There is a place where people can get free food, free housing, free medical services. No, that place is not a utopia. It is called a PRISON!
You see, it is indeed possible to get free stuff just as long as you mortgage your freedom. This is as much true at an individual level as it is at a societal level. It is just that it takes time for this to be realized at a societal level. Thankfully(?) we have seen this numerous times in the recent past. Let's just take two examples:
At its simplest, the entire communist system can be summarized thus - people mortgage their entire decision making authority and freedom to a central authority (party, politician, council whatever). In return, that central authority promises to take care of all the people - food, education, health and so on. Millions of people have found this idea appealing (and millions still do). There is only one problem - it doesn't work as evidenced by Soviet Union, North Korea, Cuba, East Germany and so on (if you thought China, it is one of the most capitalistic economies currently with an exceptionally large private business, with Ali Baba, Foxconn etc. as examples).
Socialism, the half-brother of Communism, is essentially in the same economic boat. It allows politicians to promise everything free but creates a society where nothing is ever available. Look at post-independence India as its biggest example (of failure). Within 44 years of independence, all the free stuff promised brought India to its bankruptcy. India was saved only by the political chutzpah of PM Narsimha Rao and mastery of Manmohan Singh, one of the best finance ministers India has ever seen.
One of the greatest mysteries to me is how people ignore all of these recent events, and want to march towards their next road to serfdom. Just look at the United States and the ongoing political debates. Here is what I see (this is a selective view):
1. A march towards Socialism, big government and in general, FREE STUFF - Of course, we all like free stuff. I'd very much like if government can take care of my medical expenses, my kids' education etc. But I also know(from history) that NOTHING IS FREE. I may not be mortgaging my immediate freedom but I sure would be selling my kid's future to get these free stuff. Do you want your country to become the next Venezuela, or remain the United States.
2. A march towards lawlessness - It is often useful to stretch an argument to its extremes to see if it makes sense there. If it doesn't, one should immediately become suspicious of that argument. And that's what I am - suspicious - of arguments that profess that US must provide a path to citizenship to its 11 million illegal immigrants because it would be too time consuming, too inhuman to take legal actions on them. Really? So, if the numbers of criminals (drugs, sex, murder - pick your crime) become large, we should just forget about them because pursuing all of them would break too many families? Have you ever stood in line, and experienced the frustration when others break the line and get ahead? Well, then you know the frustration of LEGAL immigrants in the US with the current discourse on immigration.
3. A mindset of entitlements - $15/hour minimum wage is a reality in California, promising effectively a 50% raise to many workers over the next six years. Good for all of them. Guess who is not getting a 50% raise - everybody else. So essentially everyone else just had their effective buying power reduced, by government dictum. I have a simple question - why $15/hour? Why not $100/hour or $1000/hour? Imagine some government official sitting at their desk deciding what's the minimum private enterprises should pay to their workers, and you have imagined the stepping stone to road to serfdom.
4. The rise of religious nutcases - For the first time in decades, US is seeing a return of measles, thanks to a sustained anti-vaccine movement by nutcases. States are actively promulgating laws making discrimination to LGBTs legal on the pretext of religious freedom. So if I form a religion that professes slavery, misogyny, discrimination etc, it would be okay? In the same vein, religious fanatics are routinely making it harder for women to control their bodies and health. And these people are allegedly for "less government" except when it comes to women issues.
Freedom is precious. Millions of our ancestors have lost their lives so we can live in a free society. We are privileged to be born and live in a world (at least in most countries) where we can take freedom for granted. We shouldn't. The most important gift we can give our next generations is the gift of freedom. Let's not mortgage our kids' futures for our comfort and political correctness today.
You see, it is indeed possible to get free stuff just as long as you mortgage your freedom. This is as much true at an individual level as it is at a societal level. It is just that it takes time for this to be realized at a societal level. Thankfully(?) we have seen this numerous times in the recent past. Let's just take two examples:
At its simplest, the entire communist system can be summarized thus - people mortgage their entire decision making authority and freedom to a central authority (party, politician, council whatever). In return, that central authority promises to take care of all the people - food, education, health and so on. Millions of people have found this idea appealing (and millions still do). There is only one problem - it doesn't work as evidenced by Soviet Union, North Korea, Cuba, East Germany and so on (if you thought China, it is one of the most capitalistic economies currently with an exceptionally large private business, with Ali Baba, Foxconn etc. as examples).
Socialism, the half-brother of Communism, is essentially in the same economic boat. It allows politicians to promise everything free but creates a society where nothing is ever available. Look at post-independence India as its biggest example (of failure). Within 44 years of independence, all the free stuff promised brought India to its bankruptcy. India was saved only by the political chutzpah of PM Narsimha Rao and mastery of Manmohan Singh, one of the best finance ministers India has ever seen.
One of the greatest mysteries to me is how people ignore all of these recent events, and want to march towards their next road to serfdom. Just look at the United States and the ongoing political debates. Here is what I see (this is a selective view):
1. A march towards Socialism, big government and in general, FREE STUFF - Of course, we all like free stuff. I'd very much like if government can take care of my medical expenses, my kids' education etc. But I also know(from history) that NOTHING IS FREE. I may not be mortgaging my immediate freedom but I sure would be selling my kid's future to get these free stuff. Do you want your country to become the next Venezuela, or remain the United States.
2. A march towards lawlessness - It is often useful to stretch an argument to its extremes to see if it makes sense there. If it doesn't, one should immediately become suspicious of that argument. And that's what I am - suspicious - of arguments that profess that US must provide a path to citizenship to its 11 million illegal immigrants because it would be too time consuming, too inhuman to take legal actions on them. Really? So, if the numbers of criminals (drugs, sex, murder - pick your crime) become large, we should just forget about them because pursuing all of them would break too many families? Have you ever stood in line, and experienced the frustration when others break the line and get ahead? Well, then you know the frustration of LEGAL immigrants in the US with the current discourse on immigration.
3. A mindset of entitlements - $15/hour minimum wage is a reality in California, promising effectively a 50% raise to many workers over the next six years. Good for all of them. Guess who is not getting a 50% raise - everybody else. So essentially everyone else just had their effective buying power reduced, by government dictum. I have a simple question - why $15/hour? Why not $100/hour or $1000/hour? Imagine some government official sitting at their desk deciding what's the minimum private enterprises should pay to their workers, and you have imagined the stepping stone to road to serfdom.
4. The rise of religious nutcases - For the first time in decades, US is seeing a return of measles, thanks to a sustained anti-vaccine movement by nutcases. States are actively promulgating laws making discrimination to LGBTs legal on the pretext of religious freedom. So if I form a religion that professes slavery, misogyny, discrimination etc, it would be okay? In the same vein, religious fanatics are routinely making it harder for women to control their bodies and health. And these people are allegedly for "less government" except when it comes to women issues.
Freedom is precious. Millions of our ancestors have lost their lives so we can live in a free society. We are privileged to be born and live in a world (at least in most countries) where we can take freedom for granted. We shouldn't. The most important gift we can give our next generations is the gift of freedom. Let's not mortgage our kids' futures for our comfort and political correctness today.
