Pragmatism, Fatalism and Idealism

Dear Friends,

It seems to me that Capitalism, more precisely, the Market System, breeds pragmatism. The feudal system and socialistic systems create other points of view.

People who live in a market system have to weigh decisions all the time. Whether to spend more time looking for the cheapest alternative, or decide they have sufficient information, weighing time against money. We who live in a capitalist system also weigh our actions and reactions every day and in every way. To live in a capitalist nation one practices pragmatism all the time… Practice makes perfect.

If a person get’s stuck on some losing venture it is often more practicable to simply take your licks and try another. Spending $300.00 to get back $100.00 is foolish. The pragmatists just moves to another table. The emotional person will fight it out no matter the cost.

Some corrupt people count on pragmatists. They know that most pragmatists will not throw good money after bad. This philosophy only works as long as some large portion of society is pragmatic. But if the portion that will emotionally react, and take it as a personal insult, gets to some theoretical limit, the profitability of the scam is washed by the incessant, costly, fighting.

In this way pragmatism, which is beneficial for not only the markets to function efficiently, but for society to operate smoothly, is a threat to the very markets and society it benefits.

But in societies that have no functional market system due to government not protecting property rights, or too much corruption in government, there is no incentive to pragmatism. Fatalism takes hold in these societies. Fatalist philosophy that undermines a market far more effectively than pragmatism.

Because fatalism is not a motivating factor it is de-motivating. If there is no hope why struggle? Just blend into the cesspool that you live in, cleaning nothing, improving nothing, further fouling the community. The fatalist is not motivated to improve his lot because he is convinced it cannot be improved.

The pragmatist however, sees the plight of his community, and seeks to change it for the better. Perhaps by starting a business… to alleviate some want in his community. The pragmatist realizes the corrupt nature of Man. But the pragmatist simply works within the parameters of Mankind‘s nature.

Idealists provide fodder for pragmatists, but fail themselves, because monsters from their Ids sabotage their efforts. Those monsters are, their egos, bigotry, ignorance’s and point of view. Each monster undermines the idealists attempts at societal evolution/revolution.

An ego is a terrible thing to waste but waste it we must, else we run the risk of seeing our fellow man as a lab rat, not as a human being. Never taking his wants or point of view into account. After all, who know’s better, some ignorant lab rat, or the idealist?

No one is free from bigotry. Not you and not I. But bigotry is not an inborn thing. Certainly not within the congenital nature of Man, but it is a learned thing, an extrinsic thing. Because when a child is born they have no feelings one way or another about other people. They have no concept of other yet. An infant learns about other by their interactions with others. Some interactions will inevitably be good and some bad. All of our initial interactions with others, however, will color our view of other.

Knowledge is never universal. No flawed human being can be omniscient. No amount of learning can prepare a person to run the lives of millions of his fellows. Because it is impossible to hold that much knowledge in one’s mind. Let alone actually learn everything needed to undertake such a Herculean task. Noah’s and Uncle Po’s long lives fell short of the time to learn all that would be required. We all are ignorant in our own way. There is no getting around that.

All these factors combine to make a human being’s point of view. The idealist, the fatalist and the pragmatist all have their point of view, honed by years of interactions, learning, and the societal ethos they were raised in. All these points of view have negative incentives for the proper functioning of a market system.

But of all three, it is the idealist that has visited far more horror on Mankind, in the name of good, than all the others combined.