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Business Lessons from the Hunger Games
Have you ever seen the Hunger Games? Or have you ever read any of the books? Over the Christmas holiday I decided to pick up the prequel to the Hunger Games. It’s called The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes. Now I did not read the Hunger Games trilogy, but just saw the movies – so this was my first time to actually read any of Susan Collins works. She is an excellent author, by the way. As I read the book, I found myself reflecting on the world that Collins paints. The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes takes place 64 years prior to the Hunger Games movie. They are 10-years removed from a great and terrible war. If you are familiar with the story, North America eventually becomes a country called Panem. This country has been divided into 13 districts. At the heart of it all is the Capitol. In the Capitol live the wealthy and powerful, and they are not too proud to parade their plenty, nor to exercise their power over everyone else. There are 12 districts which seem to go from decent to really bad the higher up the district number with District 1 having some measure of resources going all the way to District 12 in which you have very poor people barely able to feed themselves. In essence, the 12 districts all play different roles meant to support the extravagant lifestyles of the people that live in the Capitol.
18-year-old Coriolanus Snow is the main character of the book I read. He is the son of a general in the Army and his family is from “old money.” We see this character wrestle with his own ambition to be powerful vs. doing what is right for as many people as possible. Anyone who has seen 75-year-old President Snow in the Hunger Games movies can tell that selfish ambition won out. Some read this story or watch this movie and assume that the author is trying to condone a world of socialism or totalitarianism – that government is really just the powerful vs. the masses; the haves vs. the have nots. I have a very different set of takeaways, and I’d like to share them with you because I think our view of the world affects the way that we govern and the way that we do business.
There is a fundamental truth I think this book and this series highlight, and all my takeaways are applications of this truth in our world today. So here it is. It’s short and simple, but profound in its implications: power corrupts. You don’t have to read far in this book to discover that the world of Panem is not a place where people are thriving (with the exception of the Capitol that is). The bulk of them are actually miserable, and they often act like animals in a quest for self-preservation. We see this in multiple characters in this book – but we also see it in our own real-world experience. Each of us could recite a long list of historical figures who weren’t exactly good stewards of power. So if it is true that power corrupts, how does this affect the political and financial world we should try and cultivate? I have three applications of this truth.
Seek checks and balances in both government and business.
In the U.S. we live in a democratic republic. Ideally, this means that we the people elect other people from among them to faithfully represent our interests in the government. And we do not have a single branch of this government, but three, designed to help provide a system of accountability to one another. Does it work perfectly? Absolutely not. Does it work better than any other system of government yet attempted? I would say yes. But it’s not just government in which we need checks and balances but in business. None of us need carte blanch authority to do as we please. It’s just not good for our own hearts. Here are some of the checks and balances for businesses:
The customer. We live in a free-market society where people make their own choices as to whom they will do business with. If that business is not providing perceived value, they will not stay in business.
The shareholder. Whoever owns the business, whether they be many or few, have expectations for the business for profit. If you have lots of shareholders with lots of different expectations, this can prove to be challenging.
The Government. There are a host of regulations, granted, some of which are superfluous, to which every business must be accountable.
Accountability is good and we need to welcome it in order to keep our ambitions within their appropriate bounds.
Stimulate fair competition wherever possible.
In some ways, this competition acts as another check. Fair competition makes everyone better. It should raise the bar of products and services we are offering to others. In the Hunger Games, there is no competition. Industry exists to supply things for the government, and then the government shares the produce with the people (after taking a generous cut). There is no incentive for the Districts to produce for the Capitol other than fear of punishment. This does not motivate people to innovate. The Capitol also does a very inefficient job sharing the produce with the people. In our context, in order to have a chance for more people to thrive, we need more people in the marketplace providing something of value. If the playing field is level, this will be of benefit to the consumer as well as the business.
Cultivate rightly aimed incentive to stimulate human flourishing.
In a free market, your own good is only furthered by serving someone else. If you want to earn money to provide for your family, you must serve someone else by working in a job. When my 16-year-old son was much younger, he asked me “Why do we have to pay for things? Why can’t we all just take turns working at the grocery and just let people take what they need without having to worry about money?” I explained to him that if everyone in the word was selfless, if we thought about communal good before our own individual good, that would work. But the truth is we all think of ourselves first. Adam Smith referred to this as “self-interest.” It is the way we are wired. So the best way to help more people succeed is to create a system in which each person’s thriving is dependent upon another person’s thriving.
To go back to my kids – if I ask my daughter to do the dishes because she is a member of our family and this is a way to serve our family, she will do them (usually with not too much grumbling). But if I tell her that when she is done with the dishes, we can watch Survivor together, she will kick it into gear and be done with the dishes faster than on a typical night. Incentive kicks her performance up a notch. So we must look for ways to further policies in government and procedures in our businesses that provide people with incentive – not merely for self-interest, but for doing good to others.
There are thankfully over 4,000 banks in the United States with whom you can do business. We are one of those, and we specialize in working with people who are looking for an honest, relational, solutions-oriented financial partner. We work hard every day to set ourselves apart in the marketplace – to be a breath of fresh air in the world of finance. If you are looking for that kind of partner, we invite you to start your financial journey with us today by visiting foundationbank.org.
If you’ve found this podcast to be a good use of your time, we hope you’ll subscribe to it in your favorite podcast app and share it on social media. Until our next episode, may the Lord bless you and keep you.
-President Chad P. Wilson, CFP
Today’s episode of “Money Matters” was written and recorded by President Chad P. Wilson of McKenzie Banking Company / Foundation Bank on January 16, 2024. This episode does not constitute financial advice. Please consult a financial professional to discuss your specific needs. Any rates mentioned are subject to change and are accurate as of the recording date. MBC/Foundation Bank is an Equal Housing Lender, Member FDIC.
