“One must imagine Sisyphus happy” - Albert Camus
I do not think our society truly allows failure as an option. We stage interventions when markets, individuals, and businesses fail (leaving aside the failure of states). We talk about failure being essential and virtue signal about accepting it; but if you think deeply, how many individuals have genuinely experienced failure? By failure, I don’t mean losing your job or missing out on a desired position, but rather going all-in on an idea, giving it your everything, and still ultimately failing.
Market Failure
“Underlying most arguments against the free market is a lack of belief in freedom itself.” - Milton Friedman
I love free markets as much as any libertarian does. I believe that, somewhere in the last 50 years, the West has gradually forgotten the beauty of free markets and the value inherent in the absence of government intervention. Over time, governments have increasingly exercised their influence to control markets and intervene during times of economic collapse.
Today, we have governments that effectively insure against almost all financial and banking hazards. The last economic depression in the United States that did not result in substantial government intervention was the depression of 1920–21. It was sharp but brief, characterized by the Schumpeterian idea of “creative destruction,” which paved the way for genuine economic revitalization. Indeed, the subsequent decade—the Roaring Twenties—experienced such robust growth that historians have largely overlooked the depression that initiated it.
Historically, extensive government intervention during market downturns has often led to distorted market signals, increased inflationary pressures, and long-term economic inefficiencies. Market downturns, though painful in the short term, are essential mechanisms for intrinsic price discovery, correcting inefficiencies, and rectifying misallocation of resources, all of which ultimately benefit consumers over the long run.
Individual Failure
I do not think there exists a failed researcher or a failed entrepreneur. Both professionals require multiple attempts, most resulting in failure, before achieving success. Yet, our education system does not allow children to fail. We give participation trophies and shun kids when they struggle to grasp concepts. I do not think success is a shot you take, and hope it hits the target, but rather a gruelling, iterative process with multiple failures in between. As a society, we have grown extremely risk-averse. We’ve grown to take lesser risks, and are willing to settle, because the fear of failure deters us.
I wish to fail bigger and take bolder leaps. Rising up from those failures is where the true test of resilience lies.