Quirky thoughts from an old man.
“The trouble with socialism is socialism the trouble with capitalism is capitalists”
Capitalism harnesses greed to grow a nations wealth but while everyone has more, the wealth remains unevenly distributed. Many capitalists are too greedy. Men are made of crooked timber.
FYI I have used about fifty Winston Churchill quotes on my blog over the last 20 years.
We all dream of living in a tight knit community, a tribe or band, where we share everything and are “all in it together.” I call it the “socialist instinct.” But that is not our reality. The harnessing of power outside of manpower has allowed us to drive away famine and disease. But it came at a price. In order to have the surplus that allows us the time for science and technology we have had to create a complex society that feels at least a little bit alien to all of us.
Unfortunately I can’t see how we can go back to the small nurturing tribe and keep all of the benefits of our complex society. The struggle between the new socialists and the realists will go on. If you have a solution let me know. Continue reading “The Socialist Instinct”
“How are you going to determine what the work is worth unless you begin thinking that a day’s work is worth a certain sum of money.”
The quote above was written by Elwood Mead the famous dam builder in 1927. He was consulting in Israel at the time and was arguing against the Socialist Zionists and the Kibbutz movement. He was so famous that after he supervised the construction of Hoover Dam, Lake Mead was named after him.
Mead turned out to be prescient about socialism. The kibbutz movement is coming to an end in Israel.
Here is a little known fact: Mead designed many of the water projects that made the Jezreel, Esdraelon and Jordan Valleys bloom.