The Economy Is Important Because

Published on Nov 2, 2025, filed under philosophy, politics. (Share this post, e.g., on Mastodon.)

The economy is important because we don’t care enough about one another and our environment.

If we did, we would figure out how to treat each other well, how to grow individually and collectively, and how to take care of our environment in the process. With or without “the economy.”

Instead, we’ve focused so much on property and trade and money and economics and got so accustomed to money as something we can exchange into anything we want, that we've forgotten both what we need (like healthy communities and a healthy environment) and that alternatives exist.

With property, trade, money, economics having long been ubiquitous and all everyone ever worries and talks about, we have nearly fully alienated ourselves from each other.

Add to this our crisis of trust and truth, and we end up with a vicious circle: Because we’re increasingly alienated from each other, we find even more solace in money as the means to exchange it into anything we need or think we need.

The world is literally heating up in consequence.

What’s the answer?

Let’s make sure everyone is being taken care of.

While this is still only part of the answer, I do submit and fundamentally believe that the answer, to our biggest challenges, is simple. The problem with it, the way I see it, is that it’s part of a dichotomy: Our challenges are both simple and complicated. While this is useful insight that is easy to miss, the dichotomy will still not make it easy for us to effect change.

About Me

I’m Jens (long: Jens Oliver Meiert), and I’m an engineering lead, guerrilla philosopher, and indie publisher. I’ve worked as a technical lead and engineering manager at various companies (e.g., Google); I’m an active web and tool developer (code optimization, digital defense), a contributor to web standards (like HTML, CSS, WCAG), and a book author (O’Reilly, Frontend Dogma).

I love trying things—in web development and engineering management, but also in politics and philosophy, where I hold to one idea in particular: that we can only be well if we take good care of everyone. Here on meiert.com I talk about some of my perspectives and experiences. (Please share feedback: Interpret charitably, keep it friendly, but do be critical.)