Dear Friends,
It seems to me, the reason many boys are ‘checking out’ so to speak, is because they don’t see they have a stake. The ancient Chinese philosopher, Mencius, said give people a stake and there will be little crime. He meant that people need a stake or else they’ll become destructive. Because if someone doesn’t have a stake in the outcome, their stake is in an entertaining outcome, which is rarely in the interests of the parties with a stake. So if the elite want a lot of crime, drug use, and chaos, then taking away any perceived stake the youth have in society is a great way to do that. However, if we invert it, then the elite who want a prosperous, peaceful, and hopeful society, they would make sure everyone has a stake in society’s outcome. Especially those with the most propensity for violence.
Young boys are little barbarians needing and wanting to be civilized, so they can take part… because virtually all normal boys want a wife, children, and a well paid job. These are all stakes in society. A man with a wife has a stake in keeping society moral, a man with children has a stake in keeping society safe, and a man with a job has a stake in society’s economic prosperity. A man with no job, no children, and no future has no stake in any of these things. His stake is in entertainment. He could care less about prosperity, safety, or morality. Indeed his motivation may delve into envy. This makes such a man literally dangerous. Because even if he doesn’t act to create chaos, he won’t lift a finger to stop it. So while a boy is a barbarian who wants to be a knight, a man without a stake is a devil.
A society then that alienates boys is purchasing chaos. It takes the stake from young men and replaces it with envy, anger, and hopelessness. Then the elite are shocked at youth crime, drug use, and lack of motivation. It’s like putting salt water in a car’s engine and being angry at the car for not running. Boys going through puberty have brains floating in brine. The world changes all around them, knocking them off their feet, and the underlying narratives today are, the world will end soon due to climate change, boys are innately bad, and there are no jobs waiting for you. The message is clear… you have no stake! So people do what’s expected of them… today’s boys being no different, so they act out the narrative. They adopt the gangster dress, attitude, and despair. Wasting all that cumulative talent.
Those societies that empower the youth become prosperous, peaceful, and powerful. That society will give the youth a stake in the outcome, and the youth will respond with enthusiasm. Why wouldn’t they? They have been included in the game and have a chance to win. You can’t win if you don’t play and you don’t play if you’re excluded. Include them however and their drive, vigor, and innovative ideas will lift a society to untold heights. This isn’t simply rhetoric, it’s historic fact. History is unambiguous that whenever society has given the youth a stake, it has prospered. Take the 1950’s in America. The message was we can do anything, heck, we’ll probably put a man on the Moon in a decade or so. Jobs were plentiful, everyone got married, and families were abundant… so everyone had a stake.
An American progressive economist, Veblen, was once asked, why don’t Americans envy the rich? He responded, because every American knows he could someday become rich. Steinbeck is often cited with a similar sentiment, “Socialism never took root in America because the poor see themselves not as an exploited proletariat but as temporarily embarrassed millionaires.” The premise is, everyone has a stake in society. That stake undermined the socialist ability to gin up envy, so they took it away. Today there are few jobs, and few get married, let alone raise kids… so people no longer have a stake. This has resulted in a society riven with broken families, overdoses, and people on welfare. Change the paradigm, give everyone a stake again… and society will prosper. The past proves it can be done.
Sincerely,
John Pepin
A Stake in the Game: The Key to Civilizing Youth
Dear Friends,
It seems to me, the reason many boys are ‘checking out’ so to speak, is because they don’t see they have a stake. The ancient Chinese philosopher, Mencius, said give people a stake and there will be little crime. He meant that people need a stake or else they’ll become destructive. Because if someone doesn’t have a stake in the outcome, their stake is in an entertaining outcome, which is rarely in the interests of the parties with a stake. So if the elite want a lot of crime, drug use, and chaos, then taking away any perceived stake the youth have in society is a great way to do that. However, if we invert it, then the elite who want a prosperous, peaceful, and hopeful society, they would make sure everyone has a stake in society’s outcome. Especially those with the most propensity for violence.
Young boys are little barbarians needing and wanting to be civilized, so they can take part… because virtually all normal boys want a wife, children, and a well paid job. These are all stakes in society. A man with a wife has a stake in keeping society moral, a man with children has a stake in keeping society safe, and a man with a job has a stake in society’s economic prosperity. A man with no job, no children, and no future has no stake in any of these things. His stake is in entertainment. He could care less about prosperity, safety, or morality. Indeed his motivation may delve into envy. This makes such a man literally dangerous. Because even if he doesn’t act to create chaos, he won’t lift a finger to stop it. So while a boy is a barbarian who wants to be a knight, a man without a stake is a devil.
A society then that alienates boys is purchasing chaos. It takes the stake from young men and replaces it with envy, anger, and hopelessness. Then the elite are shocked at youth crime, drug use, and lack of motivation. It’s like putting salt water in a car’s engine and being angry at the car for not running. Boys going through puberty have brains floating in brine. The world changes all around them, knocking them off their feet, and the underlying narratives today are, the world will end soon due to climate change, boys are innately bad, and there are no jobs waiting for you. The message is clear… you have no stake! So people do what’s expected of them… today’s boys being no different, so they act out the narrative. They adopt the gangster dress, attitude, and despair. Wasting all that cumulative talent.
Those societies that empower the youth become prosperous, peaceful, and powerful. That society will give the youth a stake in the outcome, and the youth will respond with enthusiasm. Why wouldn’t they? They have been included in the game and have a chance to win. You can’t win if you don’t play and you don’t play if you’re excluded. Include them however and their drive, vigor, and innovative ideas will lift a society to untold heights. This isn’t simply rhetoric, it’s historic fact. History is unambiguous that whenever society has given the youth a stake, it has prospered. Take the 1950’s in America. The message was we can do anything, heck, we’ll probably put a man on the Moon in a decade or so. Jobs were plentiful, everyone got married, and families were abundant… so everyone had a stake.
An American progressive economist, Veblen, was once asked, why don’t Americans envy the rich? He responded, because every American knows he could someday become rich. Steinbeck is often cited with a similar sentiment, “Socialism never took root in America because the poor see themselves not as an exploited proletariat but as temporarily embarrassed millionaires.” The premise is, everyone has a stake in society. That stake undermined the socialist ability to gin up envy, so they took it away. Today there are few jobs, and few get married, let alone raise kids… so people no longer have a stake. This has resulted in a society riven with broken families, overdoses, and people on welfare. Change the paradigm, give everyone a stake again… and society will prosper. The past proves it can be done.
Sincerely,
John Pepin