A reader emailed me and asked me why government is the solution when it has done such a bad job? This is an excellent question and the answer is there are no alternatives to government. It took mankind milleniums to figure out that people needed to be organized. There are many reasons for this — security, diversity of talents, sustainability. All of these can be netted out with a single word – survivability.
Man is a social animal and is intended to be in collectives. Our evolution and DNA require diversity. We gain strength in biology by mating through diversity which results in a stronger offspring, more dominant traits wins over weaker ones. In organizations, people can specialized with different skills for the benefit of all, e.g. doctors, farmers, etc. One occupation is not more important than another if it provide a function for the greater good. The ones that do not promote the greater good are bad and need to be eliminated.
People who try to exist in isolation don’t do well. They not only get lonely and depressed, but they lose their desire for life. Happiness comes from the interactions with other people, e.g. celebrations. However, the socialization fails when governments impose onerous rules and regulations that prevent the people from pursing happiness or let one group control the happiness of others. This is why the “pursuit of happiness” is in the first sentence of the US Constitution. This is also why America can’t sustain itself with the rich getting richer and everybody else getting poorer.
However, not all governments are created equal and governments can change and erode over time. America is at a horrible state at the moment and is not sustainable for many reasons. One of the mostly frequently cited reasons is the national debt but that is not the most severe problem — mostly a symptom of the disaster in America. The most severe problems is that citizens are unable to support themselves and the government has been taken over by the rich and powerful who have little compassion or concern about everybody else. One of the political parties, Republicans, only believe in policies for the rich and use faux social issues to convince others to support them, e.g. abortion, immigration. Sadly, many elected Democrats support these Republican policies as well.
So, the big questions is what kind of government is correct and how much government is needed for sustainability of everybody? The US has a representative government where the people elect others to represent them. Generally, democracy — simple majority rule — decides elections and is used to control what laws are passed by representatives. When democracy breaks down because of special interests, the vast majority suffers. It is these areas that are documented in the news, day after day, that is the reason America is failing and doomed. There is now a major disconnect from the will of the majority — ordinary people — and the goals of the American government. If there wasn’t then the rich would not be getting richer while everybody else suffers.
In my view the best form of government is a democratic socialism. Democratic because the will of the majority is the most important, assuming the majority believes in fairness for all. Socialism because the wealth of the nation needs to be distributed to all the people for survivability, not just a specific subset. Once the minimum needs of the people are met in housing, food, health care, etc, there can be other incentives for people to invent and work hard — call this capitalism. Capitalism is something that occurs after minimums for everybody are met.
Capitalism, left unrestricted, will destroy a country. This is happening to America. The reason capitalism motives people is because greed is a powerful, but frequently negative, human trait. It has to be controlled. Currently, it is out of control. Greed is like playing Russian roulette with a fully loaded pistol — it will destroy everybody who plays. It is destroying America. However, it has a place in a society but only after the minimum needs of everybody is met.
Capitalism has taken over America. It controls everything these days. It decides who will be elected, what laws will be passed, and who will remain in office. Capitalism decides who will lose jobs, homes, and health care. Large corporations and the rich control capitalism. It has developed into such a cancer on the country that the fairness of America has been lost. The mantra today is screw ordinary people — money is all that matters.
America is Doomed.
Admin: Glad you gave me the ammunition that I need to totally discredit you for today and all days to follow. You seem like a nice guy, but if you showed up out here where I live, you wouldn’t last very long. Just telling you how it is. Guess were not as sophisticated as you losers in the bankrupt, shithole of Californicate. That pathetic state has followed your advice since the late 60′s and all they have to show for it is bnkruptcy, riots, food stamps, murder, illegal shitskins, porn stars, dope addicts, disease, expatriation, IOU’s, earthquakes, Santa Anna winds, wildfires, Hollyweird, San Fran Sicko, low IQ’s, 3rd world garbage, crime, hI! Skrool dropouts, riots, Rodney King, Alex Baldwin, BaBs, OJ, Kim’s huge Ass, anti reality “Reality” shows, Nickel nosed movie producers, conspicuous consumption, and the “beat goes on”. All segments and sectors of AmeriKa hope that you will be the new Atlantis when we wake up in the morning. We won’t accept your worthless IOU’s. Use them out ther in “la, la land”.
I love your crap as to why “man” needs Da Gubsamunts. Survivability!!! You must be refering to Detoilet, South Central during the Rodney monkey riots, 9/11, Heee,Hee, Heee!! Da Gubsamunts!!! You must be refering to thier lightning response to Katrina!! I’m busting a gut on U!!! I actually thought that you had a functional mind. Maybe you did some drug experimentation today, since it is basically legal in the shithole State of Califonicate to eat any kind of filth that you want to eat and pass the bill for your newfound misfortune to a “straight player” like me. Da Federal Gubsamunts can bill me for living a pristine, healthy life in JoJa and financially and taxinomically rob me to pay for some shitstick homo in Californicate, the land of the fruits and nuts. I can’t wait until you all get dubbed the “New Atlantis”. Hope one of those faults” gibbs whey any dey”.
I can deal with this. I mean, I was raised as a DumbaKrap, devoid of free thought, indoctrinated with lies, made to toe the party line, unable to think, constantly coddled with mind altering drugs, sent to allopathic quack doctors to discern my “illness”, made to bow to all authority without the ability to question it. Typical orthadox DumbaKrapism. I was told to cast my first vote for a Klan Kleagle. And just recently, upon his long awaited death, our first Colored Prezeedunt(Bubba Bob Clintsotone, the trailer trash Arkansas Rapist) stated that he “needed” to join the Klan so that he could be ‘lectud and sabes da chillen!!!! WTF. This is about as funny as a CARE package full of recipies. Went up with me like a lead balloon!!
Survivability?? What do you smoke? And how much of it do you smoke? I can survive anything. You couldn’t take a day without a grocery store or an open resurant. I’m relly glad, though. I know who will be left to carry on and who won’t. Get a gun, Admin. You’ll need it just like the Koreans needed it durning your Raciss, Rodney King fiasco. Ever notice how all of da Racciss problem beez in Knew Yawks and in Californicate, land of the Libs?
We don’t riot and kill like you Commies do out there in la la land. We’ve accepted diversity and have learned to get along. We would have never beaten ole’ Rodney, the worthless felon, as savagely and brutally as you Commie Libs did. We beez from JOJA!!! Weez All beez huggin’, buggin’ hip/hopin and shitzuz!! Not burning and rioting like you Blue Colored Commies do.
“People who exist in isolation don’t do well”? Look, I did acid about 30 times in the late 60′s and early 70′s, but I have devastating news for you. I’m doing very well. I’m doing as well as I ever envisioned. I harvested over 100 pound of shrimp today. Sold half of them at 5 bucks/pound, ate shrimp and snow peas for dinner, visited nobody, mowed and detailed 3 lawns, changed oil filters on both my car and truck, turned my compost piles, picked peppers and cucumbers, took 3 or 4 telephone calls, assisted a friend with a serious cut to his hand, ordered more supplements, made a killer smoothie, did billing, cleaned my corolla, fed the hummingbirds, fertilized my orchids, took a call from my stunningly beautiful anthracite gal-friend, etc… Why would I want to commune with assholes? Why would I want to meet Dumbakrap, ignunt, worthless beggars? I kant’s do dis o’ dat!!!! I beez hepless!!!! You can have your shitty communalism. I’m not greedy in the least. I gave away a bunch of surplus cucumbers today. But I picked the recipient, da Gubsamunts didn’t get their say in the matter. We are survivors out here on the island. We don’t have time for pathetic city slicken’ losers: Californicators. Most of you turds out there couldn’t survive a salmonella outbreak. Your immune systems are so battered from venereal disease than you would need immediate emergency “heps” from da allopathetic quacks. And you would want me to foot the bill for your sorry ass conditions and lack of sensibility as how to achieve natural health. Get Yo’ ass down there to Van Nays and clean out that cesspool of AIDS infected porn freaks. I love it when the infection spreads. They all run away and hide and I just wait for them to die. When they do, a good news day for me.
More of your Utopian BS. Happiness comes from interaction? My Ass!! Happiness comes from solidarity and one hott piece of dark ass. Ever see an unhappy Buddhist monk? How about a crazy Katholic priest who lives on top of a mountain in Alaska? At least he ain’t porkin’ little altar boys in their bungs. Happiness comes to me when I read the news about 72 dead Mexicans left ot rot in the fields of some raunchy ranch somewher in Mejico. Then I don’t have to feed them, clothe them, and compete against them for jobs. I won’t work for 5 bucks/hour. The make good compost. But they chose that status for themselves. And they relied on their Gubsamunts to protect them. And once again, Da Gubsamunts didn’t deliver, just like always!! HeeHeeHeee!!!
Democracy??? Surely you jest!!! Democracy is 2 wolves and one sheep voting on what is for dinner!!! ‘Bout as funny as a CARE package full of recipies. ‘Bout like hopin’ for twins and gettin triplets!! Democracy!! Rave on!!
Democratic socialism? That is where 51% of the leeches vote to live off of 49% of the producers. It is truely unsustainable. Self sufficiency rules!! Self sufficiency is Hott, like dark women!! Like Kneegrow gals and Latinas.
Will Capitalism destroy us? It already has. Buy Gold and silver. It is your only defense. It you enjoy fiat currencies, put your toilet paper dollars into YUAN, Canadian Dollars, or Swiss Francs, or Austrian Coronas or Crowns. I don’t ever support Laizzes Fairre capitalism, but Da Gubsamunts can’t run anything any better than they ran Detoiled, Killadelphia, Cleaveland, Newark, or Cramden, Joisey. Do you really want more of this shit? Take care of yourself and the people who you love and respect, and they will do the same, and an arithmetic progression will occur. Everyone will be covered, save for bonehead crackdamaged individuals. But who cares. We need to get compost from somehwere.
All that Da Gubsamunts needs to do is to pass laws that govern the extent that Capitalistic principles can be applied. They simply need to monitor and regulate. They can’t run any enterprise, because Da Gubsamunts can’t pour piss out of a boot with the direction printed on the heel bottom.
Hate to crash your Utopian bubble but we are not heading in your direction here in AmerFreaka. We are simply rearranging the deck chairs on the Titanic.
The funny part is that U want to export you
It is often taken for granted what is required to have a civil society: the rule of law, a system of exchange for goods and services, social contracts, and most importantly TRUST. These building blocks of civil societies require administration and hence governance. Without governance barbarism become the de facto king of the jungle and then we might as well regress to subsistence agriculture, worshiping monarchs, bartering, shitting in the forest, wiping our asses with leaves and having an average life span of 30 years.
I am always amazed at how the engineers of the Roman Empire built running water and a sewer system. After the fall of Rome, it took centuries before humanity came even close to having running water and sewers again. While a myriad of factors contributed to the decline of the Roman Empire, in many ways it was the internal rot from greed and corruption that invited barbarism in. In other words, the trust in governance had eventually become too illegitimate to sustain the Empire.
Governance really boils down to legitimacy as Norbert Elias well describes in his classic, The Civilizing Process. Monarchs legitimize their rule by heredity. Dictators legitimize their rule by force. Democracies legitimize their rule by votes. Having said that, we no longer live in a representative democracy. Hell, I don’t think it’s even a populist government anymore. When I look at the governance of America these days, it really reminds me of how organized crime operates. And when an illegitimate government can no longer effectively rule, you might as well welcome in the barbarians (in modernity the plutocrats, the oligarchs, and the elitists) and herald in the second Dark Ages.
Ahh Lester,
I love your rants. Excellent, and precisely right.