One problem is that we tend to build our investment strategies on “quick returns” rather than patiently waiting for more valuable investments to mature over time. Financial capital gives us the quickest return, and so we tend to focus our investment strategies there. All the capitals above financial take longer to grow, but they are also more valuable and last longer. Spiritual capital, the most valuable capital, lasts forever. But it also takes the longest to grow.

 

Let’s think about the academic world. There, the capital of highest value is probably intellectual. Accumulating and passing on knowledge are seen as the highest good in the academic environment. We’re just guessing here, of course, but perhaps the order goes something like (what is shown on the shape “Shadow 5-Capitals; Academics”

 

The life you get when you invest in this order is a different kind of life from the one you get when you invest in the business world order. Spending vast amounts of money to get a Ph.D. is seen as a worthy investment, because intellectual capital is valued more highly than financial capital. But spiritual capital is again at the bottom, as Jesus is not taken seriously in the academic world as someone who has knowledge about life.

 

Excerpt From: Mike Breen & Ben Sternke. “Oikonomics.” iBooks.