These are just my thoughts, I would love to here some of yours!
Sunday, July 25, 2010
Any Rand vs. Kurt Vonnegut
I presume most of you are at least somewhat familiar with both these authors and would agree that at first glance they represent different sides of a spectrum, but in reading Player Piano I have come to believe that both authors fear the same evil. I specifically refer to Rand’s novel Atlas Shrugged. Both books talk about a future United States where the government seems to be united by its fear of sabotage and because of this the government passes legislation that makes the economy stagnant (meaning no creation of new jobs and industries and no changing of rates and wages), and this stagnant economy creates an unhappy and gloomy work force. I think both authors would agree that working in a functioning free market economy is the recipe for happiness in the common man. Though these two authors have different perspectives, they fear a common enemy: Stagnation.
These are just my thoughts, I would love to here some of yours!
These are just my thoughts, I would love to here some of yours!
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I agree that there are similarities between the authors in that they both fear a central government with too much control over the economy, but I think Ayn Rand and Vonnegut think quite differently about the mechanization of industry.
ReplyDeleteI am 3/4 done with Player Piano and it seems like Vonnegut has two messages he tries to make through the book. 1) Government should not interfere with the economy and 2) Machines take away jobs, which is bad. He blends the two arguments together so often that it is hard sometime to see the subtle differences.
Ayn Rand would strongly disagree with Vonnegut's claim that machines are ruining the soul of the working class. When companies act in their best interests, it is good for the company and good for society (including the working class). While Vonnegut would disagree with this statement, I think the fact that his book has incorrectly predicted the future is evidence of the truth in Ayn Rand's fundamental beliefs. I said it earlier, so I won't go into detail, but we are all better off because of the efficiencies of new technologies and finding lower labor costs.
The greatest difference I see in our society from player piano is that we have been able to maintain a much better meritocratic society than what is portrayed in Player Piano. The most successful people in our society do not have any PhDs or special IQ tests (Gates, Jobs, Zuckerburg, etc etc). The internet has created a near perfect meritocracy where anyone who wants to learn can find just about any piece of information and the best web developer, programmer, blogger, musician etc. will create value regardless of their degree. One of the only industries that still forces certifications to qualify for a job is Teaching. We can all see the negative effects of having barriers of entry into the profession such as these. Certifications mean nothing, IQ means very little once you have over average, and the flattening of the world (through the internet and less barriers on international trade and employment) will make it harder and harder to fake your usefulness to society by hiding behind degrees (which can basically be paid for by parents with connections as Matt mentioned earlier).
http://www.ij.org/ the Institute for Justice has a few great podcasts detailing their work in the fight against government created barriers to entry, or the only real monopolies. government required certification and licensing is an absolute joke and like most of the gov's actions leads to sad unintended consequences. for example, they recently won a court battle in a state where the local established florists were pushing for legislation requiring startup florists to become licensed/certified. can you believe that. licensed beauticians, certified hair braiders... such ridiculous things do exist. and as a licensed teacher i somewhat understand how little it means.
ReplyDeleteSpeaking of barriers to entry, I just spent a couple hours looking into incorporating a Non-profit. I would basically need to file papers in every state (each state requires several pages of paper work and notary and other crap) and pay a nominal fee ($75 X 50 adds up). Unless you can afford to bankroll a lawyer and pay the fees, I don't see how you even start up a business.
ReplyDeleteI will definitely look into podcast
My sister started a small tanning business 2 years ago: $16,000 for everything bureaucratic (licensing, paperwork, legal fees, etc). So much for American free enterprise. But it's all for the good and safety of the consumer!
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