Social Economics 101 - A Basic Lesson

We learned earlier that America is a great country for two reasons:
1) It is Economically Driven, and
2) It is Socially Conscious

This is a profound, yet simple truth.

It is profound in its claim that capitalism and social justice are compatible, and in its correct assertion that the road to freedom and prosperity requires Capitalism to "drive" and Social Consciousness to "ride shotgun".

It's amazing that this truth is considered to be a new idea, a breakthrough in understanding. It shouldn't be. It should be obvious. It is both historic and traditional.

The opposite is also true; countries that are socially driven are economically unconscious. They are not great contries. They are not as free. They are not as prosperous.

Without an economic component, the quest for social justice inevitably becomes a quest for social equality because the goal of "fairness" can never be reached. It is a platitude based on unilateral "sameness". Everyone earns the same, lives the same and has (owns) the same.

In contrast, free market enterprise (capital economics) considers "driving" (distribution based on hard work, wisdom and desire) to be the "fair" process that creates "differentness". But at the same time it creates innovation and efficiency.

In America, even the poor can own a car, find shelter and support themselves adequately, because technology has put these things within their economic reach, in spite of their meager means. Even the crumbs of capitalism are a sustaining resource for those "riding in the back seat". Does this metaphor begin to look like the American family, the archetype for capitalist society? You bet.

"Social economics" is an oximoron at best. It is the ideological dream of those surrounded by wealth but not participating in it. It believes that wealth will never go away, it simply needs to be redistributed. It believes that innovation has no motive, it is just one of the natural resources of America, like paved roads.

The Basic Lesson: Social economics is a strategy of positioning oneself to benefit from the transactions of others.

(Note: Don't confuse "social economics" with "social conscious". Social conscious is the responsibility of Republicans and Democrats alike, of conservatives and liberals alike.)