Dear Friends,
It seems to me, when anyone gets on US route 1 south, they will always eventually end up in Key West. No matter where you get on, headed south, the end of the road is always Key West. This is a fundamental fact. Unless a person traveling south on US Route 1, changes direction, they will always end up in the same place. This fact holds true no matter where a person gets on, who is driving, what car we take or how fast a person is going. The entire science of cartography is based on this simple to understand concept. There is not one among us who would argue differently, when it comes to a road… but many seem to be ignorant of this fact when it comes to politics and economics.
History is one means of determining where a road leads. We can look at the history of where a given economic or political road leads. If those who have traveled that road in the past, and present, end up at a certain destination, we can reliably say that we will end up in the same destination, if we travel that same road. Even if that road is taken a million times it will always lead to the same destination. A road always leads to the same place.
Road maps are another way to determine where a given road leads… without going to the end and finding what the destination actually is. Economists have regaled us with various road maps that show where various economic roads lead. Political scientists have written millions of pages mapping political paths and destinations. Some go to temperate locals where jobs are plentiful and freedom is rife. Other roads lead to the oppressive heat of famine and oppression. There are many maps available to consult as to what destination each path leads.
If we change the name of the road it will still lead to the same place. We could change the name of US Route 1 to Happiness Highway, but if we get on and travel south, we will still end up in Key West. Even if we changed the name of the island to Liberty Land, we will still land in the same place, only with a different name. The moniker we ascribe to a place does not change the nature of that place or even our perception of it… only what we call it.
If we seek to go to a destination it is counter productive to go in a direction that is opposite that place. If we want to go to Fort Kent Maine, no matter how many times we go south on route 1, we will not end up in Fort Kent. In the same manner, if we take the road to a command and control economy, we will end up with a command and control economy, with all the negative consequences of that choice. To believe that the road to Marxist economics will lead somehow to freedom and prosperity is delusion. Just as taking US Route 1 south will always lead away from Fort Kent and to Key West. If we seek a destination, that is the opposite of communism, then we must take that route. There is no other logical option.
The road to communism is the path of distributive justice by political favor. As we go further down that road, we inevitably get closer to a destination where all the goods of society, are distributed by the state, and therefore by political favor. Now, there are some people, who want to land in communist ville… but to say that taking the road to communism will lead to more freedom and a better economy, and not famine and tyranny, is sophistry at best. If we want to reach prosperity and liberty, we must take the road that history and maps say will lead there… The US Constitution for example.
The road to prosperity begins with less regulation, less taxation and most importantly less government spending. If someone claims that road will lead to poverty and want they are lying to you. Just as if they claimed that US Route 1 south leads to Fort Kent Maine. It is a preposterous statement that we will instantly recognize, if it were applied to US Route 1, but many people have no sense of direction in economics and politics, as well as geography. They can be convinced that the road to prosperity is more regulation, more government spending and less individual freedom. It is an unfortunate fact of life. Those people will get us lost every time they take the wheel. Too bad they seek, more often than not, to be our navigators. Perhaps we can get a competent driver before we get to a destination we fear most.
Sincerely,
John Pepin
