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The Human Zoo/October 9, 2011
By Gaylon Kent
The Writer's Shack
Notes from around The Human Experience...
CASPULE BOOK REVIEW: How Capitalism Will Save Us: Why Free People and Free Markets Are The Best Answer In Today's Economy, by Steve Forbes and Elizabeth Ames: Capitalism is taking a beating right now. The rich, as they tend to do, keep getting richer while the economy is still in the tank and people aren't working, or, as likely as not, not working as much as they used to, and protestors are even occupying that great bastion of capitalism, Wall Street.
Forbes and Ames do an excellent job of showing - in language even we can understand - how and why this country needs free markets more than ever and of showing why government interference has not and will not provide substantive, long-term economic benefits. This isn't a surprise. As the book points out, it's not the function of government to run the economy. Government tinkering seldom produces any type of long term growth.
The overall point Forbes and Ames are making is that the problem is - and nobody except swashbuckling capitalists seem to recognize this - is that the government, besides butting, otherwise isn't doing a good joh of providing a free market where businesses can sell their goods and services.
One, they're butting in too much. We've been stimulating and rebating and interfering for years and nothing has been solved; our problems have merely been exacerbated. Two, our tax code is nine million words long and even the IRS gives out bad information a quarter of the time, and three, this nation is almost catastrophically in debt.
Get Your Official Writer's Shack Policy Right Here: Stop us if you've heard this before: the purpose of government is to provide for the liberty of its citizens. Incumbent in that is providing a free market for business - large and small - to sell their goods and services. As Forbes and Ames point out, in an easy to read, rather workmanlike fashion, sure, this is how wealth is created, but it is also how jobs and innovation occur.
Dry, Technical Matter: If you're not cut out to be a billionaire Wall Street tycoon, good. Money is an awesome master to answer to. Or so we've heard, we don't really know. A free market does mean, however, that you are free to start your own business, or if you aren't an entrepreneur, you are free to use your talents and exploit the free market to your advantage. It's better than waiting for a government handout every month.
One More Thing: Forbes and Ames make another really good point: if government intervention was necessary, if a government controlled economy, were the answer, the Soviets would have won the Cold War.
The Always-So: You know, it's human nature to think that someone or something can solve our problem and take the weight off our shoulders. As kids, we counted on our parents. As a husband, lord knows I count on my wife, even when she's making her infamous noises about doing something I've never done before. As a society, it's comforting to think government can move in and solve our problems.
But they can't. They've tried. They've sent us rebate checks. They've bailed private businesses, which, honestly, they kind of had to do because the Forbes and Ames make a very good case for the government being at the heart of the current financial mess. As noted, nothing the government has done has provided any long-term benefit.
Standard Internet Disclaimer: Though Gaylon is rather well read he is not Einstein for Pete's sake and is not a professional book reviewer. Reviews are based on his own personal tastes, are completely subjective and not measured against established literary standards. He has a habit of re-reading selected favorites and books that were published as early as the 20th century.
We Interrupt This Program For A Word From The Ratings Department: Following Is The Official Writer's Shack Capsule Review Rating scale:
EX - Excellent; as good as the medium can produce in every respect.
VG - Very Good. Well worth your time.
GD - Good. More or less worth your time.
AR - All Right. Not completely without merit.
SP - Nothing of substance; a steaming pile, utterly without merit.
Final Rating: VG. This book should be read by any concerned citizen. There is some technical financial analysis, but it's not too dry and even we understood most of it. For unabashed free marketers, it will serve as a nice reinforcement about what this country stands for. For those watching the protesters and wondering if they might have a point, it will serve as a necessary review of what this country is about. If you're a goddamned socialist, there's probably no hope for you, but you'll enjoy reading why America is Satan incarnate.
OH YEAH: The message boards are back up! Please use them for good, not evil.
IS IT TIME TO BEAT HARVARD YET? Yale University, then known as the Collegiate School of Connecticut, is chartered by the General Court of the Colony of Connecticut on this date in 1701. It is the third college to be founded in the colonies, following Harvard (1636) and William and Mary (1693).
I Know You've Come To Kill Me. Shoot, Coward!: Revolutionary Che Guevara, 39, is executed by the Bolivians on this date in 1967. He had been captured a couple of days earlier and was executed over the objections of the United States, who wanted him removed to Panama so they could interrogate him some more. Guevara's only request before his execution was that he be given some tobacco for his pipe.
Thought For The Day: When science clearly contradicts Buddhist beliefs, and it is proven, then we must reject the earlier beliefs. We will accept the evidence of science…The Buddha himself made it clear that the final decision for every person must come through investigation, not by relying solely on religious texts. The Buddha gave each of us that freedom. - The Fourteenth Dalai Lama
Answer To The Last Trivia Question: Of the nation's that currently use the Gregorian calendar, Hungary was the last country to adopt it, in 1926.
Today's Stumper: In May, 1960, Che Guevara participated in a fishing contest off the coast of Cuba with Fidel Castro and what famous American writer? - Answer next time!
Comments? Recipes? Complaints? Email the Writer's Shack here!
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