In some way, early retirees or even semi-retirees short-circuit the rules of the career capital theory by simply decreasing their reliance to the market exchange economy itself. By doing so, they are less affected to the law of supply and demand. By not needing to work for money, one can have autonomy, creativity, and a sense of mission and all other desirable traits absent in a mundane job. In artistic industries where competition is cutthroat, early retirement provides an alternative for the artist to get the things they want from a career without necesarily going through the alleged competition needed to have a happy career. I am reminded here of Mary Oliver’s words from Wild Geese:
You do not have to be good. You do not have to walk on your knees for a hundred miles through the desert repenting. You only have to let the soft animal of your body love what it loves.
Not everyone wants to aspire for greatness and fame. Autonomy is enough for most of us. There is no need to compete. One just needs to feel good. And perhaps if I am required to compete and to look at career-building as a way to get ahead of others, then I really am not sure I want to do what everyone else is doing.
Career capital makes a lot of sense when money is involved. You can negotiate a higher pay to your coveted skills if you have career capital. But if you need less money and you just want to enjoy autonomy and focus on family and the good life, a simple spiritual and religious life, you can get out of the race. Isn’t this equally coveted? A spiritual, philosophical, and religious career might defy the theory of career capital because of their element of renunciation.