High Hopes, High Expectations, Little Time

I have spent pretty much every free minute of the last six months reading a small mountain of books, papers, pamphlets, monographs and encyclopedia entries on such topics as American history, political history, philosophy, and economics, to name a few. I've even spent my daily commute and my time on the treadmill listening to podcasts of speeches and lectures on these topics. I have always loved history so I enjoy the process, but there has been a method to this madness. I've been accumulating and organizing this knowledge with the idea that perhaps I could put together a series of essays, possibly a small book, that would present this small library of information in a manner that is less threatening and easier to grasp than it is in it's original form.

As a nation, we are ignorant but not dumb. We are a television society - we like our information in short, easy-to-grasp bursts. We don't want to have to dig and analyze and spend hours in study. The story of Romeo and Juliet, for example, is not terribly complicated - elementary school children can understand the concepts - but it is altogether different if we attempt to read it as it was written. It was my goal to help bring the thoughts and ideas of the Founding Fathers, the men who inspired them, and their ideological forebears to the masses. A bold initiative to be sure, and perhaps a little naive.

I firmly believe this is a project that needs to be done and done quickly. Our country is fast approaching what I believe is going to be a pivotal moment in our history. We are on the verge of completely abandoning the very principles upon which this nation was founded - principles so great and so radical that they were beyond what we were able to achieve in our founding. In fact, history may show that we have already passed the point of no return. As much as the people of this country need this information, I have come to the conclusion that I do not have the time it would require to do it and do it well. It is still a dream of mine and one I may work on for years to come, but we need it NOW. So, what to do? It is time for every citizen of this country to turn off the television, to begin asking themselves some very important questions, and to begin the process of educating themselves.

The one single question that everyone must ask and answer is: Who owns me?

Do you own yourself? Does society own you or part of you? If society owns part of you, do you own part of everyone else? If you own yourself, do you have a right to any ownership of anyone else? Regardless of your answer to those questions, the answers carry implications that, I am willing to wager, go so far beyond what is expected that it will take some serious analysis to come to terms with their meaning.

Why is that particular line of questions so important?

Every form of government that has, does, or will ever exists has one thing in common - it makes assumptions about human nature. Specifically, it makes assumptions about each individual's ownership of himself. On one end of the political spectrum is the society (Society A) in which every individual is equally owned by every other individual - pure equality. On the opposite end is a society (Society B) in which every individual fully owns himself and has absolutely no claim on any other individual - pure equality. So, if both ends of the spectrum produce pure equality, why all the bother about whether one owns himself? Because the definition of equality changes as you move from one end of the spectrum to the other.

(Note: The analysis below is a highly simplified, scaled-down version that makes many assumptions and leaves out many important details. It is not meant to cover all aspects of the two ends of the spectrum, only to provide food for thought and hopefully encourage more questions.)

In Society A, every person has an equal claim on everyone else, thus, your labor and the results of your labor do not belong to you, it belongs to "everyone" and may be taken by "everyone" without giving anything in return. At the same time, you have an equal claim on the labor and results of labor of everyone else and may claim your equal share without giving anything in return. There is no private property in this society and there are no political leaders. Everyone is perfectly equal.

In Society B, every person has a claim only upon himself and the results of his own labor and no claim upon the body or labor of anyone else. If someone wants your labor or the results of your labor he must offer you something that will entice you to give it. If you should decide you want the labor or the results of labor of someone else, you must offer him something that will entice him to give it. There is no community property in this society, everything is privately owned. There are no political leaders because every need is privately negotiated between owner and buyer. It provides only an equality of opportunity.

Between these two theoretical societies, which have never existed at a level approaching that which we would call a 'country,' fall every form of government with which we have experience - monarchy, oligarcy, democracy, republics, Communism, Nazism, Fascism, emperors, despots, etc. Society A is the dream of Communism - a workers paradise where no one is exploited and all are equal. Society B is the dream of the Anarchro-Capitalists - an individuals paradise where everyone is free to pursue their own agenda with no interference from a government or society.

The Founding Fathers constructed a government that, while certainly not Anarchro-Capitalism, was much closer to B than A. However, almost immediately after the country was born we began a slow march towards A. The actions of Abraham Lincoln during the Civil War were a big jump towards A and, beginning in the first two decades of the twentieth century, what was a walk became a run. Under the direction of Bush, the run became a sprint, and now, under Obama, we have given up on self-propulsion and are now heading towards Society A at light-speed in the Millenium Falcon.

This is scary because, while no major geographic area, a nation if you will, has ever fully attempted to become Society B, there have, thanks to the works of Karl Marx, Frederick Engles, Vladimir Lenin, and others, been multiple attempts to become Society A - with disasterous consequences. Reasonable estimates place the number of deaths as a result of Communism at between 75 and 100 million people. It has failed so often and in such spectacular fashion it simply amazes me that so many are still drawn to it, particularly those considered "intellectuals."

I can hear the objections being mounted, that we are really becoming more Socialist (like our European bretheren) and not Communist. For the sake of brevity I am not going to provide a complete explanation. I will, however, offer this brief analysis:

The true Communist utopia cannot exist for very long because it is impractical and illogical. If everyone is completely equal, then everyone must be involved in every decision. Clearly, this is not a workable position for any group larger than a few people. Therefore, a group of decision-makers must be chosen. As soon as those decision-makers are chosen pure equality is gone as there now exists a group with authority over the others. Lenin believed he found a solution to this problem, but he was, quite obviously, wrong. Those with power always want to retain it. Always. Communism is, therefore, at best, always going to be a government of decision makers - the party - controlling the masses.

Socialism, on the other hand, usually begins its life as a form of democracy. However, as soon as it reaches a critical mass - the point in which a majority of the voting public is no longer responsible for the funding of the government - it quickly begins to devolve into a class of politicians pandering to the voting public. Minority rights still exist, but only for those which support the ruling political class. Individual rights begin to be non-existent. In the end it becomes a weak, perverted form of Communism. In fact, Lenin believed that democracy was simply the first step along the path to Communism.

The root problem with Socialism, Communism, and any attempt to become Society A is the question "Who owns me?" In a society in which a person does not own himself and the product of his labor he has no incentive to produce. We intuitively understand this, even as small children without the first political thought. A five-year-old that spends an hour constructing a sand castle will be brought to tears if his older brother destroys it in seconds. If the same process is repeated over and over again, eventually the five-year-old will stop building sand castles. Yet, the Socialists and Communists insist that those who produce continue to do so even when they are not allowed to enjoy the product of their labor. It is simply your duty to society to produce whether you want to do so or not. There will certainly be some who chose to do their work simply for the love of the job but, it should go without saying, that they will be the exception rather than the rule and people would, on the whole, be far more productive if allowed to enjoy the fruits of their labor.

There is so much more that needs to be explained. As I have made mention in previous blog posts, this is just the tiny tip of the iceberg. Even an attempt to put together a list of recommended reading is extremely difficult because there was no single source of inspiration for the Founding Fathers and an enormous amount of work has been done since then.

So, with a large grain of salt, here is my recommended reading list. I would highly recommend reading them in the order as shown. For most people, this is swimming in unfamiliar waters so I have tried to arrange the books so that they build upon each other to some degree.

*Conceived in Liberty by Murray N. Rothbard - This is the longest (and most expensive) read on the list but the simple, direct and entertaining writing makes it fly by. It is actually a collection of four volumes that outline the entire early history of this country, from early British colonies through the Revolutionary War.

*The Constitution of the United States and The Bill of Rights - The shortest read on the list. The foundation of our form of government can be read thoroughly and in its entirety in less than an hour.

*The Federalist Papers and The Anti-Federalist Papers and the Constitutional Debates (Signet Classics) - This may be the most difficult material on the list simply because the style of writing is so different compared to modern styles but containst the arguments that were presented to the people when the debates about formally adopting the Constitution were at their peak.

*Economics in One Lesson by Henry Hazlitt - One must have at least a rudimentary understanding of economics and this is a fantastic way to get it.

*The Road to Serfdom by F. A. Hayek - A masterpiece explaining the dangers of state control over the means of production.

*Socialism by Ludwig von Mises - A devastating critique of Socialism

*America's Great Depression by Murray N. Rothbard - What really caused the Great Depression and why it lasted as long as it did.

*What Has Government Done to Our Money? by Murray N. Rothbard - The title says it all. If the previous book didn't do it, this is a short read that will make you see your government in a whole new light.

*The Ethics of Liberty and For a New Liberty by Murray N. Rothbard - Two books that really belong together and lay the foundation for an entirely new form of government.

*1984 and Animal Farm by George Orwell - Two short works of fiction that were once required reading for every high school student in America. Once you read them you'll understand why an all-powerful government wouldn't want you to read them.

Finally, if you have read all of the above and are looking for a challenge:

*Atlas Shrugged by Ayn Rand - A massive work of philosophical fiction.

*Human Action by Ludwig von Mises - Mises' Magnum Opus on free market economics.

*Man, Economy and State by Murray N. Rothbard - Rothbard was a student of Mises and took the ideas presented by Mises in Human Action and elaborated, expanded and applied them to all sorts of situations.