I had mentioned in another post that Bill Bonner throws the occasional bomb. In today's column, he throws another one. Quote: "The honest capitalist gets what he is after by satisfying the wants and desires of others. He is no saint. Given an opportunity, he will cheat. Which is why he is so ready to send campaign contributions to Ms. Warren...". So, is he honest or not? Or are you very cynical about human nature or do you have a religious element and think that all people are basically sinners? If you had read "Atlas Shrugged" by Ayn Rand (of if you did, if you had also understood it), you would have seen the sharp contrast between honest capitalists (like Hank Reardon, Dagny Taggart, and others) vs. those that court government favors because they can't compete (like James Taggart and his ilk). Two different beings. You're either honest or you're not. Not some of the time when it suits you. What you are saying goes against the basic definition of honesty. Are you saying that no Hank Reardon's exist in this world, only people that do the right thing because they can make money doing it and will cheat at the first opportunity? If so, you come from a dark place. I bought your book and when I finish reading the book I am now reading, I will read yours. But if this is your attitude towards human nature while apparently also being a defender of the free market (capitalism), it is no wonder the Progressive Socialist/Fascist Nihilists are winning. They are winning because they present their cause in terms of morality. It's the morality of altruism, which is the morality of self-sacrifice, where the individual is sacrificed for the so-called "common good". It is incompatible with Capitalism which rests on the morality of self-interest and individual rights....which also means that you respect the rights of others. Ayn Rand explained all this not only in Atlas Shrugged but in her subsequent non-fiction books analyzing many issues from a philosophical and moral perspective. Much of this was written in the 1960's and '70's. If we had heeded her writings, we wouldn't be in the predicament we are in today.
While I agree that free enterprise; "capitalism," is the best system, your defense of the principle of selfishness (call it self interest if you like, same thing) is ignoring the elephant in the room: Why would a selfish person be honest? Why wouldn't he want to game the system in his favor?
Isn't dishonesty (selfishness) how we got to our present condition as a nation, and world? Haven't other nations and civilizations gotten there in the past? Didn't they all self destruct?
Is the principle of selfishness what you want to hang your hopes and dreams on?
There have been societies built on the principle of unselfishness, what the Bible calls agape. Such were the churches of the first century. But there was a falling away, 2 Thessalonians 2:3. God's church will make a comeback, and this time, it will finish it's work. Stay tuned.
If self-interest and selfishness are the same thing, why did you feel it necessary to replace self-interest with selfishness? Well, it's obvious - selfishness has the connotation that a person is trampling over others in order to enrich himself. So, you had to sneak that concept in by using "selfishness" since you could not openly characterize the free market as people defrauding each other - hence, your other insinuation of a "selfish" person wanting to "game the system". What does that mean? Again, since you cannot come out openly and say that the free market is composed of a bunch of dishonest fraudsters trying to take advantage of each other, you instead use the vague idea of "gaming the system" and let the reader interpret that phrase however he wants without really being direct and honest about what you actually mean. Then, you equate selfishness with dishonesty! Two different words, two different meanings. So, you think self-interest is evil? Are you saying you don't have any self-interest, only selflessness? Really? Do you have friends? If you do, do you pick friends that disgust you? Or do you pick friends that share your values? If the latter, you are being selfish because you are picking friends that are of value to you and therefore in your self-interest. In fact, just about everything you do is in your self-interest - from the food you enjoy, the home you live in, improving and educating yourself so you can have a rewarding career, etc. And you can do all these things without trampling over other people. So, how is this evil? Your "economic life" is just an extension of your "personal life". They are just different facets of your life. Here are some political systems built on selflessness: communism, socialism, fascism, and all kinds of authoritarianism. All expect you to work for the state, for society, or for the nation - or as it is normally put, sacrifice yourself for the common good. Hence, the millions of people who have been found to be expendable under these regimes, since the individual is always expendable for the greater cause. I have mentioned Ayn Rand because she was alone in defending capitalism on moral grounds in the 1940's until she died in the early '80s. That is, not on utilitarian grounds in that it works, but on moral grounds. Others have since followed her lead. Her last novel, Atlas Shrugged, published in 1957, shows through her characters what it means to live a moral life vs. what it means to be morally corrupt. The theme of that novel is as follows: the role of the mind in man's existence - and as corollary, the demonstration of a new moral philosophy: the morality of rational self-interest. After this novel, she wrote several non-fiction books on her philosophy, one of which was entitled, "The Virtue of Selfishness". She wrote in the introduction of that book, anticipating the backlash of using this title, that the dictionary definition of "selfishness" (at least at that time, 1964) was "concern with one's self-interest". She goes on to write: "This concept does not include a moral evaluation; it does not tell us whether concern with one's own interests is good or evil; nor does it tell us what constitutes man's actual interests. It is the task of ethics to answer such questions." In the remainder of the book, she explains what is legitimately in one's self-interest and contrasts self-interest with altruism. The opening essay is entitled, "The Objectivist Ethics" (Objectivism being what she called her philosophy). P.S. By the way, I am not saying that there is no fraud or criminal activity in a free market system. The purpose of a legitimate government, which would be based on the protection of individual rights, is to prosecute the criminals.
Wow, you seem to know a lot about me. Are you psychic? In fact, I do have friends that disgust me, or, rather, what they do and how they think disgusts me. But, I try to be their friend.
Anyway, rather than a TL;DR answer, as I was originally going to write, I wish you the best of luck getting to heaven in your little rowboat. I do know that Objectivism works, because it's been demonstrated in such prosperous nations as...um... I need a little help here.
Agape is a selfless fatherly love - not a way to run an economy.
There has never been a socialist enterprise of real scale that was not a total failure primarily because humans are motivated by self interest - which is doing the right thing for yourself and those for which you might be responsible. Self interest is not the same as selfish behavior. It is an essential element of sanity and it is the foundational force that makes capitalism out perform all other economic systems. It is like gravity in that 1) it works weather you believe it or not, and 2) like water running down hill- it needs it be channeled to prevent damage.
`In capitalism as in life- providing the best product at the best price always wins.
"Self interest" is defined by each person. As you know, Ayn Rand was an atheist. Thus, self interest may include cheating. Argue all you want, this is the reality, and here we are.
Receiving the life of God, Agape, is a way to run the economy, and in fact is the only way that is sustainable. See Acts 2:44-47. Please note, though, that 'having everything in common' was not the norm among the seven churches, but only in Jerusalem. Their fellow Jews would not trade with this 'detestable sect,' so they took care of each other. This was not necessary in the other churches, as the pagans they were trying to reach did not object to trading with them. This all ended with the falling away, but it will make a comeback.
The irony is that Marx considered religion 'the opiate of the masses,' but 'religion,' genuine Christianity, was the only way 'Marxism' could work. Lacking that, force was necessary, which is the devils tool.
You know nothing about Ayn Rand. In my reply to another comment of yours, Ayn Rand's novel, "Atlas Shrugged" demonstrates a moral philosophy. While "self-interest" can be defined by each person, Ayn Rand does define rational self-interest and it does not include cheating. As I noted above, you can find her writings on this subject in her non-fiction book, "The Virtue of Selfishness", as well as her many other non-fiction books. I explain the title in my other reply to you.
You analyze Bill's missive today brilliantly. Hopefully he will respond to it either directly or otherwise. He seems to subscribe to the concept that one can be "a little pregnant".
I admire you for really putting yourself out there. What courage you exhibit since everyone knows that Ayn Rand is the messiah. And the groundbreaking comment that "human nature is not a pretty thing". Well, it is and it isn't - depends on the human, doesn't it?
Stocks are green, debt ceiling increase passed, Supreme Court ruled in favor of student debt relief, we are now in July, Covid made a comeback, as the world turns! Hahaha 😂
You got me, I had to look up whether the SCOTUS has ruled on student debt relief. If they rule in favor of that it might be high time to denounce citizenship and high tail it to Costa Rica or some other bolthole where they respect property rights. Nice decoy, as usual-LOL.
lol, If Biden pulls it off (student debt relief), he’s going to gain and noticeably lead the polls through the fall (2023), but then The Golden Trumpet will sing, like the Little Mermaid’s singing seashell and Trump will once again win the election like 2020, except without the cheats. Once again rule as King of The World in 2024 and until the end of time! Oh yeah boy! 😃😂
"Long, soft, slow default" And, as Bill likes to ask, then what? Presumably the point of the default is destruction of the debt, so, finally the debt is killed, and is followed by what? A new, golden age? Of course, not. What follows is more of the same. If you always do, what you always did, you'll always get, what you always got. Might as well go down to Home Depot and walk off with cart-loads of merchandise, and then fence it all on the internet. Oh, wait! That's already happening! I'm sick of it. Best always. PM
The only question ANYONE, should ever ask is, “what’s in for me/you?” Regardless of the circumstances.
For example, as a paid subscriber to this service, what’s in it for me?
Surely it’s not investment advice or money management, more like leisure entertainment reading for that matter, kinda like when I used to buy news paper copies of The Weekly World News for entertainment reading purposes. 😹
On top of that, I get to provide a copy of all this information here and the comments to the Pentagon for their weekly entertainment leisure world market review readings. So that’s what is in it for me. So what’s in it for you Pal?
Wow Bill. I’m a new subscriber/reader but I found the piece on Elizabeth Warren and for that matter her husband, because you refer to their joint declared net worth, a disservice to any uninformed reader. You may disagree with some of her opinions or policy recommendations, though I’m dammed sure you wouldn’t disagree with them all, but to imply that two extremely bright, hard working dedicated patriots are some how dishonest because they saved well in their retirement accounts (per Forbes & Yahoo finance), bought some real estate and wrote a few books which are of great help to “average” Americans, is a real distortion of the facts. Why don’t you write a real synopsis of her life and accomplishments which is factual and honest and I think most would be grateful and envious of her contribution to our country. Quite honestly I think you are better than that article.
An accurate Bio on her (her husband is irrelevant because he doesn't impact us as a politician) would read:
"Disingenuous grifter that lied her way into Harvard Law School by misrepresenting that she is of Native American descent. She is the most dangerous person elected to the U.S. Senate due to her Marxist ideological bent, dressed up as "protecting the common man". Her actual accomplishments are dubious at best, and she cares little for anyone but herself."
Next, how about posting something that enlightens us all regarding how upstanding and admirable Nancy Pelosi and Joey Biden are, and how we all just have the history wrong. I could use another example of a dimocrat that is unable to deal with reality or utilize any critical thinking skills...
Is this an Elizabeth Warren in an alternate universe that you're speaking of? Doesn't sound like the EW I know and I live in Massachusetts. She is essentially an anti-capitalist shill for the Progressive left. The other replies sum it up pretty well so I won't repeat them here.
How is it possible someone defends EW in this way. I understand she may be harshly criticized sometimes but really? A politician with misleading statements, and assorted other issues. At least acknowledge they are pretty much all as Bill described
Buda: You can claim all you want...but you need proof. And if you are a second or third generation..forget it. Proof is hard to come by esp., if you lived on a Reservation that the
government kept moving you around. I doubt that she has even 1/10 indian blood.
The average gain of 12% is an excellent gain in this market. However if you missed out on the Petrogras investment your return is substantially lower. What is the average return ex Petrobras?
I had mentioned in another post that Bill Bonner throws the occasional bomb. In today's column, he throws another one. Quote: "The honest capitalist gets what he is after by satisfying the wants and desires of others. He is no saint. Given an opportunity, he will cheat. Which is why he is so ready to send campaign contributions to Ms. Warren...". So, is he honest or not? Or are you very cynical about human nature or do you have a religious element and think that all people are basically sinners? If you had read "Atlas Shrugged" by Ayn Rand (of if you did, if you had also understood it), you would have seen the sharp contrast between honest capitalists (like Hank Reardon, Dagny Taggart, and others) vs. those that court government favors because they can't compete (like James Taggart and his ilk). Two different beings. You're either honest or you're not. Not some of the time when it suits you. What you are saying goes against the basic definition of honesty. Are you saying that no Hank Reardon's exist in this world, only people that do the right thing because they can make money doing it and will cheat at the first opportunity? If so, you come from a dark place. I bought your book and when I finish reading the book I am now reading, I will read yours. But if this is your attitude towards human nature while apparently also being a defender of the free market (capitalism), it is no wonder the Progressive Socialist/Fascist Nihilists are winning. They are winning because they present their cause in terms of morality. It's the morality of altruism, which is the morality of self-sacrifice, where the individual is sacrificed for the so-called "common good". It is incompatible with Capitalism which rests on the morality of self-interest and individual rights....which also means that you respect the rights of others. Ayn Rand explained all this not only in Atlas Shrugged but in her subsequent non-fiction books analyzing many issues from a philosophical and moral perspective. Much of this was written in the 1960's and '70's. If we had heeded her writings, we wouldn't be in the predicament we are in today.
While I agree that free enterprise; "capitalism," is the best system, your defense of the principle of selfishness (call it self interest if you like, same thing) is ignoring the elephant in the room: Why would a selfish person be honest? Why wouldn't he want to game the system in his favor?
Isn't dishonesty (selfishness) how we got to our present condition as a nation, and world? Haven't other nations and civilizations gotten there in the past? Didn't they all self destruct?
Is the principle of selfishness what you want to hang your hopes and dreams on?
There have been societies built on the principle of unselfishness, what the Bible calls agape. Such were the churches of the first century. But there was a falling away, 2 Thessalonians 2:3. God's church will make a comeback, and this time, it will finish it's work. Stay tuned.
If self-interest and selfishness are the same thing, why did you feel it necessary to replace self-interest with selfishness? Well, it's obvious - selfishness has the connotation that a person is trampling over others in order to enrich himself. So, you had to sneak that concept in by using "selfishness" since you could not openly characterize the free market as people defrauding each other - hence, your other insinuation of a "selfish" person wanting to "game the system". What does that mean? Again, since you cannot come out openly and say that the free market is composed of a bunch of dishonest fraudsters trying to take advantage of each other, you instead use the vague idea of "gaming the system" and let the reader interpret that phrase however he wants without really being direct and honest about what you actually mean. Then, you equate selfishness with dishonesty! Two different words, two different meanings. So, you think self-interest is evil? Are you saying you don't have any self-interest, only selflessness? Really? Do you have friends? If you do, do you pick friends that disgust you? Or do you pick friends that share your values? If the latter, you are being selfish because you are picking friends that are of value to you and therefore in your self-interest. In fact, just about everything you do is in your self-interest - from the food you enjoy, the home you live in, improving and educating yourself so you can have a rewarding career, etc. And you can do all these things without trampling over other people. So, how is this evil? Your "economic life" is just an extension of your "personal life". They are just different facets of your life. Here are some political systems built on selflessness: communism, socialism, fascism, and all kinds of authoritarianism. All expect you to work for the state, for society, or for the nation - or as it is normally put, sacrifice yourself for the common good. Hence, the millions of people who have been found to be expendable under these regimes, since the individual is always expendable for the greater cause. I have mentioned Ayn Rand because she was alone in defending capitalism on moral grounds in the 1940's until she died in the early '80s. That is, not on utilitarian grounds in that it works, but on moral grounds. Others have since followed her lead. Her last novel, Atlas Shrugged, published in 1957, shows through her characters what it means to live a moral life vs. what it means to be morally corrupt. The theme of that novel is as follows: the role of the mind in man's existence - and as corollary, the demonstration of a new moral philosophy: the morality of rational self-interest. After this novel, she wrote several non-fiction books on her philosophy, one of which was entitled, "The Virtue of Selfishness". She wrote in the introduction of that book, anticipating the backlash of using this title, that the dictionary definition of "selfishness" (at least at that time, 1964) was "concern with one's self-interest". She goes on to write: "This concept does not include a moral evaluation; it does not tell us whether concern with one's own interests is good or evil; nor does it tell us what constitutes man's actual interests. It is the task of ethics to answer such questions." In the remainder of the book, she explains what is legitimately in one's self-interest and contrasts self-interest with altruism. The opening essay is entitled, "The Objectivist Ethics" (Objectivism being what she called her philosophy). P.S. By the way, I am not saying that there is no fraud or criminal activity in a free market system. The purpose of a legitimate government, which would be based on the protection of individual rights, is to prosecute the criminals.
Wow, you seem to know a lot about me. Are you psychic? In fact, I do have friends that disgust me, or, rather, what they do and how they think disgusts me. But, I try to be their friend.
Anyway, rather than a TL;DR answer, as I was originally going to write, I wish you the best of luck getting to heaven in your little rowboat. I do know that Objectivism works, because it's been demonstrated in such prosperous nations as...um... I need a little help here.
Agape is a selfless fatherly love - not a way to run an economy.
There has never been a socialist enterprise of real scale that was not a total failure primarily because humans are motivated by self interest - which is doing the right thing for yourself and those for which you might be responsible. Self interest is not the same as selfish behavior. It is an essential element of sanity and it is the foundational force that makes capitalism out perform all other economic systems. It is like gravity in that 1) it works weather you believe it or not, and 2) like water running down hill- it needs it be channeled to prevent damage.
`In capitalism as in life- providing the best product at the best price always wins.
"Self interest" is defined by each person. As you know, Ayn Rand was an atheist. Thus, self interest may include cheating. Argue all you want, this is the reality, and here we are.
Receiving the life of God, Agape, is a way to run the economy, and in fact is the only way that is sustainable. See Acts 2:44-47. Please note, though, that 'having everything in common' was not the norm among the seven churches, but only in Jerusalem. Their fellow Jews would not trade with this 'detestable sect,' so they took care of each other. This was not necessary in the other churches, as the pagans they were trying to reach did not object to trading with them. This all ended with the falling away, but it will make a comeback.
The irony is that Marx considered religion 'the opiate of the masses,' but 'religion,' genuine Christianity, was the only way 'Marxism' could work. Lacking that, force was necessary, which is the devils tool.
You know nothing about Ayn Rand. In my reply to another comment of yours, Ayn Rand's novel, "Atlas Shrugged" demonstrates a moral philosophy. While "self-interest" can be defined by each person, Ayn Rand does define rational self-interest and it does not include cheating. As I noted above, you can find her writings on this subject in her non-fiction book, "The Virtue of Selfishness", as well as her many other non-fiction books. I explain the title in my other reply to you.
You analyze Bill's missive today brilliantly. Hopefully he will respond to it either directly or otherwise. He seems to subscribe to the concept that one can be "a little pregnant".
Ha, Ha!! Perfect analogy!
I admire you for really putting yourself out there. What courage you exhibit since everyone knows that Ayn Rand is the messiah. And the groundbreaking comment that "human nature is not a pretty thing". Well, it is and it isn't - depends on the human, doesn't it?
Don't forget every bottle of wine produced!
Walgreens! Walgreens! Walgreens! Oh Boy!
Stocks are green, debt ceiling increase passed, Supreme Court ruled in favor of student debt relief, we are now in July, Covid made a comeback, as the world turns! Hahaha 😂
You got me, I had to look up whether the SCOTUS has ruled on student debt relief. If they rule in favor of that it might be high time to denounce citizenship and high tail it to Costa Rica or some other bolthole where they respect property rights. Nice decoy, as usual-LOL.
lol, If Biden pulls it off (student debt relief), he’s going to gain and noticeably lead the polls through the fall (2023), but then The Golden Trumpet will sing, like the Little Mermaid’s singing seashell and Trump will once again win the election like 2020, except without the cheats. Once again rule as King of The World in 2024 and until the end of time! Oh yeah boy! 😃😂
ES: Dream on!
YAVAPAI! 😂
It’s a done deal Dorothy!
Trump will easily secure the Republican nomination, a 2020 repeat showdown with Sleepy Joe is on the horizon.
The Trump/Justice ticket is a beautiful one indeed. It has the poyfect ring to it.
Donald Trump & Jim Justice will make America Great Again.
Donald Trump Brings Justice to America, Vote Today! Oh yeah!!! 😂
Big Jim is a lock, together they will rebuild and strengthen our country, like never before.
Be ready to vote Dorothy, must be ready! 😂
ES: I'm ready...but I hope you can take defeat well. Hahaha..but I will pray for you!
Laughing Out Loud! Very loud and a lot! 😂
If the Trump/Justice ticket loses the presidential election next year, I will go on national TV and eat a bowl of my own fecal matter!
J/K hahahaha!
"Long, soft, slow default" And, as Bill likes to ask, then what? Presumably the point of the default is destruction of the debt, so, finally the debt is killed, and is followed by what? A new, golden age? Of course, not. What follows is more of the same. If you always do, what you always did, you'll always get, what you always got. Might as well go down to Home Depot and walk off with cart-loads of merchandise, and then fence it all on the internet. Oh, wait! That's already happening! I'm sick of it. Best always. PM
When asked "How did you go Bankrupt?' I believe it was Hemmingway that replied, "very slowly, then suddenly"
"Who CAN you trust?"
That is the vital question.
What are the answers that honest people on "the other side" offer to this and the other questions that Bill presents? What are THEIR questions?
The only question ANYONE, should ever ask is, “what’s in for me/you?” Regardless of the circumstances.
For example, as a paid subscriber to this service, what’s in it for me?
Surely it’s not investment advice or money management, more like leisure entertainment reading for that matter, kinda like when I used to buy news paper copies of The Weekly World News for entertainment reading purposes. 😹
On top of that, I get to provide a copy of all this information here and the comments to the Pentagon for their weekly entertainment leisure world market review readings. So that’s what is in it for me. So what’s in it for you Pal?
J/K LOL 😂🤣😂🤣
Robert Conklin
Wow Bill. I’m a new subscriber/reader but I found the piece on Elizabeth Warren and for that matter her husband, because you refer to their joint declared net worth, a disservice to any uninformed reader. You may disagree with some of her opinions or policy recommendations, though I’m dammed sure you wouldn’t disagree with them all, but to imply that two extremely bright, hard working dedicated patriots are some how dishonest because they saved well in their retirement accounts (per Forbes & Yahoo finance), bought some real estate and wrote a few books which are of great help to “average” Americans, is a real distortion of the facts. Why don’t you write a real synopsis of her life and accomplishments which is factual and honest and I think most would be grateful and envious of her contribution to our country. Quite honestly I think you are better than that article.
"two extremely bright, hard working dedicated patriots"....."I think most would be grateful and envious of her contribution to our country."
I wish you wouldn't do that while I'm drinking. I hate it when Pepsi comes out my nose.
Delusional
An accurate Bio on her (her husband is irrelevant because he doesn't impact us as a politician) would read:
"Disingenuous grifter that lied her way into Harvard Law School by misrepresenting that she is of Native American descent. She is the most dangerous person elected to the U.S. Senate due to her Marxist ideological bent, dressed up as "protecting the common man". Her actual accomplishments are dubious at best, and she cares little for anyone but herself."
There, that sums it up it nicely and accurately.
Hi Mr. Conklin -
WOW just about nails it.
Next, how about posting something that enlightens us all regarding how upstanding and admirable Nancy Pelosi and Joey Biden are, and how we all just have the history wrong. I could use another example of a dimocrat that is unable to deal with reality or utilize any critical thinking skills...
I assume you're taking the piss - in which case, well done, it was funny. If not, then I think you must live in alternate universe.
Is this an Elizabeth Warren in an alternate universe that you're speaking of? Doesn't sound like the EW I know and I live in Massachusetts. She is essentially an anti-capitalist shill for the Progressive left. The other replies sum it up pretty well so I won't repeat them here.
How is it possible someone defends EW in this way. I understand she may be harshly criticized sometimes but really? A politician with misleading statements, and assorted other issues. At least acknowledge they are pretty much all as Bill described
Yes Robert 🤣😂🤣😂😳🤣😂🤣😳🤣😂 i appreciate you for the best laugh I’ve had on this site! Such a jokester 😂🤣😂🤣
Buda: You can claim all you want...but you need proof. And if you are a second or third generation..forget it. Proof is hard to come by esp., if you lived on a Reservation that the
government kept moving you around. I doubt that she has even 1/10 indian blood.
The average gain of 12% is an excellent gain in this market. However if you missed out on the Petrogras investment your return is substantially lower. What is the average return ex Petrobras?
Time does not change, people do!
Most have become selfish. This collective selfishness has lead us here.
We should be happy, but we are not.
But, that is not true
I am truly joyful and thankful for the truth. The kind of truth that calms my soul.
The kind of truth that seems wishful to most.
I do enjoy the much better writers on BPR’s list and even some of it’s customers.
They have something unique.
Have a great day and remember to hug those you love everyday.
And remember “they are just as lost as you”.
Hey Buda -
And the kickbacks from "Research Grants" and most Foreign "aid"...