THE GREATCESSATION
to acquire, we could finally claw our way back to that noble, leafy, and peaceful place we left behind in Genesis , where we never wanted anything, let alone tried to get it. I call such believers Edenists . (Even atheists can adopt an Edenist mindset). When socialists, like progressives, get honest, they admit they do not really want to generate more prosperity. They are done with that. Instead, they prefer that the economy be given a time-out – the economic equivalent of Xanax. Shut down capitalism and perhaps replace it with an old-styled kibbutz for 330 million people. Why? To prevent envy and to drain us of our competitive juices. They believe that competition is cancerous, eating away at our souls and our chances for happiness. If we could just stomp out competition, we could achieve self-realization and bliss. Rather than allowing the New York Stock Exchange to operate, they would rather we dress up like druids and prance around the rocks of Stonehenge in hopes that it would help us pay our mortgage bills. (Yes, such tours are available.) I admit that now is not a popular time to speak up for free markets and competition. I understand the rage in western countries against the failings of modern life, especially following the financial catastrophes of 2008 to 2009 and the wild market rides spurred by the Great Cessation. Didn’t hypercompetitive bankers lead to the ruin of Lehman Brothers and Bear Stearns? Didn’t super competitive brokers baying for bucks in trading rooms nearly bankrupt the world? Didn’t reckless oil drillers lead to a devastating spill in 2010? So why not join the globalization protestors
Among many intellectuals, capitalism’s the new original sin. Just as the Bible tells us that original sin expels human beings from Eden, capitalism becomes the new sin that prevents us from returning to Eden. Among many intellectuals, capitalism’s the new original sin. Just as the Bible tells us that original sin expels human beings from Eden, capitalism becomes the new sin that prevents us from returning to Eden. If we could just expunge the drive to compete and the desire soiree, and drug use spread, Schumpeter’s predictions seemed to be coming true. Third world nations, newly liberated from Europe, turned to socialism. But with the fall of the Berlin Wall in 1989, it seemed that socialism was a hoary, old tale for ‘60s nostalgics, who adorned themselves in Mao jackets made from hemp and regret. profits... but from young college graduates equipped with BA degrees in Human Rights (with a minor in Disappointed Peoples) who end up driving taxi cabs, even though they never learned to parallel park. Schumpeter foresaw today’s social justice warriors protesting income inequality and pollution and then turning to socialism, which promises material welfare and moral support for those yearning for justice on this earth. In his famous query, Schumpeter asked, “Can capitalism survive? No. I do not think it can.” During the late 1960s, as long hair, bongo drums, Leonard Bernstein’s Black Panther
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April 2020
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