The clothing and strut of Wall Street executives are just accessories, the same as their degrees from prestigious institutions are accessories that are meant to lead them to the capitalistic ideal, a posh Wall Street job.
     The cutthroat nature of the Wall Street positions is another representation of how capitalism has created this flawed ideal of ultimate career success. People are being told to work harder and longer, when it is actually revealed that the work they do is of little consequence. They are meant to give the perception of very hard work, mostly so they can get their big payout. Then these people are so expendable when the economy takes a downturn, further cementing the idea that Wall Street is an extreme waste of brain power.

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