Reconsidering the 'pointless' expense and care of pets as a radical affirmation that some things matter precisely because they serve no economic purpose.
Hodja's parables often feature economically nonsensical decisions—searching for his lost keys under the lamppost because the light is better there, or teaching his fish to swim in milk. Companion animals represent the ultimate 'useless' expense in capitalist terms: they produce nothing, consume resources, and require time we could monetize. Yet most pet owners wouldn't trade them for anything. This concept invites examination of what our companion animals teach us about value beyond utility. In Hodja's playful tradition, the 'useless' animal becomes supremely useful precisely by refusing to be useful. Pets teach that meaning-making includes non-productive devotion, that joy doesn't require ROI, that love expressed through daily care is its own economy. The examined joyful life with pets challenges our internalized capitalism, revealing that we hunger for relationships based on presence and affection rather than utility. By keeping useless companions, we vote daily for a different way of valuing.
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