Misconceptions Addressed: The Need for the Rich

Or: Atlas Needs Us, We Don't Need Him

I got into a lengthy discussion with my grandmother, yesterday, that was set off by a set of side-by-side columns in the Washington Post. The column I had commented on was one that speaks against taxing the rich based on fairness. The conversation that ensued -which was initially about an analogy used by the columnist that I thought was intellectually dishonest- elevated to being one about entrepreneurship.

I've addressed before, and I eventually managed to make clear to her, that the American Meritocracy is a myth because, despite the few rags-to-riches stories that are over-emphasized to appear typical, the odds against a person of little privilege "pulling themselves up by their own bootstraps" are phenomenal.

What the discussion came down to was that, according to her, the rich are overpaid for many things, but they are still necessary as our society's source of management and innovation. If they weren't there to take the risks and start the businesses, where would the innovation come from?

I managed to make my point clear enough, but I had one of those, "Goddamn it, that's what I should have said!" moments later on in the evening.

What I should have said was "Creators gonna create, Mimi."

That's the real gist of it. Production of commodities is driven by demand. Demand comes from need, and need existed long before -and will continue to exist long after- capitalist middle-men. We planted and harvested corn because we were hungry, we built houses because we needed shelter, we invented games because we were bored. Need drives innovation and need drives production, not a dollar bill on a fishing pole. If we need it, we will create it somehow; and if Jonas Salk (inventor of the Polio vaccine) had "gone Galt," someone else would have done what he neglected to do.

Just like haters gonna hate and masturbators gonna masturbate, so are creators gonna create and innovators gonna innovate. You don't become a doctor or teacher for the paycheck, you do it because you have a desire to heal and teach. Salk didn't invent invent the Polio vaccine because he got paid, he invented it because there was a need for it and he had the desire to fill that need. This, of course, isn't to say that these innovators and inventors shouldn't be reimbursed for their contributions to the public, only that their motivations are not, and should not be, simply to exploit society's needs for a profit.

In industry, innovation would be better to come from the engineers and workers motivated by efficiency and practicality, rather than coming from executives and marketers motivated by profit alone. How many revolutionary innovations do you think have been ignored because they did not promise a hefty return on someone's investment? How many more do you think have been outright sabotaged, despite how they might have helped mankind, because they threatened to hurt profits? The incredibly slow progress of the search for alternative energy is a perfect example. Because oil is more profitable right now than alternative energy, and because alternative energy is a threat to oil profits, the free market suffocates efforts to advance it.

Again, I'm not proposing that everyone just do everything they do for free (although I'm not saying that wouldn't be great, either). I'm saying that, when we need something, we are going to find a way to get it with or without those who would exploit that need for profit.

Of course, this is all ignoring the fact that very few of the super rich in this world actually are the innovators and creators that bring our civilization progress and prosperity; quite the contrary. The conservatives and Ayn Rands of the world would surely like us to believe this, but it is simply not true. The majority of our super rich are those born into relative privilege (most of whom were born into exorbitant privilege), and either utilized that privilege to jump into management positions, or used their unearned wealth and property to invest in the creators and innovators who have no other way of doing what they do best.

Class Rage: A Confession

[first part of an indefinite part series outlining my own personal experiences with class conflict]

Most people either hate or love Che Guevara. I don’t do either. I sympathize with him. This isn’t about Che, though, I’m getting to something else.

Che, with all of his good deeds and pure intentions, was a brutal motherfucker. He killed soldiers that went AWOL, delighted in executing bourgeoisie fascists and screamed for blood during the Cuban Missile Crisis. I sometimes fear I might get to that point.

I’ve personally seen many of the things I crusade against. No, I’m not third world worker/slave or anything like that -my problems are 1st world problems- but I was brought up in a very conservative Catholic household, in a town built around a Navy Base, and went to a school that forced patriotism down my throat like crack down a toilet. I was also very poor. For several years my dad worked 7 days a week just to keep my mom, my brother and I fed. We relied on WIC for food, laundromats for laundry, the bus for transportation, etc. etc. Of course, I didn’t know any different; things typical middle class kids got to experience were “for rich kids.” Chuck E. Cheese, for example, was something to fantasize about like visiting Paris or going on a cruise.

I understand, as I understood then, that I was also very lucky. With everything we struggled with I knew families that had it much worse and I watched many of their homes break apart. I watched my Dad work his ass off to “climb the ladder” only to get laid off after having an accident and have his insurance company and its for-hire doctor try to screw him out of workers comp.

I’ve seen the struggles of the working class first hand. I’ve seen first hand the effects of racism among my classmates, I’ve seen first hand the effects of the Military Industrial Complex and of Gentrification in my hometown, I’ve had close relationships with a number of rape victims and I’ve watched loved ones hurt themselves and starve themselves because of corporate beauty standards.

I once identified and agreed with these things. I was “pro life,” anti secularism, anti gay rights; I was even an “anarcho” capitalist for a while. And you know what? I’ve turned away from all of those things because I realized on my own, through thought and experience, that they were wrong.

But enough autobiographical crap. That’s not the point of this.

What I’m getting at is that I’m at a point where a sense of righteousness is turning into hatred. I’m not strong enough to love all humanity. I’d like to, but there are people out there who profit on a daily basis from sickness, there are people who would execute gays just for who they love, there are racists and xenophobes in public office, there are politicians who knowingly fuck over millions of people for their corporate buddies. Think about that for a moment.

I hate them. For some there is ignorance, but for some there is outright malice and greed. Fuck them. How fucking dare them? Sometimes I think about everything that’s fucked up in this world, and I can’t help but fantasize about lining up every homophobic bigot, rapist, insurance executive and war profiteer and burning them alive.

That makes me no better than they are. Their monstrosity has turned me into a monster and that makes me hate them even more. I don’t like feeling that way. So, no, Che was not justified in his executions but I do understand how he got to that point. I know what it feels like when class rage turns into bloodlust.

My fear is that it might turn me into something that can’t actually make any positive changes because my anger makes me ineffectual. My fear is that I might become violent, that I might become like Che or some despotic lunatic.

But I guess being aware of it is the best way to prevent it from getting worse. I’ve always had anger problems anyway. I guess not wanting to become “that” puts me one step ahead; makes me better than “that.”

So here’s my silly little proposal: I want you all to promise me that if I ever become a murderer or if -during some kind of revolution if there ever is one- I become power hungry, no matter how pure my intentions are, I want you to kill me. Put me out of my misery and let me die with my honor intact.

But, you know what? Writing it all down helps. Getting it out there and off my chest helps. An hour ago I felt like I could snap any second, but now I feel like I actually could love all humanity unconditionally. So thanks for listening to me for a few minutes.