Ancient Greeks believed in a time before time called the Golden Age, when humanity lived in harmony with the gods; a time when we were truly free, a time to which we must seek a return. Our purpose then, and that of the resources and tools we control, such as capital, is to help us find our way back to that period of ancient enlightenment, actualization, and freedom, as individuals and as a global community of humanity and Planet. Aristotle spoke of how all things in the world had a purpose, a teleos, and for centuries this idea was how we structured our understanding of purpose. Teleos is a relevant concept even regarding chaos, relativity and field theories given the nature of the entity is defined only in regard to its relation relative to other objects and, at a subatomic level, its being under observation. By extension, capital performs best when viewed relative to its context, its portfolio and market community; its nature is determined as a function of its relation to other entities. The value of capital is best appreciated when we understand it as simultaneously economic and social and environmental with each of these components, in turn, continuously interacting and intertwined. Value manifests in diverse and various ways but is always more than economic value alone. Capital is about more than money; it is about freedom.

— From The Gift of Fire by Jed Emerson

Join us for a Deep Dive member conversation with Jed Emerson, author of the The Purpose of Capital and the IE Magazine article, The Gift of Fire.

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Deep Dives are hour-long Zoom Meetings: Live Q&A Sessions (as opposed to our Zoom Webinars, where the audience is in View-Only Mode) between the author(s) or subjects of a Magazine article and our members. Be sure to read the article (ideally the guest’s book, The Purpose of Capital) in question and come bearing questions!

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