Quotes by F.S. Michaels

When you conform to the monocultures version of who you are and what the world is like, you lose your freedom along with your ability to be truly innovative in terms of your own life. Being able to draw on many different stories, not just the economic one, allows you to creatively and authentically meet the challenges that face you in your life. The monoculture, determinedly single-minded, insists that economic values and assumptions can be used to solve your problems, whether those problems are spiritual, political, intellectual, or relational.

According to the economic story, youre free to enter and exit the world of markets as you please. As a buyer, youre free to choose whether to buy something or not. If you want something and can afford to pay for it, its yours. If nothing pleases you, you can vote with your dollar and buy nothing. In practice, if youre less mobile than others in the world of markets somehow, perhaps because youre a child or a senior, or are poor, or have learning disabilities or mental health issues, you dont have the same access to the market as others do who are more independent Instead, youll likely find it hard to identify your choices and make the best choice, which you need to be able to do for the market to operate efficiently, or you may not have enough money to enter the market to begin with. Sometimes your best choice isnt much of a choice at all; if your two options are to starve or to buy bread at extortion rates from the only seller in town, your freedom to enter or exit the market doesnt amount to much.