NEW YORK (PNN) - August 7, 2016 - Is the world economy a giant Rube Goldberg machine for the power elites? Are the rest of us just cogs in a wheel that need to be pushed and prodded with "policies" to get the results that the power elites want? They certainly believe so. Economic growth in advanced nations has been weaker for longer than it has been in the lifetime of most people on earth. It increasingly looks as if something fundamental is broken in the global growth machine.
Why should any individual care about something called "economic growth"? Answer: we shouldn't. The economy as a whole is nothing but an abstraction. It's an amalgamation of millions and millions of individual decisions that take place every second of the day. Since we only have power over our own decisions, "economic growth" is completely meaningless.
But central planners are cut from a different cloth. They see themselves as captains of the economy. Each individual is but a cog in the wheel that's supposed to crank out "growth" for the economy as a whole. These self-proclaimed captains believe that they can push and prod the cogs with violent force (they use the term "policies") in order to generate that "growth".
When there is no "economic growth" the captains start to worry. Are they following the wrong mathematical formula? Is there something wrong with the "machine"?
The reality of life couldn't be more different than the contraption that the central planners have erected in their minds.
In reality, each individual is free to grow, not grow, stagnate, or recede as he or she pleases. We are the captains of our own ships. If we want to produce (or not produce), it's our own prerogative and decision to make. No matter which direction we choose, we must live with the results of our choices.
We can be as productive as we want and as disciplined as we want. We can satisfy consumer desires on a large scale or small scale. If we desire riches, we must intensely identify what consumers desire most and provide it to them profitably. There is absolutely no need for some ivory tower PhD to lecture us about, or implement, a bunch of policies that involve government force or regulation.
There is no such thing as a "global growth machine". Humans are not robots that must be programmed by other humans to produce "growth". Rather, we are dynamic choosing individuals who have free will to chart our own courses. We can change our minds in a split-second as to which course to take.
Why do the central planners focus so intently on "economic growth"? Well, they need growth in order to finance their warfare and welfare projects.
Central planners, who produce absolutely nothing, make promise after promise in order to obtain their power. They imagine themselves as having the ability to cure every ill by stealing someone else's property and redistributing it. They imagine running the world militarily and having the entire globe live as the central planners think they should live.
In order to steal from (A) and redistribute the hot money to (B), it is (A) that must produce something first.
This is why the planners focus on "economic growth". When there is no growth, the promises that were made to an ever growing number of people living off government begin to pile up.
Those living off government start to get restless. More promises and free stuff is demanded. Fictional "rights", like a "right to healthcare" and a "right to a college education" are wished into being.
The Fascist Police States of Amerika government has already passed the point of no return in being able to fulfill all these demands. The government can't possibly fulfill all the financial benefits that have already been promised in the future.
In fact, the government struggles and continues to pile more and more debt just to fulfill the promises that are due today.
When there's no growth, the parasites overwhelm the host. Parasitism is a poor philosophy for a group of people to adopt. If there's one thing that the history of governments should have taught us, it's that living off the fruit of another person's labor is unsustainable.
Unfortunately, there are always people who lust for power and the ability to dole out unearned gifts. Likewise, there's never a shortage of people who desire unearned gifts.
Ultimately, every government "growth machine" breaks down. The central planners always lose. No exceptions. The FPSA version is on track to repeat history.
No growth? Not our problem.
Give our liberties back and leave us alone!
