Maybe I’ve just been around too long—or maybe I’m a grumbling oldster—but something important has changed in society, especially around wellness. After over forty years teaching in universities, I’ve noticed a subtle rewiring in learners. They’re more ambitious, but also somehow hollowerand less interesting.
Years ago, money mattered—but so did other things. Now, money—or the lack of it—seems to overwhelm everything, from personal conversations to national headlines. The business section used to be just one part of the news. Sports, local events, and culture felt more central. Now it’s all GDP, taxes, budgets, interest rates.
Mark Carney captured this shift well in his 2021 book Values: How to Fix Our Politics, Economics and Values. He writes:
“Values and value are related but distinct… Values represent the principles or standards of behavior… Value is the regard that something is held to deserve – the importance, worth or usefulness of something. Both are judgements. Increasingly, the value of something… is equated with its monetary value… The logic of buying and selling… increasingly governs the whole of life—from healthcare to education, public safety, and the environment.”
This macro shift—from values to value—captures the core change I’ve been noticing. Values are about relationships, wellness, ethics, and a sense of fairness. They help define what feels right. Value, on the other hand, is highly transactional—what’s in it for me? Will I be better off? Can I make a profit or will I prosper? It’s about monetizing almost everything: what’s this worth, can I gain financially from it?
Where values measure emotional merit, value asks how much. When values played a bigger role in daily life, we lived in a market economy—supply and demand mattered, yes, but so did other things. Prices existed, but we also considered morals and meaning.
Now, it feels like we’ve slid into a market society, where almost everything has a price tag. Self-interest dominates. The monetization of relationships, institutions, even identity, is overwhelming—and it's stripping away ethical, spiritual, and moral weight.
Donald Trump isn’t the only transactional figure—just the loudest. Unfortunately, he’s not unusual. This value-focused, monetized, selfish society isn’t just uncomfortable, it’s dangerous. Do your best to resist it and stay in a market economy and resist the urge to become part of a market society. Be mindful. Choose your relationships—and your values and what you value—carefully.
Note, inspired by Mark Carney’s book Values: How to fix our politics, economics and values: Building a Better World for All