With my new video release schedule, I can gradually consider ways to integrate this blog into my content creation mix. One approach is to update everyone on what's been happening with my wife; another is to discuss deeper insights into what I've read, as the material would be too abstract or boring for a YouTube video.
For this article, I have chosen to discuss different forms of capital as presented in the book "A Wealth of Well-Being" by Meir Statman. This book is not primarily about finance, but rather the broader issues that surround it.
On social media, someone commented that I am too cynical about women being attracted to economically resourceful men. He reasoned that most pairings occur in tertiary education when men have not yet started earning money, so there are some considerations for romantic love in modern society.
I rebutted the point fiercely. Why are ACS guys a hot property in the dating market? My reasoning is that women are not fools; human capital is the present value of income as yet unearned, so they are selective about the guys they date, strategicaly weighing the potential of mates they meet on Tinder or the latest dating app - this is a consideration of human capital rather than financial capital, even successful female executives want men who can at least eqaulise her earnings. I don't say this to mock any gender; Good research is seldom politically correct, but I think men need to up their game because making money via regular employment is getting harder by the day, thanks to AI adoption.
Social science research backs my point - in societies like the US, marriage rates within ethnic groups are low when the ratio of female to male incomes is high and approaches 1. When females earn as much as men, marriages become unnecessary. So, the marriage rates of Whites and Asians are high in the US. In contrast, the marriage rates are low among Hispanics and Blacks.
As such, it might be helpful to update ourselves on he latest four forms of capital we can consider from the book by Meir Statman.
Here are he four forms of capital :
a) Financial Capital
This refers to a person's wealth and income. This is easily quantified and is the most important. Having financial capital can improve well-being and might even be convertible into other forms of capital. It is the most critical form of capital.
b) Social Capital
Social capital is a measure of the power of personal networks. Even among lower-income groups, people can pool resources to assist in child rearing or engage in bulk purchases. For the elite, having the right doctor, lawyer, or accountant in your personal network can solve many problems of daily living.
c) Cultural Capital
I don't trust cultural capital because it is fickle. Your taste is a marker of your social class. I recall an ACS colleague reviewing my CV. He remarked that the paper I used was too flimsy; it should be printed on 80 gsm paper. It is the most irrelevant comment I have ever heard in my life - but on hindsight, he is so correct!
My cultural capital is not particularly high, as I'm basically an engineer who was admitted to the Bar. Cultural capital consists of behaviours and attitudes that make a person a part of an in-group. Sometimes, a person is simply not a cultural fit in a corporate environment because they don't dress the part. Two people, dressed in a shirt, pants, and a tie, yet one has the bearing of a commissioned financial advisor, and the other resembles a private banker.
d) Personal Capital
The idea of Personal Capital is new to me, as it has not been mentioned in the sociological texts I read in the past. Some aspects of capital are clearly personal - tall people tend to earn more money and are perceived as more convincing. Beautiful women enjoy privileges. Jade Rasif discussed being consistently chosen to play the role of the butterfly in school plays. This is also extended to ethnicity, gender and sexual orientation.
Some forms of capital are simply innate.
So, there you have it; there are many forms of capital. You need to recognise that some groups, such as IT professionals, have financial capital but low cultural capital, while some cool, hipster poets are the opposite. If anything, there is really no such thing as a broad middle class if we break capital into four different parts.
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