“I can’t pay it back…so I pay it forward”
My friend Scott K., who is a regular spouter of wisdom, recently shared with me this gem from a conversation he had with someone who was attempting to - hold your breath for this one - support the Randian "philosophy" espoused in The Fountainhead and Atlas Shrugged. I'm thrilled to re-post his arguments here, because a) they're very good, if not exactly what my slightly-more-cynical self would say; and b) I hate writing about Rand myself because it just makes me froth - on a very real level I don't think her "arguments" are even worth taking seriously enough to rebut, so I just go all OMG ARE YOU SERIOUS MORON at people who defend them. Scott does a much better job of giving real answers, and not only are they patient and accurate, but I can totally get behind his thinking, which is based pretty firmly in the Golden Rule. Go, Scott! ;)
[I can't speak to the veracity of Sergio Marchionne's speech yet, but Scott was nice enough to score me a bit of it, so perhaps -- assuming it's less rage-inducing than Rand, heh -- I'll address that bit separately later. Also, all the emphases below are mine. --PD]
When I read Atlas Shrugged, I felt like Rand was completely overlooking how we have come to this state of society - we all work together to make a better place, and we pass that down not just to our own children, but to everyone. I owe (along with those lost to history) those people who decided to build our national infrastructure of roads using public money, which changed the fate of our country in incredible ways. I owe the people who determined that my mom didn't have to pay taxes because she didn't make enough to buy me shoes as a baby, because I would not be where I am now if she wasn't given the chance to succeed. She never accepted welfare, but it wasn't because she wasn't eligible.
On a personal level, I think that while my success in life is certainly not possible without my own efforts, it is also a matter of blind luck at having been born where, when, and to whom I was born to, and that if I didn't have the benefits I did not earn before I was of working age, I would be in significant trouble.
I am proud of the things I have done and the person I have tried to be, but our country does not owe me - I owe it. And I think that everyone else who has driven on public roads, enjoyed greenery that would otherwise be developed, has flouridated water, and enjoys vehicles that get more than 10 miles to the gallon also owe those people. I can't pay it back to them, so I pay it forward.
Everyone in society benefits from keeping people healthy and educated. Whether they deserve it or not, whether they have worked hard for it or not, allowing people to wallow in their miserable, painful lives until their untimely death does not help our GDP, and it is not moving forward toward a society I want to be in. It is not in our self-interest as a nation to not take care of our own, unless you subscribe to the brutal eugenics some people mistake for natural selection, and in that case, it is a step too far for me. The people Atlas Shrugged would reject are human beings as valid as any 'hard worker' is, with just as much of a right to exist (ethically speaking).
If a small portion of my income goes to someone who buys twinkies as their only source of pleasure and sustenance, I don't care. It is a very small price to pay for having the opportunity to be college-educated, to work in a comfortable office, to make more money than I need to survive, to have medical insurance, to be able to get in my car and drive anywhere in this entire country I want to go, at my own whim, when other people are literally incapable of leaving the city because they can't afford the time off, the gas, or car. I have friends who can loan me cash if I need it, family who can take me in if I'm suddenly unemployed, and I live in a society that will help me pay my bills because it is better for me to find a job and continue to contribute than to lose me forever.
I would prefer for there not to be waste or greed or corruption, but this is the real world, and just like communism is a failure (by its own rules) due to human greed, strict and total free market capitalism is a societal failure due to the corruption and greed of individuals. People do NOT behave in their best long-term interest, and corporations don't either - they behave in ways that are best for the short-term gain of their stockholders, to the folly of future generations. No offense to stockholders. ;)
I accept that I worked hard for money that will go toward some things I do not desire and would not choose. I think the fear that other people might get something that they don't deserve when we're talking about a block of cheese or a flu shot, is cruel and sad. That doesn't mean I won't stand up and make my opinions known, or try to influence my politicians toward where I think my money should be spent.
There are also people who work their asses off, put themselves through college, get laid off through no fault of their own, become homeless, and die due to those conditions. I know of no technique to determine the difference between those who "deserve" charity and those who do not with 100% certainty. Either way, though, I have it so, so much better than so many people in this world, both through skill and luck, and I think it is ridiculous hubris for me to think that I should not be contributing to my community and society. I don't believe in God, but the phrase "There but for the grace of God go I" has rung through my head ever since (yes, I'm invoking her) my grandmother said it to me, and I try to always keep it in mind. [I love that phrase; I just shorten it to "There but for Grace go I". However, keeping God in it is a nice reminder to Christians, I think, that in spite of what most Megachurches will tell you nowadays, God does not in fact ensure that all the people he likes are born white and wealthy as a reward for their awesomeness, and Jesus was pretty clear about making sure that everyone is taken care of, whether you think they deserve it or not. And speaking of deserving things, people who claim to be Christian and Randian deserve to explode in a flaming gout of poor reading comprehension. -PD]
I believe in the power of capitalism to move society forward, just as I believe that someone with power -must- represent those interests that are -NOT- met by money alone. [And I totally want to discuss this bit more with Scott, because I'm not sure I do believe it...but I love him and I respect his opinions enough to post all of them. ;)]
Sergio Marchionne, the CEO of Chrysler and Fiat, had a few things to say about what's going on right now and what impact it has on business at a conference recently. He is one of the most incredibly successful CEOs to exist in this generation, having brought back companies from the brink of death, and I believe firmly in the things he said.
He ended his speech with this: "This is a story of revitalization in a company that was regarded as irrelevant, set in a city that had been disparaged as a failure. It is just one example of how impossible feats of recovery can be achieved if we work together in good faith, realizing that we have a stake in each other's success."
Originally published at *Transcendental *Logic. You can comment here or there.