One saying we hear all the time is “the proof is in the pudding.” I’ve always hated that saying. It takes different sets of skills to come up with valuable thought from what it takes to be financially successful.
By this standard, nothing stands to be gained from Nicola Tesla, William Blake or Karl Marx, because they were poor. By this standard, nothing stands to be gained from Thomas Edison or Friedrich Nietzsche because they went insane. By that standard, nothing stands to be gained from Socrates, Mohammad or Thomas Jefferson because they were pedophiles. By that standard, nothing stands to be gained from Bill Gates or Donald Trump because they have narcissistic personality disorder.
Intellectual pursuits require a completely different approach from what business requires. I respect business; I want more people in business to respect intellectual pursuits. One of my best friends is a successful businessman as well as an intellectual. He is the proof that business and intellectuality do not have to be things hostile to one another.
In my life, I was financially successful at some times and not at others. When I was not financially successful I did not bum around; I did meaningful work. I put a vast effort into understanding all sorts of issues impacting upon all sorts of people and analyzing these issues. This is a greater contribution than I would have done if I had stayed in computer industry. There are many people who can program computers; there are not many people who can come up with the kinds of insights that I have come up with or write the kind of poetry that I can write.
No, I do not need to have millions of dollars to have valuable things to say. I stand not on credibility but on sensibility. I don’t stand on my credentials; I stand on merits of my thought. The proof is in what I understand and communicate. And it is understanding that many people could find useful.
Sometimes original contributions are not immediately rewarded monetarily. Most new ideas take time to mature. An innovator does not always get compensated for the work that he does. Other people make money from his contributions later on down the road. I do not place copyright on my ideas; if others find them useful they are free to use them. Pudding gets produced whether or not I get to eat it myself.
I don’t write about how to be financially successful, although I’ve been that at some points in my life. I write social and political analysis. Having that kind of insight is independent of how much money I have in the bank. I do not have ill will to people driven by money. I have good will to people driven by intellect.
America does not need more money than it has now. What it does need is more intelligence. And in attaining this intelligence I do more for America than I would have if I had been driven by money.