Civilization’s Lies
One of the sad characteristics of contemporary Western society is the tendency to embrace noble lies. These are assertions and acts that don’t square with reality, with what we see and hear—and are voiced for apparently noble social purposes. Here are a few politically-incorrect examples.
1) Debt and Deficits. At our current rate we will very soon pile up between $18 and $20 trillion in accumulated national debt. We use the euphemism “stimulus”, talk of massive borrowing in terms of percentages of GDP, and casually pontificate about “inflating” our way out of the debt. The fact is that the borrowing is now so massive that there is no way to pay back what we owe without massive cutbacks in accustomed services, and a probable decline in the apparent standard of living. I say “apparent” since many of the essentials that we are accustomed to—everything from sophisticated psychiatric counseling for long-term inmates, frivolous law suits, duplicate and needless medical procedures, to government employee expense accounts, farm subsidies, or grants to the arts and media—are not that essential and will gradually begin to disappear. Raising taxes will be in the short-term offered as a solution, but it won’t for long increase net aggregate revenue since it will eventually discourage economic activity.
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Joe Says:
When a society loses its morals the society is on a toboggan run to the bottom. Unfortunately it is the leftist ideal to destroy all vestiges of the morality that made the West the powerhouse it became. I was talking to an accountant the other day who said he has stopped doing audits because employee theft is so rampant. I was in the grocery store a while back and the clerk gave me too much change. When I returned it he asked me why? I remember as a young man getting in my friend’s truck. It had been parked on the busiest street in town. The doors were unlocked, the keys were in the ignition there was a 30-06 rifle in the back window and a box of shells sitting on the seat. If you looked down the street there were numerous vehicles similarly parked. The local morality dictated that no one would steal the truck or the rifle or use the rifle for any reason without permission and then only for target practice or hunting.
Posted on February 6th, 2010 at 12:39 pm
Cynapse Says:
This argument is made en masse at least once per generation …
And yet the quality of life continues to improve.
I think people just fear change, especially as they start to remember their childhood fondly rather than accurately.
Posted on February 6th, 2010 at 1:16 pm
rob misek Says:
Valuing the truth is morality. We improve because it is also a force of evolution. All creatures discriminate between unequal behaviours and teach their offspring to do the same. If the behaviour is truth, they improve.
It has been this way since the beginning of time. Our civilization moves forward whenever we choose truth and backward when we choose lies. have we forgotten what caused the recession?
Someone may not care enough about the truth to value and support it, but when they are exposed, their behaviour receives discrimination and they are not believed or trusted by others. Lying is the crime of misleading others. Motive and opportunity are irrelevant.
When people discriminate against lying behaviour including criminal punishment, liars recognize what they are missing, and perhaps choose truth in the future.
Posted on February 6th, 2010 at 3:20 pm