This morning (Sunday) started with a red fox walking across the backyard. In preparation for Thanksgiving, I shall be making an apple crisp to take to New Glasgow. The apples from Paradise arrived on our doorstep, courtesy of Sinead, who, with Rob, purchased Andrew’s farm and orchard on Highway #201.
On Friday, Heather decided to cash in a gift card from her Dad, at Winners in New Minas. This proved to be a cultural shift from the stores in Middleton. In characteristic fashion, I browsed the books on sale; while Heather checked out clothing and furniture.
I found two relevant texts at bargain prices.
Mark Carney’s, Value(s) Building a Better World for All.
Malcolm Gladwell’s, Revenge of the Tipping Point.
I started with the Carney tome (600 pages). Obviously, my interest was the values espoused by our Prime Minister.
It started out well (p.3) with a parable by Pope Francis.
Our meal will be accompanied by wine. Now wine is many things. It has bouquet, colour and richness of taste that all complement the food. It has alcohol that can enliven the mind. Wine enriches all of our senses. At the end of the feast, we have grappa. Grappa is one thing: alcohol. Grappa is wine distilled.
He continued:
Humanity is many things -passionate, curious, rational, altruistic, creative, self-interested. But the market is one thing: self-interested. The market is humanity distilled.
And then he challenged us.
Your job is to turn grappa back into wine, to turn the market back into humanity. This isn’t theology. This is reality. This is truth.
By page 20, I was stuck on ‘ Perspectives of Value – Objective Value. I will try again after ‘Thanksgiving’.
References
Mark Carney, 2021, Value (s): Building a Better World for All, Penguin Random House.
Malcom Gladwell, 2024, Revenge of the Tipping Point, Little, Brown and Company.
Acknowledgements
Sinead for the apples from the orchard. John Stewart for the gift card. Edward and Heather for their contributions.
Ernest Blair Experiment 