You and I /are/ the future. The free market is just one tool
we will use to make it. If you want to "contribute" with
self-sacrifice, I won't stop you. But that zero-sum way of
looking at life--that I cannot benefit others except at my
expense--causes stagnation. The future is created when bold
individuals create new things for their own benefit, and by
voluntary trade benefit others as well.
Many people say that a child reaches maturity when he first
thinks of the welfare of others. I have no doubt that this is
an important step, because those others form the world in which
he will live the rest of his life. But there's an important
further step that they miss: the first contract. The first time
one willingly obligates oneself to another for the benefit of
both. That is the act that creates the future. Sharing a toy
with your sister is fine, but trading one of your old ones for
one of hers to produce a new toy for both, or agreeing to pool
your allowances to buy an expensive toy and schedule its use by
agreement, those are the acts that create a better future for
everyone.
> there must be more to life.
> but then maybe i'm an idealist...
> Joost de Lyser
We're all idealists, we just have different ideals. I see
nothing more fundamentally moral, responsible, life-affirming--
indeed beautiful-- than the act of trade. No motive more noble
than profit. No measure of value better than the dollar. You
still seem to have some emotional attachment to selfless
altruism. I can't answer your emotional needs, you'll have to
do that for yourself. If there's ever anything I /can/ do for
you, just offer me a fair price.
-- Lee Daniel Crocker <lee@piclab.com> <http://www.piclab.com/lcrocker.html>