Since yesterday’s blog I’ve been asked to take Lefty ideology seriously and consider the reason the Left is a dead end.
The Left argues that a commercial society is better off if government restraints are put on modern commerce to make it conform to traditional moral norms.
- Poor people must be helped and brought into the workplace.
- Inequality of income must be reduced.
- The power of big corporations to influence government must be limited.
- Singapore is an example where strong government and modern commerce co-exist.
- The poor people argument is a straw man based on wildly inaccurate media stories. Since 1970 Americans have seen people living on the streets and begging. This has nothing to do with modern commerce. America’s wealth has been generously used to help the mentally ill who are given extensive housing and care facilities in every part of the nation. If you have a developmentally disabled family member you know this is true.
If you know a physically disabled person you know that America has led the world in disability access to work, community life, education and transportation since 1978. The disability community is well organized by itself and is effective because pro commerce Americans are generous and sympathetic.
The issue of ‘street people’ has nothing to do with modern commerce. It is a government failure. A regulatory failure. No government anywhere in any city has changed these circumstances. This is a strong argument that government is ineffective in improving lives.
- Inequality of income is the natural by-product of a productive workforce and social norms. In every major developed country the number of billionaires is a multiple of the number of workers.
There are two exceptions because of social norms. One is found in most of Africa where tribal norms require everyone who makes an income, shares it with relatives. This makes it hard for any person to save money and find capital for a business. The only option is to leave family and friends.
The other is Japan which has far fewer billionaires per worker than any other society. Japanese find that all Japanese are part of one tribe and no one should be or live far outside the norm. Individuals and families do not have private Jets.
So how can a Lefty idealog turn any other society into Japan? It can’t be done.
- The simple solution to keeping money out of politics is to choose legislators by lot. This was done in early Greece. It is done on juries in America. It works in the dozens of contemporary experiments. A global movement is emerging on this issue. A much better solution than more incompetent and ineffective government regulation which hasn’t worked in any city or state in America.
- I’ve spent time in Singapore. It is a thriving commercial society but a really boring place with no significant innovation. That is the byproduct of modern commerce combined with a powerful central government.
- America is the engine of global innovation. Shackling it with more government regulation will make it like every other country with little innovation.
- The only other country on the planet that equals America in innovation is Israel. Also a pro commerce society. All the communist and socialist failures are examples of failure. Israel is the magnificent example of success.