Solved: Monoculture, How One Story Is Changing Everything- Book Review

Monoculture: The role of economic viability in work, education, and creativity

In the 2011 NCTE award-winning book Monoculture, penned by F. S. Michaels, the writer explores how disciplines are connected, changing everything from individual thought to a globalized group thought known as a monoculture. As human beings, our comprehension of the world has been aided by the telling of stories, and one of the stories that the author feels would revolutionize the world is the formation of a monoculture by narrowing down diversity. The author argues that everything that was construed as ethics and standards in society, including justice, freedom, truth, and beauty, has been replaced by economic values, including growth, competitiveness, capitalization, and efficiency. Through the argument made by the author about the crucial role that economics make in our lives, an exploration into how it affects education, work, and creativity will occur; additionally, textual evidence will be provided to support Michaels’s hypothesis, with me delving deep into the viability of the ideology.

Economy Role in our Daily Life

In our day-to-day lives, economics can be taken as a market where everyone trades something for another; within this system, a person may be the merchant or the buyer (Michaels 13). Additionally, economics follows the demand and supply trend, with aspects like competition, freedom of choice, information, relationships, and growth and life being a part of its nature (Michaels 16-17). It is from these claims that the author claims that economic principles have been integrated into our lives, affecting every independent area of our decision-making.

Economic Effect on Work. 

Economics principles state that workers must be economically justified in their position (Michaels 26). According to me, this exemplifies the role of a worker in an organization; the primary duty of a company to an employee is to get the most out of them at the least compensation possible. Arguably, this means taking the most out of their productivity as legally possible while paying them just enough to convince them to stay without shifting their allegiance to their competitors while not making them too comfortable to become financially independent of the company. Arguably, this has seen employers increase the number of hours employees work rather than employ other people and invest in ethical behavior towards the workers (Michaels 26-29). The effect of economics, regarding work, has permeated into the community to affect everyday decisions, from what career choice we make even to choosing marriage partners. It can, therefore, be seen that the economic situations surrounding us heavily influence work dynamics.

Economic Effect on Creativity.

The needs of society aid in driving innovative ideas. Take art, for example; with the explosion of Catholicism in the dark ages, so many pieces of art were introduced at that time; it represented the trend in society. Fast forward to the present, there has been an explosion in interior design needs, spurred by a burst of the middle-class workforce willing to pay for luxurious goods. Consequently, this has turned creative thinking into a venture, with the artist being just a small cog in today’s economic landscape (Michaels 102). These entrepreneurship tendencies in the art business spur creativity, rather than spontaneous inspiration and uniqueness, that marked the industry in the past. In the present time, when an artist picks up the brush, they do so to satisfy the customer’s needs. In conclusion, creativity is increasingly manifesting itself as a means to an end, the end being more economic stability for the painter rather than inspiration born out of originality and ingenuity.

Economic Effect on Education.

An examination of how the pursuit of knowledge has changed throughout the years will suffice to investigate how education has been affected by economics. Trends in job acquisition and payment have shifted learning inclinations over the years (Michaels 86). Career choice moved from pursuing a person’s ability to which career enables the person to retire to the Bahamas early. Therefore, economics can be viewed as having permeated the education system and choice of a career in the modern day to influence trends in career choices.

Summary

The needs of the masses shape the structures and shape of the society around us. In modern times, economic forces have carved how the world operates, affecting everybody’s life decisions. Arguably, this is evident in key areas of our life, including education, work, and creativity. It is, therefore, apparent that in regard to these areas, society can be said to be moving toward unified thought dynamics, making the globe a model for monocultures.

Works Cited

Michaels, F. Monoculture: How One Story Is Changing Everything. Red Clover, 2011.