Dear Friends,
It seems to me, when a young person rolls the die of life, the odds are greatly against them, but as we grow older, and therefore wiser, more knowledgeable and experienced, the likelihood of a better roll grows, even as we roll the dice less. The reasons for this are many. When we are young we have less to lose if we get a bad roll, and consequently, we are more willing to risk nothing than something. Once we get experience and see just how bad the odds are, skewed, albeit by our experience as young people, we become afraid to roll those dice. Another factor of age is contentment. Once someone has reached a certain age, which varies by person, we become contented much easier than we would have when we were younger. All these qualities are the reason the young take chances while the old don’t.
Which is unfortunate for mankind. Older people have abilities and knowledge that is important to the world. That the world is largely denied the benefit of this is one of the tragic ironies of life. From old hands, that can no longer fiddle Grumbling Old Man and Cackling Old Woman, to minds that can no longer design the Apollo Space craft by hand without calculators, the world is diminished with that loss. Those with their abilities intact, on the other hand, are loathe to roll the dice for fear of losing that which they have gained. Further diminishing the value of their knowledge and skills to the world. The loss to the Lot of Mankind is incalculable. Simply because the profit loss table we all have in our heads is biased against loss.
The young on the other hand have little to lose for rolling a dice. If they fail, they have plenty of time to try again. When there is little to lose why not roll often? Sadly, many never roll the dice, having been taught there is no hope. Nihilism is taught as a virtue today. At the turn of the twentieth century, when the socialist economist Thorstein Veblen was asked, Why don’t Americans want to take from the rich? Veblen replied, Because they think they can get rich. That attitude of possibility was slowly eroded by the government monopoly school system, the entertainment media and our toxic culture, until the only people who start businesses today are immigrants in the US! All because they are too ignorant of how many road blocks the government puts in the way of the small business person.
Which is unfortunate for the world. Every opportunity that a young person wastes is a loss for the economy as a whole. This is because the aggregate economy is the sum total of how good everyone is doing. The better anyone does… the better we all do. Because the more wealth an economy has, the easier it is to get wealthy. A wealthy economy can afford to innovate, bring new products to market, as well as shrink the numbers of the poor, to the minimum the human condition will allow. Each dice not rolled is a wasted opportunity for the world economy to grow, as well as the lost opportunity for the young person who might have become rich. Which is a strong incentive to start teaching the entrepreneurial ethos, how to write a business plan and economics to young people.
While gambling is a sin, that impulse to take chances for profit is a virtue. Obviously, a nation of inveterate gamblers will be impoverished and corrupt, but a nation of entrepreneurs will be wealthy, healthy and safe. The difference is what is taught to the young. If we are taught the only path to riches is the lottery, that is the path of least resistance, on the other hand… if we are taught the path to riches is by starting a business, inventing a product or writing the next Macbeth, we will take that as the path of least resistance and many more firms will be started, inventions made and great works of literature written. How many great works are never produced because the risk was too great, or the defeatist mindset? To our universal detriment. Don’t gamble… take chances.
Sincerely,
John Pepin
