Capitalism, serving others…Political Force, enslaving others.

“Prior to capitalism, the way people amassed great wealth was by looting, plundering and enslaving their fellow man. Capitalism made it possible to become wealthy by serving your fellow man.” (Walter E. Williams).  For the past 70 years, the Federal political/bureaucracy class has increasingly looted, plundered and enslaved the rest of America under the guise of serving us.  Today, we must obtain their permission to do just about anything we want to do.  Capitalism is dependent on voluntary transactions between parties.  The politicians/bureaucrats use force to take our money, control our property and our actions, and decide how to redistribute our wealth to create a dependent class who will keep them in power.  And, sadly, we have allowed them to do it, by sending politicians to Washington who choose to ignore the Constitution.

UNDERSTANDING THE COLLECTIVIST MIND

I have tried over many years to understand the mind-set of individuals who live off the riches of free enterprise while at the same time condemning free enterprise.  Instead they appear to seek to destroy free enterprise and replace it with what might be called collectivism, whereby we have a utopia in which all wealth goes into a common pot and we are ladled out our portion by some “fair” method (the method yet to be determined).  I recently read a quote by Spanish philosopher José Ortega y Gasset, from “The Revolt of the Masses” (1929), who watched Spain veer from Monarchy to Socialism to Civil War to Dictatorship.  This is the best explanation I have seen to explain the mind-set of those who would replace free enterprise.  I have taken the liberty of rewriting his quote to make it a little easier to understand.  His original quote follows my rewrite. 

My thesis, therefore, is this: the very efficiency with which goods and services are delivered to the masses cause the masses to not only take the goods and services for granted, but to consider the highly organized structure that delivers them as a natural system, rather than a cooperative system of voluntary transactions, largely free from government interference. Thus is explained the absurd state of mind revealed by these masses; while concerned only with their own well-being, they remain clueless to the cause of that well-being. They do not see what is behind the wealth of goods and services from which they benefit. Instead, they demand these benefits peremptorily, as if they were natural rights and will always be there, no matter how many restrictions they place on those who voluntarily create and deliver these goods and services. A scarcity of food results in the mob going in search of bread, and the means it employs is generally to wreck the bakeries. This may serve as a symbol of the attitude adopted, on a greater and more complicated scale, by the masses of today towards the system of free enterprise by which they are supported.

The original quote:  Spanish philosopher José Ortega y Gasset, “The Revolt of the Masses” (1929):

My thesis, therefore, is this: the very perfection with which the 19th century gave an organization to certain orders of existence has caused the masses benefited thereby to consider it, not as an organized, but as a natural system. Thus is explained and defined the absurd state of mind revealed by these masses; they are only concerned with their own well-being, and at the same time they remain alien to the cause of that well-being. As they do not see, behind the benefits of civilization, marvels of invention and construction which can only be maintained by great effort and foresight, they imagine that their role is limited to demanding these benefits peremptorily, as if they were natural rights.

In the disturbances caused by scarcity of food, the mob goes in search of bread, and the means it employs is generally to wreck the bakeries. This may serve as a symbol of the attitude adopted, on a greater and more complicated scale, by the masses of today towards the civilization by which they are supported.

Consumers Are The Ultimate Polluters

Those of you who complain about industrial pollution continue to drive your cars far more than necessary, continue to purchase clothes when you have a closet full of clothes, continue to air condition your homes when you could live without air conditioning (I grew up in a non-air conditioned house), continue to take unnecessary vacations, continue to consume fruits and vegetables shipped from around the world, use the internet (a data center for handling, storing and processing internet data can consume 250 megawatts of power), and enjoy a thousand other luxuries that you could live without.  Then, you complain that the ones who produce those goods and services, solely for your consumption, are the ones guilty of “polluting” the earth.  Consumers are the problem…producers simply respond to the demands of the billions of individuals who consume the goods and services they produce.   Without consumption there would be no production.

Resolution to Rename the Statue of Liberty, July 4, 2013

Resolution:  On this day, July 4, 2013, we resolve to rename the “Statue of Liberty” the “Statue of Equality,” on order to reflect the new enlightened common wisdom, which is not reflected in the current name of the Statue or in our outdated Constitution.   We also resolve that the poem on the base of the Statue of Equality shall be changed from “Give me your tired, your poor, your huddled masses yearning to breathe free” to “All are welcome who believe that each should contribute according to his ability, and each should receive an equal reward.”

The outdated thinking, as envisioned by our forefathers, was for Government to limit itself to creating the peaceful conditions within which the people are free to secure their own well-being, with an emphasis on freedom of the individual.  Any enlightened person will realize that this will lead to unequal outcomes, with some citizens having more than others.  Our collective wisdom now leads us to dictate that our Government should take responsibility for securing the welfare of all the people, and not just provide a structure under which they seek their own selfish, greedy individual well-being.  Thus, we collectively must provide retirement security, medical care, education, food, shelter, cell phones, and income security.  To accomplish this requires that the Federal Government organize massive transfer payments from the “haves” to the “have nots.” Of course, this will entail enormous handling fees and inefficiencies generated by bureaucracies, political politicking, and cronyism, but this is a small price to pay to the ensuing “equality” that we as a society so desire. 

From Freedom to Following Rules

For most of the USA’s history, transactions occurred based on pragmatic experience.  Society was shaped by countless voluntary transactions based on the accumulated knowledge gained through experience, largely free from government interference. Frederick Hayek stated “all the famous early law-givers did not intend to create new law but merely to state what law was and had always been.”  For example, for decades, experience had shown that to remain strong, banks needed a certain capital base, and to lend money to buy a house, banks required that the recipient of the loan have a 10 percent down payment (so they would have a vested interest in the property, and to show they had the self-discipline to manage a budget to save up the down payment) and that payments not to exceed 30 percent of income.  This kept foreclosures at a minimum.   “New” law was written requiring banks to change their policies, not based on what worked, but to make the housing market more “fair” and to increase home ownership, and this new law did not take into account what experience had shown to be successful, but instead was based on how bureaucrats envisioned how things “should” be.  The result was the real estate bubble that ended with the financial meltdown of 2007. The “Affordable Health Care Act” is the latest huge law written by our ruling elite which will replace largely voluntary transactions between doctors and patients with detailed laws that all caregivers and patients must follow…forget voluntary transactions based on years of experience.  More and more, voluntary transactions, based on knowledge gained through experience, are being replaced by very detailed, specific laws, written and implemented by an elite few who think that their limited knowledge can construct a society of rules that is superior to a free society.  We are quickly turning away from what has made the USA prosperous, and so far, the results are not favorable.

To receive future posts by email, enter your email in the space provided on the right column.

Berating Corporations… biting the hand that feeds you

I saw a post today from the “Seniors for a Democratic Society” Facebook page, where Sen. Bernie Sanders said “if you want to start going after someone for closing the deficit, start with these greedy corporations!”  I would comment on their Facebook page, but they blocked my comments after one post I made on their page that was counter to their philosophy, which seems to be that the rest of the world exists to provide them with the good life.  Had I been able to comment on this post, here is what I would have said.  What are corporations?  Legal entities set up by one or more people who want to invest their money to produce a good or service to offer for sale to others.  Their objective is to receive a reasonable return on their investment, and they only do that if what they offer is voluntarily purchased by someone who values it, and if their cost to produce it (plus the added costs of the government’s take) is less than the cost to provide it.  That is how we have pacemakers, cars, food, stints, entertainment, houses, televisions, gasoline, phones, and everything else we consume.  Somehow, those who post on Seniors for a Democratic Society seem to think that corporations, who only provide what consumers voluntarily purchase, are evil, yet, they want all the goods and services the corporations produce.  This seems to me to be the epitome of “biting the hand that feeds you.”

What makes politicians successful?

Politicians who represent special interests are successful.  Politicians who uphold the Constitution and represent the average citizen are not successful.  Why?  Those who want something from the government band together to elect politicians who will deliver what they want.  Those of us who just want to be left alone and who want political power dispersed as defined in our Constitution, don’t take the time to organize into a “special interest” group, so our voices go unrepresented.