Dear Friends,
It seems to me, if someone wants to risk his own life, that is up to him, but if he seeks to risk the lives of millions, that is not up to him. If a daredevil wants to jump a canyon on a motorcycle, that is his or her business. Yes it will cost some to scrape his bloody remains from the canyon wall, but in the meantime, they will remind others of the folly of that action. On the other hand, those who are willing to risk the lives of millions of others, to try to leap human nature, historical example and the hard laws of economics, are acting as villains, not heroes. One would think this obvious, but since so many today are willing to risk the lives of literally tens of millions of other people, clearly, it is not. Although, most of the people risking the lives of so many others, believe themselves heroes, not villains.
No villain believes him or herself to be the villain, they always believe themselves the hero, at least of their story, and that is all that counts to many people. Even and especially those captured by the idea of nihilism. They see everything as irrelevant, and believe that to be a great revelation of wisdom, and seek to prove that insight to the world by their nihilistic acts. They see their nihilism as an heroic stand against a cruel, compassionless and arbitrary universe, and if there is a God, so much the better. What is even more ironic, are the self described heroes who try to rectify the world, while being unable to make their own bed. Who else could possibly be more qualified to right the world… than someone unable to get their own lives in order? Then again, it’s easier to force another to do good, than do it yourself.
The consequences for society of a person who smears themselves across a canyon wall are minimal. At worse the body could be left to the buzzards. People will be put off and others will be incensed, but all in all, the consequences are pretty modest for society. Harsh for the idiot… but mild for society. Moreover, the example stands as a reminder to others of the foolishness of that action, one that will serve to save at least another, would be daredevil, or possibly encourage someone to try that impossible trick again. In the end, there will always be daredevils, they will risk their own lives, and as sovereign human beings that is their right, yet government suppresses their right to risk their own lives, while encouraging people who want to risk the lives of millions. Does that make sense?
This is partly because of, as Bastiat said, things seen and things unseen. We all see the entrails sliding down the canyon wall and chatter among ourselves how awful it is. It is seen. While the deaths of millions are hidden. The Black Death, that swept across the planet taking a substantial portion of humanity with it, was the result of living in filth. People didn’t recognize the danger of rat infested open sewers that provided the ground state for the plague. That was unseen, while the results, the deaths, was seen by all. We perceive the world not as it is but to maximize our ability to survive. Therefore there is much that we don’t see and occasionally it is a lethal danger to our survival. The fleas on rats was the unseen as a danger by Europeans, while it was obvious, socialism is the same today.
We don’t see the danger of socialism because the hundred million deaths that are the wages of it… are hidden from us. They remain unseen, and so we don’t account for them, when we make choices that put the lives of tens of millions more in jeopardy. The socialist thinks themselves a hero of humanity, standing up for the oppressed against the oppressor, they never stop to think the idea that has captured them has been tried over and over, and has always resulted in a human catastrophe. Because for the most part… they don’t know. So we are in the unenviable position of having people, ignorant of the history of socialism and unable to make their own beds, zealously putting the lives of millions of us at risk, should they get their wish. Remember… Pol Pot was a hero in many eyes at the time.
Sincerely,
John Pepin
