Religion and Politics

Today's quote comes from Mahatma Gandhi

“Those who say religion has nothing to do with politics do not know what religion is.”

The word religion is only used five time in the Bible, two of those times it's used to discuss different sects of Judaism. In James 1:27 the Bible says this of religion.

"Religion that God our Father accepts as pure and faultless is this: to look after orphans and widows in their distress and to keep oneself from being polluted by the world."

So I wonder how did we get from that command about religion to the moral majority and the evangelical right or to the concept of social justice? It seems as though many today think that religion has a great deal to do with politics but I disagree. I think as James says we should focus on looking after the least of us and staying pure despite of this world.

Art and Zero Sum

Today's quote comes from Ayn Rand

"A creative man is motivated by the desire to achieve, not by the desire to beat others"

One of the biggest misunderstanding about economics is that it's a zero sum game; in other words for every millionaire there has to be hundreds of poor people that he got his money from. This is not true because wealth can be created and just like creative pursuits like painting or film making someone can create something that can be enjoyed by others without them losing. It's not like if I make a movie there's someone out there that doesn't get a movie made as a direct result. The millionaire creates capital and employs hundreds of people.

My favorite example of this is John D. Rockefeller and Standard Oil. History has cast Rockefeller as the villain for being greedy but he actually did more to help the poor and working classes than any philanthropist ever did. Before Standard Oil lighting was provided by candles or whale oil which was very expensive and unfordable to most. Most American's would get up with the sun go to work stop work when the sun was going down go home eat a quick dinner by candle light and go to bed because they couldn't afford light. However with Standard Oil it became affordable to light your house, you could stay up after dinner, you could spend time with your family, you could read the newspaper and books to educate yourself. Rockefeller made this possible not by beating anyone but by achieving greatness in business.

The Millionaire and the Bureaucrat

Today's quote comes from F.A. Hayek.

"Who can seriously doubt that the power which a millionaire, who may be my employer, has over me is very much less than that which the smallest bureaucrat possesses who wields the coercive power of the state and on whose discretion it depends how I am allowed to live and work?”

A millionaire who is your employer has economic influence over you for sure and if you don't do what he tells you to do can fire you or withhold your salary the worst he can do is tell others not to hire you. But any bureaucrat in the government can use the force of the entire state to make you do what he wants, he can have you thrown in prison or have your property seized if you disobey him. Which is worse?

Virtual World

Today's quote comes from a paper by Edward Castronova on virtual reality.

"In March 1999, a small number of Californians discovered a new world called Norrath, populated by an exotic but industrious people. About 12,000 people call this place their permanent home, although some 60,000 are present there at any given time. The nominal hourly wage is about USD 3.42 per hour, and the labors of the people produce a GNP per capita somewhere between that of Russia and Bulgaria. A unit of Norrath's currency is traded on exchange markets at USD 0.0107, higher than the Yen and the Lira. The economy is characterized by extreme inequality, yet life there is quite attractive to many."

Norrath is the universe that the MMORPG Everquest is played in and I think it brings up some interesting questions and makes some interesting points. First off what does it mean when more and more of the world lives online? When they feel more of a connection to their internet nation than their physical nation will we eventually have dual citizenship? Also notice that even with extreme inequality in income people continue to flock there and they produce currency that is more valuable than Yen and Lira and they do all this without a government who is attempting to solve the inequality.

Power and Wisdom

Today's quote comes from Thomas Jefferson

"I hope that our wisdom will grow with our power, and teach us that the less we use our power the greater it will be."

In January of 2009 President Obama gave a speech to the Muslim world in Cairo he used this quote to call for less American intervention. He has since then increase American intervention overseas while continuing to call for a less aggressive American military.

Sarah Palin Saturday criticized Obama for this view point saying "I would hope that our leaders in Washington, D.C., understand we like to be a dominant superpower. I don't understand a world view where we have to question whether we like it or not that America is powerful."

It seem like we still have some wisdom to gain since America likes to be a dominant superpower, an idea that is more in line with imperial Britain than our Founding Fathers.

Treebeard

Today's quote comes from J.R.R. Tolkien by way of Treebeard.

"I am not altogether on anybody's side, because nobody is altogether on my side"

A friend of mine saw this and suggested I use it for my blog. It's a fun little quote that speaks to me. I have been at odds with mainstream thought on large issues for some time now and it's rare to find someone who agrees with me. Even more so lately. On my very first film I was surprised to find that most of the students my age on the project held similar views to me and when I went out to Colorado with them to film several other films I learned again that we were very similar. In fact I have run into many actors and crew members who are very Libertarian in the film industry. I was surprised at first because I had been told growing up by evangelical leaders that everyone in the film industry where godless liberals but I have found that to not be the case.

Samuel Adams and Ron Paul

Today's quote comes from Samuel Adams.

"It does not require a majority to prevail, but rather an irate, tireless minority keen to set brush fires in people's minds."

I lived in Texas in the 1990s and it was then that I learned of Ron Paul, since then I have followed his Congressional career closely and during the 2008 Presidential campaign I volunteered several times with his campaign. He of course did not win but brush minds had been set. Wednesday Rassmusen conducted a poll that asked in a hypothetical 2012 Presidential Election match up between Ron Paul and Barack Obama who would you vote for? 42% said Barack Obama, 41% said Ron Paul. I think Ron Paul's ideas are sorely needed in these economic times and that in 2012 he has a chance at winning. So I will continue to be an irate, tireless minority.