Thursday, February 08, 2007

Decent

Sometimes someone will hit a button by accident that sends all these random thoughts that have been collecting like dustbunnies in the unconscious mind right to the forefront of your conscious thought and this whole thing pops out in a formula that you'd never have put together without that unsought stimulus. I had one of those moments recently. I suddenly found myself arguing that the problems in the world aren't due to overpopulation, but to bad values. Duh, of course that's true, and of course I've known that, but it'd never hit me quite so baldly before. If those with an overwhelming abundance would simply choose to be satisfied with a decent life rather than a luxurious one, those with nothing would be treated decently too.
I like to fantasize occasionally about being a wildly successful author. In the fantasies various little luxuries like a beach house and a sports car (I'm not sure why, but I love excellent machinery) are part of the pleasure of my enhanced cash flow. I don't think I'll ever be able to enjoy that perspective again. I have a feeling that even if I did write the next great novel and it actually sold well I wouldn't be able to indulge without feeling like I was robbing someone else who needed food and shelter and an education so that they can read my inspiring tome. I think from now on I'm going to have to learn to be satisfied with my decent life.
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2 comments:

Steve Poling said...

I've argued elsewhere that the Population Explosion was a hoax that I bought into and now feel quite annoyed by. I limited my family to 2 children, and then after they're turning out pretty darned good, and after I'm finding out pretty good at this Dad thing, the news comes out that Europe's birth rate doesn't match replacement levels and that Japan's population is actually dropping.

How, exactly would human nature be any different if the world's population was 10% of its present level? We'd find something else to kill each other about. Reread James 4. It wasn't written after Paul Ehrlich's "Population Bomb" was written, and it won't be repealed if we could move 90% of Earth's population to interstellar colonies.

Now, as for your conscience. James 2 doesn't give you much to work with if you've got that beach house and sports car, while your brother or sister is destitute and without food.

But James 2 must be interpreted in light of the rest of economic theory. You might want to talk to Father Sirico at the Acton Institute about that. Greg used to work for him.

Say the word and I'll lend you my copy of "The Tragedy of American Compassion" by Marv Olaski (if the last person I lent it to has returned it). The thesis of the book is that America won the war on poverty 130 years ago then pissed away that victory.

Jesus said we'll always have the poor when the guilt-manipulator tried to squelch the woman with the bottle of expensive perfume. Poverty is a part of that human nature we're not going to change.

So, you can probably buy your beach house and Corvette, but you should rightly feel a bit of tension.

2:59 PM
Christine Ansorge said...

How did you know it was a Corvette? Is my loyalty to Chevy that obvious?

5:52 PM

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