Monday, July 14, 2008
For the Want of Bill Gates's Money
My latest article published by the Ludwig von Mises Institute (Mises.org).
For the Want of Bill Gates's Money
By Jim Fedako
Posted on 11/02/2007
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"It is not from the 'rich' that the sums called for could be obtained, it is not indeed from the rich that the vast social expenditures to date have been obtained." — Bertrand de Jouvenel, The Ethics of Redistribution
A persistent virus is beginning to spread, threatening to sweep the country as the next great epidemic. What is the ill? The Fourier Complex of course.
The Fourier Complex? Yes, it is the mental state — syndrome — identified by its vile symptoms: extreme envy, fear of the free market, belief in redistribution, and the desire to legislate deprivation in order to harm those better off.
Mises coined the term Fourier Complex in 1927 to describe the ends sought by those who dream of the world envisioned by Charles Fourier, the utopian socialist of the 19th century. Its sufferers desire equality in starvation rather than variation in plenty.
So, how does the Fourier Complex play out in the national debate? Simple. Any report that details variations in wealth is greeted with the call for redistribution, an equalization of money and things — value — regardless of the cost. The line of thought runs in this direction: The United States is blessed by resources that are to be used for the benefit of all. Whenever one exceeds his allotted possession or enjoyment of those resources, he must share his excess equally with all others.
For the sake of argument, let's agree that redistribution is the ethical solution to variations of income and wealth. It would then follow that Bill Gates has to sell his possessions and watch them be divided equally among the rest of us.
continue reading ...
For the Want of Bill Gates's Money
By Jim Fedako
Posted on 11/02/2007
[Subscribe or Tell Others]
"It is not from the 'rich' that the sums called for could be obtained, it is not indeed from the rich that the vast social expenditures to date have been obtained." — Bertrand de Jouvenel, The Ethics of Redistribution
A persistent virus is beginning to spread, threatening to sweep the country as the next great epidemic. What is the ill? The Fourier Complex of course.
The Fourier Complex? Yes, it is the mental state — syndrome — identified by its vile symptoms: extreme envy, fear of the free market, belief in redistribution, and the desire to legislate deprivation in order to harm those better off.
Mises coined the term Fourier Complex in 1927 to describe the ends sought by those who dream of the world envisioned by Charles Fourier, the utopian socialist of the 19th century. Its sufferers desire equality in starvation rather than variation in plenty.
So, how does the Fourier Complex play out in the national debate? Simple. Any report that details variations in wealth is greeted with the call for redistribution, an equalization of money and things — value — regardless of the cost. The line of thought runs in this direction: The United States is blessed by resources that are to be used for the benefit of all. Whenever one exceeds his allotted possession or enjoyment of those resources, he must share his excess equally with all others.
For the sake of argument, let's agree that redistribution is the ethical solution to variations of income and wealth. It would then follow that Bill Gates has to sell his possessions and watch them be divided equally among the rest of us.
continue reading ...
