Primary v. Secondary Industry

There is a lot being said these days about bringing back our nation’s lost glory. This causes me indigestion on multiple levels. Fortunately, two of them are easy to reconcile: I cannot agree with those who claim that America’s greatness never existed; and the accusation that it has been lost is another point of dispute for me — I believe our country is still the best place to be (and, if you have yet to book your one-way trip to Canada, you must share a similar thought).

The current iteration of the “We’re a Failed Country Full of Losers and Lunatics” crusade has become very robust. Not only does it involve politics and religion — two surefire hooks that are agreeably polarizing — it has a catchy name that has been in use since at least the days of Ronald Reagan (some credit Adolf Hitler with coining the concept), and an acronym that just rolls off the tongue.

And it’s so eminently versatile! Change the “G” to an “H”, or the “A” to any country or entity you favor, and you can enlist an entirely new cadre of followers, or disciples, or subjects, or dupes, or whatever you want to call the “True Believers” that jump onto the wagon.

(See how cunningly I phrased all that? You got the message without me having to use any of the taboo names or words. I’m so proud of myself… but should probably stop with this self-congratulatory trumpery before I start sounding too much like everyone’s favorite narcissist.)

Anyway, Susie and I used to regularly watch the noon news during lunch — it generally didn’t do much to improve our digestion, but did help us keep abreast of current events. We generally tried to switch up what channel we watched, in the hopes of getting a more balanced view and not becoming too indoctrinated with a single political viewpoint.

One of the segments — not long before we recognized that everyone was essentially saying the same thing and threw up our hands in surrender — discussed what the talking heads called “White Christian Nationalism.” I must confess that I was (and still am) somewhat confused about exactly what they meant (the presenters sounded perplexed as well), but one proclamation really struck a nerve: “Adhering to Christian Doctrine is what made America great.”

Don’t get me wrong: I was raised in a Christian household (Pop was an ordained minister), and have to this day a strong belief in an intelligence that far surpasses my own (a very low bar to be sure). And while I may not subscribe to the strict Biblical depiction of creation as described in Genesis, I do accept that there is an authority that is in some way involved in the majesty I see all around me.

(As an aside, if you want to read an elegant creation myth that literally smote my heart, I strongly recommend “The Music of the Ainur”: J.R.R. Tolkien’s version in the first chapter of The Silmarillion. I tried as hard as I could in Marker Bed, but my meager efforts fall dismally short of the beauty and poignancy of his prose.)

Anyway…while Christian Doctrine may have played a role in the advancement of the American Dream, I submit that there is at least one more contributing factor: exploitation of the abundant natural resources the immigrants found when they stepped onshore.

Industry is great stuff, and there are two fundamental types: Primary and Secondary. Primary Industry creates new wealth from raw materials given freely by the earth. This includes such activities as mining, petroleum extraction, logging, fishing, agriculture, even harvesting bat guano. If you get it free from the earth and can sell it to someone for some version of legal tender (or even illegal tender, as evidenced by the black market and conflict diamonds, to name only two), it’s Primary Industry.

In short, Primary Industry takes the bounty of the earth and converts it into money. A simple enough concept we can all understand.

Secondary Industry is everything else, and takes the raw materials and new wealth created by Primary Industry and moves it around the economy. Obvious examples include flipping burgers at your favorite fast-food joint, shelving books in a library, peddling black water at Starbucks, Internet influencers, hedge-fund managers… and countless other occupations in our increasingly service-oriented society.

Another simple concept.

Forgive the over-simplification but — in an admittedly purely judgmental analysis — those employed in Primary Industry are the good guys and productive contributors to our nation’s economic health, and the rest are leaches. As such, any who understand the differences would much rather find a way to call their line of work Primary.

Unfortunately, this can get a bit sticky. As in most studies involving the earth, there are those pesky grey areas that don’t easily fit into the major categories; e.g. the inter-tidal zone at the beach — is it a marine depositional environment, or terrestrial? In the case of Primary vs. Secondary Industries, there are all too many vocations that live on the edge, leading to some mighty ingenious interpretations of job titles and responsibilities.

Also on the cusp are many, if not most forms of manufacturing. Fell a tree and make a toothpick. Mine coal and use it to generate electricity. Extract metals and build a car. Pump oil, turn it into fuel and shove it into the gas tank, and drive to Grandma’s for Christmas dinner. These (and so many more) are definitely not Primary, but —IMHO — it seems to me that these sorts of activities should garner a bit more respect than slingin’ hash at Denny’s.

In my own life — as an exploration geologist involved in minerals — I tell myself that I am part of Primary Industry. But while that may be a mostly accurate and justified interpretation of my function, what about the time I spend in front of a classroom? Likely no hope for me there!

Possibly a more relevant example: In the above image, all would agree that serving up fries at Micky-D’s is Secondary Industry, but what about T-47’s gig as President? Are the economic maneuverings by the current occupant of the Oval Office generating new wealth, or is he simply moving what has already been created from one pocket to another? I leave it to you to answer this one for yourself…

Primary Industry has many pros, and a few obvious cons: sure, it can make us rich — both as an individual and a culture — but at what cost?

The positives can be very attractive. When the European settlers arrived, they found a relatively virgin landmass that was brimming with riches. What an opportunity! By the start of the serious migration, the “Old World” had been used and abused for millennia, and the availability of resources to support and extend the European superpowers’ dominance were severely depleted. But the “New World?” Essentially untouched and ready to be tapped.

The early colonists —motivated and sustained by their “Christian” values — were more than ready to develop North America’s wealth, and the new nation advanced rapidly as our forebearers converted the bounty of the earth into material goods to endow its burgeoning technological and social advancements.

But then we started to recognize some potential negatives — it has been suggested that only someone with a full belly has the time (and energy) to devote to social causes.

And the cons have continued to pop up in distressing numbers. Along with workers’ rights, health, and safety (and the expectation of a living wage), we have also developed an environmental consciousness that tells us we need to “Save the Earth,” and that any exploitation of the natural world is nothing short of the rape and pillage of our mother (the 5th Law of GeoFantasy notwithstanding).

Couple all that with the reality that our predecessors were VERY efficient at what they did, and by now America’s easily-won reserves of essentially everything are pretty much gone: the high-grade mineral deposits are already mined out; the old growth forests largely gone; the seas are no longer teeming with schools of yummy protein; the breadbasket of the world requires massive amounts of synthetic chemicals to remain productive.

Make no mistake, this country still has raw materials to draw upon; not all the trees are gone. There are still resources remaining, they are just harder to get and of lower quality. The short version in simple terms we can all understand: future generations will have to spend more to get less.

So, to complete the circle: While there are obviously a buttload of issues affecting the perceived status of our country, if you want to get a jump on making America great again, a good place to start would be to bring back Primary Industry and onshore manufacturing.

But this will also reintroduce concerns for worker safety, environmental degradation, water issues, and increase the cost of nearly everything. But the good news is — and to quote our oh so loquacious president — “I love the inflation”.

Whatever, these are the very issues that led us to move resource development and manufacturing offshore in the first place!

Yep, Primary Industry and manufacturing will help make us great again, but they will cost money. Lots and lots of money. Your money and mine. This may not cause lasting pain for the top 1%, but the rest of us may have to give up hoping for a free smartphone with a two-year plan.