The Problem with Problems: Solutions Real and Fake

To the degree that the primary task in life is resolving problems, there is enduring value in understanding the nature of problems if we seek real solutions.

The nature of problems is complex, so let’s start by breaking it down.

1. The definition of the problem defines what qualifies as solutions.
For example, if we define the problem as “we need ever larger quantities of energy to keep growing the economy,” then reducing our need for energy via efficiencies / rejecting “waste is growth” is not a solution; the only solution is to consume more coal and natural gas and build dozens of nuclear power plants.

2. In my most recent book (Investing In Revolution), I suggest that the most threatening problems are unrecognized, as if they don’t exist: we don’t see moral decay “for what it is”–systemically fatal–because our unquestioned assumption is “all problems can be fixed by technology, market forces or government policy”–all technocratic “solutions.” That none of these recognize moral decay as a problem is itself unrecognized as a problem.

So how do we “solve” problems we don’t even recognize as problems? The answer is that we can’t until we undergo a profound re-examination of what we understand as fundamental sources of “problems.”

Put another way–how to do come to recognize a problem for what it truly is, and how do we understand the nature of the problem? If we don’t understand these, then how can we resolve problems?

I see these as scale-invariant qualities, meaning they apply to problems in our individual lives, our relationships, our organizations, our societies and our economies.

3. Problems are on a spectrum of solvability. As correspondent Bruce H. recently posted, one example is reducing a high rate of child mortality–solvable with well-established interventions and policies–and what Bruce called the predicament of eventual death, which can only be delayed.

In other words, some circumstances we view as problems cannot be “solved” in the sense of being eliminated, they can only be remediated; these solutions are contingent and temporary rather than durable.

4. Major increases in general wealth, comfort and convenience shift what we once viewed as inconveniences to problems demanding solutions. Conversely, decreases in our standard of living / quality of life push what were once inconveniences into pressing problems.

One analogy is air travel. As air travel expanded to serve the general public, the mass expansion exceeded the system’s capacity, turning what were minor inconveniences into structural problems. These are problems of rising prosperity.

Should a lengthy recession drastically reduce the public’s ability to afford leisure air travel, flights are cut back and smaller airports are closed for financial reasons, generating pressing problems for those who no longer have ready access to an airport. These are problems of declining prosperity.

Resources available to address problems increase in good times and shrink in times of decay. This complicates solving problems, as resources are squandered/misallocated in good times and insufficient in bad times.

5. Those holding hammers define problems as “things that can be flattened,” while those holding saws see problems as “things that can be cut.” In other words, the tools we have in hand define the problem because we recoil at the prospect that we don’t have the tools needed so solve problems.

These are part of the unquestioned assumptions we make about problems and solutions that allow us to see everything as solvable with whatever is easy and doesn’t require sacrifices or put our security at risk.

6. Those doing well in the status quo seek to preserve the current arrangement by tossing those with grievances bones that don’t threaten the status quo. These fake solutions come in various flavors: virtue-signaling programs with limited actual impact, commissions that will come up with solutions (”we have top people working on this, top people”), grand pronouncements of initiatives that are soon watered down, and so on.

These fake solutions are “real solutions” to the status quo because they preserve the system that’s benefiting those gaining ground. But they are recognized as fake solutions by those losing ground, who then attempt to change the system by changing leadership and political parties.

But since the status quo is a network that is only tangentially exposed to political influence, systemic problems such as soaring wealth-income inequality go unaddressed. Some hand-wringing and empty calls to action are displayed for public consumption, and then the top 10% return to business as usual.

7. Our unquestioned assumptions create “no-fly zones” that preclude recognizing problems as unsolvable with the current mindset, values, organizations and tools. In other words, we only recognize problems that we see as easily solvable with what’s already in hand that doesn’t threaten our security.

This explains the popularity of “solutions” that don’t demand anything of us beyond compliance: monetary and financial reforms, policy tweaks, etc. We’re enthusiastic about solutions that are top-down abstractions because we reckon they won’t require any sacrifices: stablecoins will save the system as-is, without us having to do anything.

8. Fake solutions and artifices have been normalized as part of Ultra-Processed Life, what I call Anti-Progress, claims of Progress masking decay and decline. The net result is we readily accept fake solutions as if they’re actually real solutions because this is easier for everyone involved.

But real problems aren’t actually resolved with fake solutions. This is like an unhappy couple agreeing to act like they’re happy together in public, as if this is a solution to the underlying problems in their relationship. Artifice is not a real solution; it’s a facade behind which we hide from reality.

Real solutions tend to be difficult, demanding sacrifices and generating costly mistakes along the way as a necessary result of adaptive churn. Real solutions demand unvarnished honesty of the sort that demolishes pretense, artifice and fake solutions, and so they’re passed over until there is no other option.

Unfortunately, there is a time factor in problems and solutions: left to fester, problems dynamically self-reinforce until they’re no longer solvable by any acceptable means, and solutions can only solve these problems within a window of time. Once this opportunity has lapsed, the solution that might have worked had it been embraced earlier will not work–and may even accelerate the slide to systemic collapse.

In summary, honesty is the foundation of all solutions: honesty in exposing our self-interest and in examining the blind spots of our assumptions, honesty in appraising the sources of our problems, listening honestly to others rather than rushing to reject their point of view/analysis, and facing the difficulties of real solutions head-on.

https://charleshughsmith.substack.com/p/the-problem-with-problems-solutions