American History Review: From Hard Work to Handouts
Posted on 20 May 2008 by Michael Callaway
First, let me apologize for my absence the last couple weeks. There is no need to fear, your favorite political correspondent was not kidnapped by “They” as was speculated following my last blog. My wife and I were in Guatemala visiting family. We certainly had a wonderful time but, I digress.
While in Guatemala, the subject of politics came up as it normally does. My uncle has been involved in Guatemalan politics for years and has met every US President since Ronald Reagan. He hates all three of candidates for President and is rooting for Barack Obama. Not because he believes in “Yes, we can” but rather because he feels like he will be the worst candidate and that it will finally wake up Americans and remind them of what made America the greatest nation in the world.
Now, I do not agree 100% with the idea that all three are bad or that if elected Barack Obama will destroy the United States. However, my uncle does have a solid point about what truly made America great and I would now like to share that with you.
Three hundred years ago, American settlers in rickety wooden boats, endured horrible living conditions to come to the New World. Why did they do this? Was it because of the great health care system or because of quality education? Was it because the poor would be taken care of here better then any other place in the world? Was it because you were guaranteed a minimum wage? The answer is no, life in the American colonies was very hard. Europeans who came here experienced a lower life expectancy. Children worked as they did not have schools like they did in Europe.
The reason people made this dangerous voyage to a difficult place was because they wanted freedom to practice their religion and economic opportunity. Now this economic opportunity did not come with any guarantee of success, there was no government bail out if the business venture went bad. These people did not come to this country with the thought that opportunity would be given to them as a right. All they wanted was the opportunity to see if by entrepreneurial spirit, hard work and a little luck, they might, just might succeed.
Today, everyone wants a guarantee. Housing goes down because people were speculating the real estate market would never go bust. Government must come to the rescue. Banking industry is in trouble because people who should have known better made bad investments. Government must come to the rescue. People build houses and business in a flood zone and, surprise, surprise there is a flood. Government must come to the rescue.
In economics there is a phrase, “There is no such thing as free lunch”. While you may not be the one paying for it, someone is. We have slowly developed from a people who were determined to go out and make their own lunch to a people who want to sit back and complain that we are hungry and need government to feed us.
Three hundred years ago the American colonies were like a third world country today. I am sure that it would have come as a shock to the monarchs of Europe that in just a little over two hundred years this third world country would be the most powerful nation the world has ever known.
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May 20th, 2008 at 12:17 pm
Another good read, Michael. What I’d like to know, is how your historical perspective informs the political and economic present. You mentioned Obama at the start, and I’d like to see you tie in your thoughts on what to expect if Obama is elected.
May 20th, 2008 at 8:33 pm
In “Rights From Wrongs,” Alan Dershowitz makes the point that our Bill of Rights is made up of “negative rights” as compared to “positive rights.” In short, the Founders prohibited a number of “crimes” that past governments throughout the world had perpetrated on their citizens. There was no abstract theory involved: Their motive was simply to protect us from actual past injustices, so they dictated that the government “shall not” confiscate property, limit free speech, establish a monopoly religion, imprison without safeguards, etc.
The idea was that citizens must be free from oppression, free to live their lives and employ their initiative and imagination without burdensome regulation or controls from on top. That civil atmosphere allowed poor immigrants to arrive and build lives and fortunes for themselves and their families. It also encouraged a positive pro-active “attitude” among the people built on self-reliance and independence. This attitude along with an open economy produced a couple centuries of extraordinary growth and affluence.
Unfortunately, like most democracies, we have gradually drifted toward a populist democracy with political demagogues seeking to buy votes by promising “goodies for all.” Historically, this has been a common failing, with a growing central government that doles out goodies to voters. That trend eventually undermines the original self-reliant attitude of those who created the affluence. For the last 100 years American governance has followed this drift. It has been the Democratic party that promises the most, and their constituency is built on the recipients of such largesse. Obama and Clinton plan huge new programs. These new programs cater to the new alleged “positive rights” that we should have–basically a free lunch, whether its free drugs for elders, expanded welfare, or national health care.
This 100 year rise of positive rights has created a “victim” mentality that has overcome the self-reliant “attitude” that built America. Free will has been trumped by social determinism and welfare checks. Liberty has been traded for security and a contrived and managed equality. The American spirit is being destroyed by excess compassion and the arrogance of centrist-planners who believe they can fix everyman’s problems. They will not cure the problems, but their efforts will kill America’s success story. There are many things one cannot turn back the clock on, but personal responsibility and penalties for bad behavior are not among them. Given human nature, which is unchanged throughout recorded history, negative rights are essential, positive rights are self-destructing.