We all want to be one of the good guys. We want to do the right thing. However, it's far from clear what this means in practical terms. All we have as a guiding principle is the golden rule. We should do to others what we would like to have them do to us. But that's awfully vague. What exactly is it that we would like others to do? Surely, this is something that varies quite a lot from one person to another. However, there are some things we can all agree on. We don't want people to hurt us, steal from us, or defraud us. By and large, we want to be left alone to take care of our own affairs. We don't want people to nose around in our personal lives, even if the intent is to help us in some way. Unless we're in a desperate situation, we'd rather take care of ourselves.
This sort of guideline works well in our daily lives. It comes naturally to us. We don't think about it. We simply act this way out of intuition and habit. But what about bigger things, like solidarity beyond our immediate circle of family and friends. We are told that there are things that are greater than ourselves. As examples, we are told that family, and especially children, need our protection. We are also told that our nation is something worth our sacrifice. As John F. Kennedy once said: "Ask not what your country can do for you, but what you can do for your country." But is this good advice?
First off, we must recognize the fallacy in the above reasoning. While it's true that family, and especially children, deserve our protection, it doesn't follow that we must support our national government. Rather, the opposite is true. One of the greatest threats to our family's wellbeing is the national government. Listening to the advice of politicians has been the ruin of many a family. Sending children to war and putting savings into government bonds was hardly the right thing to do during the great war of 1914 to 1918, regardless of which side of the border the families lived. The same can be said about pretty much every war. Certainly any war fought abroad.
Contrary to popular belief, national interests rarely coincides with the interests of ordinary people. National interests align with the interests of a few individuals in government and their corporate friends. For the rest, government is a burden and a net loss, especially during times of crisis. When Weimar Germany was in the midst of its hyperinflationary melt down, politicians of all colours would urge people to keep their savings in the bank. Above all, people were urged not to buy gold. The right thing to do was of course the opposite of what the politicians were saying.
However, this doesn't mean that we should always do the opposite of whatever is in the interest of government and their corporate backers. Taking advice from radicals hell bent on inflicting pain on government and corporations will land us in just as much trouble as if we listened blindly to government advice. A lot of pigs got slaughtered during the latest wild moves in Game Stop and silver.
It's not only government authority that we should be wary of. Blindly following any kind of authority will lead us astray. There's simply no way around the fact that we must think for ourselves or risk having others take advantage of our trust. As a general rule, we must be sceptical to any call for action beyond our personal affairs. If something is of no direct danger or concern to us in our neighbourhood, family or circle of friends, why should we risk blood and treasure in dealing with it? In what way does it make our lives better to fight wars in distant lands, or pay for policies that benefit others rather than us?
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| John F. Kennedy |
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