Fourier Complex

An recent post of mine over on the Blog at Mises.org.

The Fourier Complex

Some concepts remain hidden until pointed out by others. Then, once spotted for the first time, they begin to appear everywhere. The Fourier complex is one such concept.

Mises defined the Fourier complex as the pathological desire to accept a less favored condition as long as someone else - the object of envy or resentment - is made to suffer to some degree. There is the obvious example: the desire of the ardent socialist to suffer the ravages of nature so long as the capitalist suffers as well. And then there are the oh-so-subtle examples. Consider this interaction I had with someone suffering from the complex.

While a group discussed the high winds we experienced from the remnants of Hurricane Ike, a woman noted the lack of emergency sirens in our area. She said, "We should have had sirens to warn folks of the winds."

I replied, "The winds were obvious. Plus we had high winds for over five hours. The sirens would have driven us mad long before my first shingle took flight."

She dug in, "We have to have sirens so that folks remain in their homes during high winds. People in my neighborhood were playing outside as if nothing was wrong."

Aha! The Fourier complex.

So, there you have it. This woman would rather be driven mad by the wail of sirens than see her neighbors enjoy high winds from the edge of a dying hurricane. Look around, you'll find the Fourier complex everywhere.