How our favored myths can bring self-destruction.
This will only state the obvious which we are inclined to overlook. We search for enlightenment by looking far from where we happen to be. Thereby we can miss what is in front of us.
The road from poverty to wealth is long curvy and therefore missed in favor of the abyss. The road from wealth to poverty on the other hand is not only short but also abrupt. The analogy is a ski lift. The way to the top - after the struggle to beat the queues - is long while the downward slide is short.
The reaction of societies to opportunities that allow their rise is constructive hope". It is expressed in the pursuit of happiness". The compatible sentiment that lets talents rise is embodied in the phrase the American dream".
The Left resents such ideas. Their disgust is enhanced by distrust of the place where those phrases were born. The Left reacts to the challenge of its dogmas in its own manner. The extremists of the Left seconded by their analogy on the Right - gather the fallible by promising recruits an instantly enjoyable good life" that is divorced from output or achievement.
This threadbare idea has a tradition. Utopias that promise paradise wrapped into an El Dorado that thrives in the Garden of Eden have a long history.
At the same time labor which makes dreams possible has a bad mythological reputation. It is seen as what it had been through centuries as a misfortune. Work was a punishment" that involved tedious effort and a suffering that would bring no escape from perennial poverty. The image is not accidental. In pre-industrial societies work has been a cursed expression of inferiority.
Some utopias reduced freedom to freedom from work. They depicted abundance as an expression of unearned plenty accessed through good luck such as when a thankful genie granted wishes. Comparable present fantasies point into a dangerous direction. Nice guys that bring undeserved gifts deprive the recipients of their ability to forge their own durable luck. The Pacifics Cargo Cults" tell the story. So does Greeces recent role in the Euro-zone on its way to bankruptcy and ruin.
Like bedtime stories daydreams move from castles in the sky into the realm of political visions. After rephrasing into modern terminology they became the guiding star of movements that promise secular salvation.
The pasts conditions of work" explain why after the perfunctory acknowledgment of labors worth a desire arose to avoid it. Thereby modern economic insights were ignored and so the realities of production and consumption were bypassed.
Once the industrial revolution unfolded the escape from historic poverty opened new vistas. One involved a break with the past and pointed to a course that emphasized discovery. Earlier this insight would not have been possible. It utilized expanding personal freedom that resulted in growing productivity new products knowledge and new forms of enterprise put to use by novel forms of financing. Capitalism resulted when ingenuity and entrepreneurship were added.
Above the level of hunter-gatherers all forms of production are capitalistic". Beyond propaganda the question is who owns the capital?" Often those that wish to abolish capitalism" advocate a system in which capital held by individuals is replaced by socialized capital". Advocates of this idea tend to be Gurus who aspire to guide society". Initial confiscation is soon followed by economic failure. Instead of admitting the fiasco the elite blame societys immaturity. To correct that condition guidance" will be applied. Its expression is institutionalized terror. This converts as we see in Venezuela economically failing collectivism into systemic tyranny.
New trends hit us in waves. Unlike surfers some will not be able to ride these because they perceive their energy not as a force to be harnessed but as a threat to be fought. Their reaction is attempted avoidance mute suffering of the inundation or fantasies about an alternative; a better" motionless ocean.
The expanding world of the industrial revolutions opportunities produces the energy that spins the globe. Rejectionist resistance follows tradition. Only the presents fantasies differ from classical fairy tales because they are sold as programs of instant salvation. If the picture is drawn in deep red it is Socialism". Once the color is borrowed from frogs and the Marxist yarn has natural" ways added we find Greens".
The rejectionist reaction to the world of the forwardly oriented has a limitation. Those that believe the wrong theory wreck themselves. A land of plenty commanded by government fiat will do more than to prevent the emancipation of those that swallow the dope as fish do the hook. Paradise through redistribution collapses when its policies prevent the creation of what is to be handed out. An ignored news item from Venezuela tells that the tale about the tale is just that. The Benefactor ordered that electronics stores sell" their wares at gift prizes. For a moment something could be had for nothing. Once the curtain went up for the next act the stores were empty. And surprise!" they stayed that way.
The lesson is that following impossible dreams leads us into a deep pit. Those that refuse to understand where wealth comes from because they believe that property is theft will be condemned to remain beggars. One might add; as paupers they will be permanently enslaved.
The good society is meritocratic and as such it fights inherited privilege. The good life as the millions who escape poverty every year attest is attainable through systems that reward performance according to its estimated social utility. The precondition of such a system is a government that guarantees planning stability and operates within the limits of reasonable and mandated regulations.
The antidote of the good society is a system that attempts to counteract the differences that arise when all men are allowed to proceed according to their talents in the pursuit of individually determined goals. Replacing equal opportunity with equality of results corrupts the public order and undermines the forces that fuel personal and collective success. Free donations presented as entitlements payable to those who have not earned them have a quality that will ultimately prove that they were too expensive to accept.
How our favored myths can bring self-destruction.
This will only state the obvious which we are inclined to overlook. We search for enlightenment by looking far from where we happen to be. Thereby we can miss what is in front of us.
The road from poverty to wealth is long curvy and therefore missed in favor of the abyss. The road from wealth to poverty on the other hand is not only short but also abrupt. The analogy is a ski lift. The way to the top - after the struggle to beat the queues - is long while the downward slide is short.
The reaction of societies to opportunities that allow their rise is constructive hope". It is expressed in the pursuit of happiness". The compatible sentiment that lets talents rise is embodied in the phrase the American dream".
The Left resents such ideas. Their disgust is enhanced by distrust of the place where those phrases were born. The Left reacts to the challenge of its dogmas in its own manner. The extremists of the Left seconded by their analogy on the Right - gather the fallible by promising recruits an instantly enjoyable good life" that is divorced from output or achievement.
This threadbare idea has a tradition. Utopias that promise paradise wrapped into an El Dorado that thrives in the Garden of Eden have a long history.
At the same time labor which makes dreams possible has a bad mythological reputation. It is seen as what it had been through centuries as a misfortune. Work was a punishment" that involved tedious effort and a suffering that would bring no escape from perennial poverty. The image is not accidental. In pre-industrial societies work has been a cursed expression of inferiority.
Some utopias reduced freedom to freedom from work. They depicted abundance as an expression of unearned plenty accessed through good luck such as when a thankful genie granted wishes. Comparable present fantasies point into a dangerous direction. Nice guys that bring undeserved gifts deprive the recipients of their ability to forge their own durable luck. The Pacifics Cargo Cults" tell the story. So does Greeces recent role in the Euro-zone on its way to bankruptcy and ruin.
Like bedtime stories daydreams move from castles in the sky into the realm of political visions. After rephrasing into modern terminology they became the guiding star of movements that promise secular salvation.
The pasts conditions of work" explain why after the perfunctory acknowledgment of labors worth a desire arose to avoid it. Thereby modern economic insights were ignored and so the realities of production and consumption were bypassed.
Once the industrial revolution unfolded the escape from historic poverty opened new vistas. One involved a break with the past and pointed to a course that emphasized discovery. Earlier this insight would not have been possible. It utilized expanding personal freedom that resulted in growing productivity new products knowledge and new forms of enterprise put to use by novel forms of financing. Capitalism resulted when ingenuity and entrepreneurship were added.
Above the level of hunter-gatherers all forms of production are capitalistic". Beyond propaganda the question is who owns the capital?" Often those that wish to abolish capitalism" advocate a system in which capital held by individuals is replaced by socialized capital". Advocates of this idea tend to be Gurus who aspire to guide society". Initial confiscation is soon followed by economic failure. Instead of admitting the fiasco the elite blame societys immaturity. To correct that condition guidance" will be applied. Its expression is institutionalized terror. This converts as we see in Venezuela economically failing collectivism into systemic tyranny.
New trends hit us in waves. Unlike surfers some will not be able to ride these because they perceive their energy not as a force to be harnessed but as a threat to be fought. Their reaction is attempted avoidance mute suffering of the inundation or fantasies about an alternative; a better" motionless ocean.
The expanding world of the industrial revolutions opportunities produces the energy that spins the globe. Rejectionist resistance follows tradition. Only the presents fantasies differ from classical fairy tales because they are sold as programs of instant salvation. If the picture is drawn in deep red it is Socialism". Once the color is borrowed from frogs and the Marxist yarn has natural" ways added we find Greens".
The rejectionist reaction to the world of the forwardly oriented has a limitation. Those that believe the wrong theory wreck themselves. A land of plenty commanded by government fiat will do more than to prevent the emancipation of those that swallow the dope as fish do the hook. Paradise through redistribution collapses when its policies prevent the creation of what is to be handed out. An ignored news item from Venezuela tells that the tale about the tale is just that. The Benefactor ordered that electronics stores sell" their wares at gift prizes. For a moment something could be had for nothing. Once the curtain went up for the next act the stores were empty. And surprise!" they stayed that way.
The lesson is that following impossible dreams leads us into a deep pit. Those that refuse to understand where wealth comes from because they believe that property is theft will be condemned to remain beggars. One might add; as paupers they will be permanently enslaved.
The good society is meritocratic and as such it fights inherited privilege. The good life as the millions who escape poverty every year attest is attainable through systems that reward performance according to its estimated social utility. The precondition of such a system is a government that guarantees planning stability and operates within the limits of reasonable and mandated regulations.
The antidote of the good society is a system that attempts to counteract the differences that arise when all men are allowed to proceed according to their talents in the pursuit of individually determined goals. Replacing equal opportunity with equality of results corrupts the public order and undermines the forces that fuel personal and collective success. Free donations presented as entitlements payable to those who have not earned them have a quality that will ultimately prove that they were too expensive to accept.