“Visions in Collison”:
“TRAGIC” vs. “UTOPIAN” Worldviews
ECONOMICS
Today’s political divide between “left” and “right” is fueled by one’s “WORLD VIEW”.
Views on certain issues surrounding the world and the nature of “reality”impact one’s views on politics.
Which ‘worldview”, TRAGIC or UTOPIAN, informs your politics ???
The “TRAGIC” vs The “UTOPIAN” VISIONs
ECONOMICS (humanity and wealth)
private profit (individual freedom) vs public welfare (collective “equality”)
GROW – generation of wealth (“competition”) vs equal distribution of wealth (“compassion”)
“promote” productivity (GROW a bigger pie) vs “punish” greed (an “equitable” pie)
reality of greed (a “FREE” market) vs regulation of greed (a “FAIR” market)
“harness” greed to create more wealth vs “re-distribute” wealth to bring more equality
limited govt. action (“open’ wealth) vs active govt. welfare (limited wealth)
less productive “parasites” on productive vs. rich are “parasites” on poor, working class
poverty “permanent” – limit it vs poverty “preventable” – solve it
make best of bad situation (“trade-offs”) vs utopian potential and possibility (“solutions”)
APPLICATIONS: TAXATION & REDISTRIBUTION of WEALTH
The Utopian View: INequalities of wealth is a social problem which can and should be mitigated with government intervention.
“Progressive” taxation (those who make more pay more taxes at higher rates) Economic justice and “fairness” are achievable ideals.
The Tragic View: INequalities of wealth and “greed” are “facts” of life.
Government “interventions” attempting to “fix” this “reality” are problematic and counter-productive.
REACTION: AGREE? – DISAGREE?
___ 1) It’s right for the state to seek economic “justice”and “equality” by “regulating” and redistributing wealth. Economic freedom leads to chaos and destruction– individuals are too greedy and selfish. The state needs to regulate “greed” and “excessive” private profitsfor the public welfare. Seeking the “ideal” of collective economic “equality” and “justice” is “progress” towards countering the social evils of “haves” and “have nots”.
___2)Economic freedoms are an essential part of our “natural” political rights, not to be attacked by government “tyranny”.
Economic “freedom” takes precedence over “equality”.
The state should be“neutral”, enforcing equality of OPPORTUNITY for all, NOT OUTCOMES“ for some, a “nanny-state” that “plays favorites”, taking from (stealing?) one group of citizens and giving it to others in the name of “fairness”.
State sponsored envy violates individual economic freedoms.
____3)The INjustices of “exploitation” need to be fixed by the state.
Whatever “progress” brought about by the Industrial Revolution and Capitalism (the “haves”) is far outweighed by the problems and the “price” most people (the “have nots”) have to suffer.
Government has a responsibility to regulate a “fair” market that regulates “greed” and re-distributes wealth.
Economic “equality” and “social justice”should take priority over individual greed.
____4)Selfishness (haves and have nots) and exploitation are a “tragic” part of life.
It is “wishful thinking” to think one caneliminate it from human history. Capitalist “flaws” far outweigh its “failures”. Ironically, The Industrial Revolution and Capitalism “harnessed” greed (“bad”) togenerate massivelymoreand newwealth, a “bigger pie”. (“good”)
Capitalist privateprofit and enterprise, by “free” markets determined by individualconsumer supply and demand, has brought infinitely morepeople out of poverty than it caused to be in poverty.
Capitalism was/is “flawed” and imperfect, but itworks best in the real, “tragic”world.
___5)Government should takefrom the “haves” and “re-distribute” it to the “have nots”
.
“Progressive” taxation of “the rich” is necessary for the “collective” good. The rich“haves”are “parasites” on the collective economic pie, their well being dependent on the “host” it feeds off.
___ 6)Government taxation towards “redistribution of wealth” is wrong and misguided, state-sponsored “class warfare” that “ROBS Peter to pay Paul”.
Critics say “laissez faire” government inaction of economics is legislated “greed”. Government action,taking money from one citizen to give to another, is legislated “envy”.
“Unequal” treatment of one group of citizens in the name of “equality” is contradictory, hypocritical “idealism” that is “unfair”.
Aristotle famously stated that the worst form of IN equality is the attempt to make Unequal things equal.
Economically. government revenues historically go UP when tax rates are CUT. “Less” results in “more”.
Collective, state-sponsored ENVY, taxing all more so some do not get “rich” is petty and unproductive.
The economic “reality” is that “rich” people use their wealth to generatemoreandnewsources of wealth, which provide jobs and economic “stimulus” for everybody.
Government and “have nots”are the “parasites” – feeding off the “productive”, benefitting from their talents, services and innovations.
Individual prosperity should be protected by and from government. Government should “REWARD”, NOT “ROB”or punish the “productive”.
____ 7)The “rich” should pay more in taxes because they can.
Since they have profited disproportionately, they need to be taxed disproportionately. With this method, government can counter the problem of the “rich getting richer” at the expense of others.
The rich need to pay the highest share of taxes to a society that has enabled them to get “rich”.
___8)The “rich” are already taxed disproportionately. It is a MYTH that the “rich” do not pay their “fair share” in taxes.
Top 1% of earners pay 37% of federal income taxes, Top 5% pay 57%. The richest 50% generate 97% of government revenues. The lower50% pays 3% of government revenues.
The rich do make more money, but they also pay more in taxes.
The “rich” are “demonized” when, in reality, the “poor” do not pay their “fair share” in taxes.
__9)Poverty is “fixable”,a social and moral problem that demands a collective commitment by citizens and state. Costs are worth government efforts.
Human compassion demands an active government welfare state that crusades to solve the problems of poverty.
___ 10)Poverty is a tragic “fact” of life. Society and government can seek to limit it, but no society in history has ever “cured” it.
We should use limited government resources in a “cost efficient” manner, show somecompassion to create a “safety net”. Trillion$ spent to “fix” poverty have not cured it, leaving taxpayers trillion$ in debt. Social welfare programs also have “unintended consequences” – promoting unproductive behavior, perpetuating, not ending poverty, and creating dependence, not independence.
When government “rewards” poverty, it creates little or no incentive for people to “fix” their owneconomic problems. Also, fraud, waste and corruption cost taxpayers billion$ each year.
Unfortunately and tragically, people and governmental abuse and take advantage of “public welfare” from the good will of taxpayers, without “solving” the timeless and “cosmic” problem of poverty and economic inequalities.
__ 11)Giving the state the power to “end” economic equality leads to political inequality (“tyranny”) Loss of economicfreedom leads to loss of political freedom.
History shows that “dictatorship of the proletariat” leads to just plain “dictatorship” and makes a false and undesirable “economic” equality that leaves everyone equally poor. (e.g. North Korea, Cuba)
Marxism-Communism-Socialism was/is a failed experiment in utopian idealism.
12)“The INHERENT VICE of CAPITALISM is the UNEQUAL SHARING of BLESSINGS“…
the INHERENT BLESSING [virtue] of SOCIALISM is the EQUAL SHARING of MISERY.” Winston Churchill
Agree? – Disagree?
___ 12)The tragic “vices”of capitalism (greedand unequal prosperity) are still better than the utopian“blessings”of socialism (equal “misery”) EXPLAIN: