Nevin,
Unfortunately, I don't think America will "ever really come out of this morass of self indulgence and abandonment of family traditional values" as a whole. On a micro scale, I think that those who continue to seek after those traditional values, however, will find success and will remain better off than the others and they will be happier than those who continue to indulge. On a macro scale, those who seek traditional values will likely find, create, and enjoy a subculture of perfect capitalism and reap the fruits of such living, and the rest will "enjoy" the contentment of a socialistic society, never improving, never advancing.
Think about this: self-indulgence leads to the need for socialism, self-interest leads to the need for capitalism, and self-improvement leads to the need for pure capitalism.
Karl Marx wrote in Das Kapital the flaws of capitalism - "self-indulgence" as he saw it - would ultimately lead to the destruction of capitalism by the proletariat, leaving socialism in its place. Ayn Rand on the other hand wrote in Atlas Shugged that self-interest is good and drives capitalism. Marx predicted that capitalism would boom and bust, and each time a bust came, the institutions that survived would become larger and larger, until at the final bust capitalism was doomed. He was right. Look at what has happened in the history of capitalism. Every bust seems to be 'unprecedented' or 'record breaking'. Ayn Rand theorized that if capitalism would embrace a self-interest, it would create wealth of self, knowledge, and power the world had never seen before (and so much of it that the need for God would be thwarted, as man would basically become his own "god"). I think capitalism has nearly reached this stage. So who is right, Marx or Rand? I think both have substance as noted above, but their ideas have flaws.
So, who taught about self-improvement and "pure capitalism", you may ask. I would answer that Joseph Smith taught these virtues. The man who improves himself to a point where he can live up to the Lord's teaching "I teach them correct principles, and they govern themselves" will ultimately be able to live the Law of Consecration. That law, to my own understanding and analysis, fits very well with many of the base theories of "pure capitalism", which we have been moving toward since the first billionares became philanthropists instead of kings, and since the capitalist has been forced by the working class to attend to their needs more closely.
In short, "...It was the best of times ('pure capitalism'), it was the worst of times ('socialism'), it was the age of wisdom, it was the age of foolishness, it was the epoch of belief, it was the epoch of incredulity, it was the season of Light, it was the season of Darkness, it was the spring of hope, it was the winter of despair, we had everything before us, we had nothing before us, we were all going direct to heaven, we were all going direct the other way - in short, the period was so far like the present period, that some of its noisiest authorities insisted on its being received, for good or for evil, in the superlative degree of comparison only."
-Sir Charles Dickens
The next few decades will be interesting to watch unfold.
Tijs Limburg
--
Tijs Limburg
Chairman and CTO of DMX - Digital Media eXceleron, Inc.
Get eXcited!
www.dmxed.com
Blogs:
http://phystrings.blogspot.com/
http://getoutofthedark.blogspot.com/
The "Don't Tread on Me" Flag: The First Navy Jack is enjoying renewed popularity these days thanks to an order from the Secretary of the Navy that directs all U.S. Navy ships to fly the First Navy Jack for the duration of the War on Terrorism.
--
Tijs Limburg
Chairman and CTO of DMX - Digital Media eXceleron, Inc.
Get eXcited!
www.dmxed.com
Blogs:
http://phystrings.blogspot.com/
http://getoutofthedark.blogspot.com/
The "Don't Tread on Me" Flag: The First Navy Jack is enjoying renewed popularity these days thanks to an order from the Secretary of the Navy that directs all U.S. Navy ships to fly the First Navy Jack for the duration of the War on Terrorism.
Unfortunately, I don't think America will "ever really come out of this morass of self indulgence and abandonment of family traditional values" as a whole. On a micro scale, I think that those who continue to seek after those traditional values, however, will find success and will remain better off than the others and they will be happier than those who continue to indulge. On a macro scale, those who seek traditional values will likely find, create, and enjoy a subculture of perfect capitalism and reap the fruits of such living, and the rest will "enjoy" the contentment of a socialistic society, never improving, never advancing.
Think about this: self-indulgence leads to the need for socialism, self-interest leads to the need for capitalism, and self-improvement leads to the need for pure capitalism.
Karl Marx wrote in Das Kapital the flaws of capitalism - "self-indulgence" as he saw it - would ultimately lead to the destruction of capitalism by the proletariat, leaving socialism in its place. Ayn Rand on the other hand wrote in Atlas Shugged that self-interest is good and drives capitalism. Marx predicted that capitalism would boom and bust, and each time a bust came, the institutions that survived would become larger and larger, until at the final bust capitalism was doomed. He was right. Look at what has happened in the history of capitalism. Every bust seems to be 'unprecedented' or 'record breaking'. Ayn Rand theorized that if capitalism would embrace a self-interest, it would create wealth of self, knowledge, and power the world had never seen before (and so much of it that the need for God would be thwarted, as man would basically become his own "god"). I think capitalism has nearly reached this stage. So who is right, Marx or Rand? I think both have substance as noted above, but their ideas have flaws.
So, who taught about self-improvement and "pure capitalism", you may ask. I would answer that Joseph Smith taught these virtues. The man who improves himself to a point where he can live up to the Lord's teaching "I teach them correct principles, and they govern themselves" will ultimately be able to live the Law of Consecration. That law, to my own understanding and analysis, fits very well with many of the base theories of "pure capitalism", which we have been moving toward since the first billionares became philanthropists instead of kings, and since the capitalist has been forced by the working class to attend to their needs more closely.
In short, "...It was the best of times ('pure capitalism'), it was the worst of times ('socialism'), it was the age of wisdom, it was the age of foolishness, it was the epoch of belief, it was the epoch of incredulity, it was the season of Light, it was the season of Darkness, it was the spring of hope, it was the winter of despair, we had everything before us, we had nothing before us, we were all going direct to heaven, we were all going direct the other way - in short, the period was so far like the present period, that some of its noisiest authorities insisted on its being received, for good or for evil, in the superlative degree of comparison only."
-Sir Charles Dickens
The next few decades will be interesting to watch unfold.
Tijs Limburg
On Wed, Oct 8, 2008 at 2:24 PM, Nevin Limburg
I have to first look up the word 'etymological,' Steve.
Other than that, I believe you have hit the nail right on the head, just like a perfect Sakoda kick!
Nevin
Question is: can America ever really come out of this morass of self indulgence and abandonment of family traditional values?
>>> "Steven"
Very simple, really.
McCain is like your dad, telling you how life is and what you need to do to be better and more successful. Who wants to hear that when you're being rebelious, indulgent, irresponsible, and sinful.
Obama is like a charming young lover, seducing you with promises of sugar and spice and everything nice if you give "it" up, telling you that there are no consequences to your self indulgence, passion, or abandonment family and traditional values, personal responsibility, and self reliance.
Oh, and by the way, it's my opinion that we're now paying for the bastard child of Bill Clinton, created by buying votes with subprime mortgages and politically motivated financial legislation, appointments, and favors.
$50 bucks to the first person who finds an etymological connection between the names "Lucifer" and "Obama."
-----Original Message-----
From: Nevin Limburg
Go McCain/Palin! Dawn, I got your message about the debate and the survey. I watched my recorded version and....Hannity & Colmes,and during their show, Colmes of all people was the one who even announced the survey results: McCain 84% Obama 12%. Of Course, those are Fox News viewers (the only true ones), but I agree with them and you. McCain had passion, facts, voting records, and .....his wide range experience, and in this election....experience counts....esp. in working with Congress bi-partisan and in foreign affairs. McCain killed him on those. And on taxes.
Why can't more people see this choice? On the one hand they have a two-year Senator who only has rhetoric and ideas, with nothing to back him up, and on the other hand they have a man who has fought the battles his whole career, including real battles in the military, and 24 years in the Senate, while not a part of the problem there! Do people just want change so much that they would vote for an inexperienced rhetoric-only windbag with socialistic ideas and who is the most liberal member of Congress, after being a country that was once converted to conservatism and saw the results with the largest tax cuts in history and the end of the cold war and the fall of the Soviet Empire? Have we gone that far as a country? (I guess so, since after that period we elected wonderful Bill Womanizer Adulterer Clinton, twice even!)
Nevin
Tijs Limburg
Chairman and CTO of DMX - Digital Media eXceleron, Inc.
Get eXcited!
www.dmxed.com
Blogs:
http://phystrings.blogspot.com/
http://getoutofthedark.blogspot.com/
The "Don't Tread on Me" Flag: The First Navy Jack is enjoying renewed popularity these days thanks to an order from the Secretary of the Navy that directs all U.S. Navy ships to fly the First Navy Jack for the duration of the War on Terrorism.
--
Tijs Limburg
Chairman and CTO of DMX - Digital Media eXceleron, Inc.
Get eXcited!
www.dmxed.com
Blogs:
http://phystrings.blogspot.com/
http://getoutofthedark.blogspot.com/
The "Don't Tread on Me" Flag: The First Navy Jack is enjoying renewed popularity these days thanks to an order from the Secretary of the Navy that directs all U.S. Navy ships to fly the First Navy Jack for the duration of the War on Terrorism.
No comments:
Post a Comment