Quality is a complex topic that deserves careful reflection. I feel like there is a general quality problem affecting services and products in those fields where there isn't competition, whether they are offered by a company, a freelancer, or the gov. For simplicity, in this article, we will define the outcome of such work as "Value Production" (VP).
I have recently developed a strong conviction: to dedicate my energies to creating VP of the highest possible quality, making the best use of my abilities. This includes investing time, money, and energy to constantly improve myself and, consequently, the VP I offer. I firmly believe that we should all contribute to society by offering the best possible VP.
However, as noble as this ideal may be, it is unthinkable that everyone shares this mindset.
The Role of Competition
One of the effects of capitalism is competition, which, in the best cases, has led to a gradual improvement of VP over the years. Imagine two companies, A and B, offering the same service. If company A manages to provide a significantly better service at a price equal to or lower than B's, and successfully promotes itself, company B is destined to fail unless it can raise the quality of its service to a level comparable to A's.
In theory, this mechanism should push every entity to constantly improve its offering. Consequently, the end consumer should benefit from ever-improving services and, ultimately, a better quality of life.
Unfortunately, this is not always true. There are situations where excellent products are supplanted by low-quality alternatives, as has been seen in sectors like fashion.
Let's focus, however, on the success stories. In the world of Information Technology (IT), for example, this model has worked well. The quality of services is continuously improving, and the technological advancement of recent years is proof of this. Although competition can become toxic and draining for individuals in the long term, if regulated and managed correctly, it remains a valid tool in today's society to ensure a progressive increase in the quality of VP.
Teaching in Italy an example
Quality in the field of education should be an absolute priority. Instead, today's Italian school system is obsolete and should be completely reformed. The majority of the population studies in public, compulsory schools. The idea of a public and compulsory school was excellent when the primary goal was to teach a largely illiterate population to read and write.
Today, however, public school has turned into a system that does not adequately prepare young people for life and the world of work, let alone to produce quality VP. With the recent introduction of advanced large language models (LLMs), the gap between technological progress and the quality level of our teachers and school system risks leading to disastrous results.
Currently, the teaching profession is poorly incentivized, often perceived as degrading, and poorly paid. Many of my IT teachers during my high school studies were people who, having failed to find a qualified role in the professional sector, had fallen back on teaching out of necessity.
In an ideal world, the role of a teacher would be filled by people motivated by a deep ethical code, eager to dedicate their lives to training the new generations. But the world doesn't work that way. It would be necessary to engineer and test new strategies to improve education, such as economic incentives and bonuses tied to student results, all based on the principle of competition.
Conclusion
Today, we are at a turning point. If critical sectors like education do not adapt quickly, we risk entering an era of decline, despite the extraordinary potential for progress available to us.
Studying and implementing strategies to create healthy and fair competition remains a valid way to improve Value Production.