Truth: A Quick Study

Truth: A Quick Study

By

JT

Everyone is talking about truth and there are self-proclaimed keepers of the truth. Usually, these keepers of the truth are found in social media, so-called fact-checkers, and mostly on the Political Left. But have you noticed there are fact-checkers on the Political Right who counter the fact-checkers on the Political Left? If the facts are the facts then why are we confronted with opposing 'facts'? The truth is the facts do not matter and the issue is not about truth. The issue is about the idea, view, or opinion. Selective facts, regardless of the strength of veritable truth, are chosen to support whatever the issue is about. So, what is a person to do? Moreover, The Naked Truth Report is about the truth but the truth often seems elusive and even ethereal at times.

Truth has deep roots steeped in world history. The question of truth goes as far back as the ancient Greeks who studied truth with great fever. The great Philosophers all wrestled with the notion of truth and philosophy breaks everything substantive into being, essence, and virtue. In this case, truth relates to virtue which is goodness, morality, and the quality of being useful. Pontius Pilate jeered, "What is Truth?" circa 35 AD. Pilate was acknowledging that truth can be fleeting.

We need to get a grasp on what is truth! Then, we need to understand how to discover the truth by understanding what truth is. Quite frankly, this is why the Doctor of Philosophy, Ph.D., exists and the truth is central to becoming a Ph.D. Although, many PhDs are using the discipline to manufacture truths rather than discover truths. They create doubt using skepticism.

The Past and Post-Modernism

The recent surge in relativistic truths emerged out of post-modernist pop culture. Postmodernism appeared during the 1940s and gained widespread acceptance during the 1960s. The postmodern movement questioned reason and the notion of absolute universal truth. The postmodernist argued that truth is contingent upon historical and social context being partial and 'at issue' rather than complete and certain. The core message of postmodernism is pluralism, relativism, and human identity is a social construct rejecting any notion of certainty and absolute values or belief. The challenge of postmodernism is that it lacks coherence, is hostile to certain or absolute truth, and causes problems for reliable information and knowledge.

I must stress that information and knowledge are not one and the same. Information is a statement of quality or character traits of a person, place, or thing regardless of whether the information is true. Knowledge is the accumulation of relevant information which in combination reveals some sort of higher meaning regardless of any truth or not. Thus, there has to be some sort of dogma to discern the truth. The science of epistemology is the study of the extents and limits of truth and knowledge.

Generalized Definition of Truth

Truth is, of course, the opposite of falsehood. Falsehoods arise from human behavior involving lies, deceit, ambiguity, ignorance, innuendo, obfuscation, pride, selfishness, etc... These factors distort truths or create pseudo-truths.

Truth as defined in many dictionaries is the state, quality, or fact that is empirically verifiable. The dictionary definition is a very narrow definition of truth. A more generalized definition of truth is needed.

Truth is, of course, the opposite of falsehood. Falsehoods arise from human behavior involving lies, deceit, ambiguity, ignorance, innuendo, obfuscation, pride, selfishness, etc... These factors distort truths or create pseudo-truths.

Truth is a property of reality. Reality is based on a person's worldview. Any truth must be evaluated with respect to a worldview seeking the strongest support. This creates the problem of a person's fundamental belief system becoming challenged which we will explore later in this discourse.

A generalized definition of truth for the purposes of this discourse is:

A combination of facts and factors that combine to support, in a repeatable and verifiable manner, either through direct evidence or deductive reasoning claims of truth.

Theories of Truth

There are different truth theories that hold a much broader definition. Five mainstream theories are the:

• Correspondence Theory: Truth propositions correspond to the facts. 
• Semantic Theory: Truth is a property of sentences. 
• Deflationary Theory: A statement is true is just to assert the statement itself. 
• Pragmatic Theory: Defines Truth in terms of utility. 
• Coherence Theory: Any proposition must be coherent with a specified proposition set to be true.

Most of these theories have serious problems of various sorts and were advanced to counter the Correspondence Theory of Truth. For example, The Pragmatic Theory was advanced to support relativistic truths based on usefulness which we have rejected in this study.

Theory-Based Thinkers

Modes of thought or ways of thinking span several forms to include; critical thinking, analytical thinking, instinctive or gut thinking, creative thinking, etc...

In the American pop landscape, theory-based thinking emerged about 1900. This shift in thinking replaced any justification for belief or investigation into a matter with fantasy, ideas, and interesting notions that had no basis in reality. A good example of theory-based thinking is the Search for Extraterrestrial Intelligence, SETI. Without any basis other than the idea that there may be life elsewhere, SETI began searching. They formulated the Drake Equation, Figure 1, which is supposed to suggest the possibility of the number of off-planet civilizations Earthlings could communicate with.

Figure 1: Drake Equation Used by SETI

The Drake Equation formulated by the Search For Extraterrestrial Intelligence, SETI, is unbounded, the variables are impossible to know, and the equation amounts to junk math and junk science. Franchises in the entertainment industry such as Star Trek, Star Wars, and other space thrillers have captured the imagination of millions of people but lack any honest evidence that intelligent lifeforms exist off-Earth. There has been no evidence that has ever been observed to support such a scientific investigation and to date, more than 60 years later, there have been no discoveries.

Whereas in the book, The Privileged Planet, the Astronomer Guillermo Gonzalez approaches the search for life by bounding the problem to a known set of parameters identifying the type of galaxies where life could persist and where within the galaxy life is possible, then Goldie Lock zones within a solar system where life could survive. Gonzalez concludes that life off-planet is probabilistically impossible and, in fact, life on Earth is a statistical improbability that is carefully balanced. The issue of intelligent and sentient life becomes a theological rather than a cosmological investigation.

Theory-based thinking has permeated into American Society and become the predominant mode of thought leveraging creative thinking patterns but has no foundation in honest science. However, as Einstein pointed out that without imagination there would be no science. Einstein was based on the known four natural forces and was formulating a method of combining them. He used a technique known as image streaming to place himself as if he were a photon of light. Through this method of image streaming, he was able to make a breakthrough discovery that became the well-tested and well-established theory known as Relativity. Einstein’s use of imagination was quite different from theory-based thinkers. Einstein was founded on evidence and mathematical formulation using imagination to make the quantum leap. Whereas, theory-based thinkers have no evidence and pull a good idea from the ethereal space of their minds. Theory-based clouds matters of truth with the fantasy but can be discerned using a dogmatic approach.

Spectrum of Truth

Missing from the five theories is the Epistemological Theory of Truth. Epistemology is the study of the extent and limits of knowledge to justify a belief as opposed to an opinion. There is a Spectrum of Truths, Figure 2, that ranges between two extremes. At one end are the Epistemic Truths and at the other end are the Correspondent Truths.

Figure 2: Scale of Truth

Human perception of the world is based on a worldview. Worldviews generally stem from the rejection or acceptance of a sovereign deity and the level of engagement from a deity, if the deity exists in the worldview.

In the case of rejection of a sovereign deity, a reliance on science is used to assess truth and limits truth to a correspondent theory and in various degrees of support the other theories too. As an outcome, we begin to observe a pliable science or science that is bent to fit a form of thought known as Theory-Based Thinking which is not associated with scientific dogma but instead social conduct. This Theory-Based thinking approach imagines an idea without any observable basis for forming the idea then seeks to apply science using mostly selective evidence to support the idea. Theory-Base Thinking is the opposite of traditional scientific dogma that requires observation in nature first to support an investigation. That investigation tests the observation and places boundaries limits on the phenomenon. Variables are known, measurable, and have boundary limits.

In the case of a sovereign deity, claims are made in the scriptural messages from the deity. These are examined to assess the validity and ultimately the truth of the claim. These kinds of truths are called Epistemic Truths which may also apply to secular claims of truth. Epistemic Truths are based on a set of foundational assertions. These assertions are often validated through reasoning rather than observation. This reasoning may be deductive but most often is inductive reasoning requiring a leap in judgment. For example, if three findings point to A and five findings point to B, then the five findings underpin stronger support for B than A without having correspondent support for either A or B. Often the findings that point to an inductive reasoned conclusion are called fingerprints or impressions.

In the case of a sovereign deity, claims are made in the scriptural messages from the deity. These are examined to assess the validity and ultimately the truth of the claim. These kinds of truths are called Epistemic Truths which may also apply to secular claims of truth. Epistemic Truths are based on a set of foundational assertions. These assertions are often validated through reasoning rather than observation. This reasoning may be deductive but most often is inductive reasoning requiring a leap in judgment. For example, if three findings point to A and five findings point to B, then the five findings underpin stronger support for B than A without having correspondent support for either A or B. Often the findings that point to an inductive reasoned conclusion are called fingerprints or impressions.

Since most of the world holds a belief in some sort of sovereign deity, Epistemic Truths shape the world perhaps more than correspondent truths. Thus, scientific dogma is applied to the study of all the scriptural messages from all the different deities to examine their claims and discern which claims are the strongest. The deity having the most claims with the greatest underpinning strength is deemed to be the closest to the truth.

The topic of truth is expansive and difficult to cover in a blog posting. Nonetheless, having a basic foundation is essential to growth and understanding when discerning matters of truth. Assessing the foundational assertions behind any claim to truth is the starting point.

This article was ghost-written for the Naked Truth Report.

Afghanistan: Deeper Issues

Afghanistan: Deeper Issues

Copyright 2021

As the US pulls out of Afghanistan under the Biden Retreat Doctrine, chaos ensues on the ground in Afghanistan, allies feel abandoned, and news media pundits of every sort attempt to spin the military retreat to their political posture and talking points. The only real thing spinning is the American Citizen’s head under the deluge of demagoguery. The retreat from Afghanistan is not the first time we have seen this kind of event. The retreat from Vietnam had similar imagery. The truth is not some sort of exposé but instead, this is the outcome of a long-fought battle of worldviews within the United States Politic that is divisive and polarizing that is best characterized as a battle between Radicals and Rebels.

There is a deeper thought to the retreat despite the incompetence in execution. Radicals are the Political Left who hold views about the military and foreign policy that sound good on the surface but are gravely flawed. Here are some highlights of the Left’s views that relate to Afghanistan.

• The military is not a combat force but instead a police force. Military victory, occupation, and response to threats against a nation’s way of life is considered wrong and even evil to the Leftists. The Left has a goal of Global Government and governments derive authority and legitimacy from the ability to police and enforce governmental rule. In their view, there is no need under Global Government for combat forces since there is only one government, only policing capability is needed. Meanwhile, Leftists reject the American founding and seek to undermine the authority of the United States by attacking the police. Nonetheless, the police are critical to enforcing their own rule which was observed during the COVID-19 event and is essential to the Leftist goal of Global Government.
• Leftists hold a belief in the proportionality of force meaning the force to respond to a threat cannot exceed the force of the threat. Fighting the Taliban who uses muskets and rides horses with the might of the US Military is disproportionate in the Leftist view and wrong. Unless you are a Leftist US Attorney General who commanded Army Tanks at WACO, Texas, and a Naval Battle Group at Vieques Island, Puerto Rico. This idea of the Left is to do as I say rather than as I do.
• War can be avoided if everyone has the same information. All wars can be fought and won based on an information differential alone without committing conventional forces to combat operations. In the Leftist mind, if everyone had the same information then there would be no differential and no wars in the first place. Leftists will level the playing field sharing weapon technologies with the enemy in an attempt to remove the differential. In practical terms, this means, both sides have the same weapon but does not take into account intent to use the weapon when the other side’s guard is down. i.e. one guy gets shot in the back because the other guy had the intent to use his weapon despite having the same information - both had the same gun.
• Every belief, view, opinion, or thought has a right to exist regardless of merit to a Leftist. This can be observed in the Leftists support for polytheism, Islam, and the deification of Mother Earth. The only exception is Judeo-Christian thought which Leftists actively seek to eradicate and replace with their Secular Humanist views. The Leftist views the Taliban as misunderstood, have the right to exist, and need to be heard. Through proper education and policing, the Taliban will eventually integrate into the complex global order contributing to the global community.

The current regime under Biden is staunch Progressive and often characterized as Radicals or Leftists who are thinking in these kinds of terms cited. Progressives believe that as Global Government emerges to deal with the global crisis, nations and people will give up their adherence to theological, cosmological, and philosophical doctrines dear to them for their safety and stability. First, these people must suffer before these pawns are brought into the fold of the Global Government. Henry Kissinger made remarks commonly reflective of Leftist thought:

“Military men are just dumb, stupid animals to be used as pawns in foreign policy”, Published in the book The Final Days, copyright 1976, by Bob Woodward and Carl Bernstein.

“The one thing every man fears is the unknown. When presented with In this scenario, individual rights will be willingly relinquished for the guarantee of their well-being granted to them by their world government,” May 21, 1992, at the Bilderberg Meeting in Evian France.

The bare truth is how many events like Afghanistan will occur before people take action to stop these atrocities against common human decency, broken promises of help or better futures that never seem to mature, and using people as pawns in a quest for World Domination of Leftist ideology?

Lazy Days and Barber Shops

Comments: Barbershops have been long associated with gentlemen and the barbershop fragrance is the most familiar aroma with most people. Gentlemen should capture this aroma as the essence of the modern gentlemen's caricature.

Lazy Days and Barber Shops

The Gentlemen Series

By

James T. Bogden, PMP

As a young man, I recall those wonderfully sunny days when there was not a cloud in the sky and the temperature was just right. We lived out from the city and there was not much to do except go on adventures with the boy's club. I loved living there because the spring bloom would linger into the early summer. Everything was so alive and vibrant against blue skies. A breeze would slowly meander through the woods collecting aromas then wisp around me to deliver those fresh aromas of summer. This was an exhilarating time for me.

Our early summer ritual would begin with putting on nice clothes then climbing into a 1965 Buick Skylark for the ride into town. We only had an AM radio that cracked and hissed to mostly country tunes my mom would play. The ride would take about 6 or 7 songs. There was no air conditioner so the windows were down almost all the time. All the aromas would tingle in our noses all along the way.

One-stop my mom would make was at the barbershop. I loved getting the first summer haircut because they would cut my hair shorter and the barber would change from the heavy winter musk to the traditional barbershop aroma that has that light summery experience. The short hair and summery barbershop aroma always made me a little restless, if not frisky.

Pinaud-Clubman is the quintessential manly fragrance and reflects those lazy summer days with the classic barber shop aroma. The summer aromas of orange, lemon, jasmine, and lavender with a warm musk hint that delightfully arouses the senses as you maunder through crowds.  Pinaud-Clubman is some potent stuff that gets the pleasant attention of everyone. Women love the aroma and want to stay in the presence of it.

The fresh aromatic scent is found in a variety of authentic Pinaud-Clubman products. Two products include the shave soap to the left above and the aftershave to the right above. These two products make for a refreshing start each day for the classic gentleman. 

The shave soap can be dispensed directly from the container. Just remove the screw top, wet the brush, then swirl the brush around in the container before applying to your face. The screw-top assures that the soap does not lose the aroma potency. More important is the action the soap performs on the facial skin. The shave soap not only cleanses pores and sets the beard up for the shave but also contributes to the fragrance while moisturizing the skin to reduce nicks and yield a soft-to-the-touch experience that women will enjoy.

Proper storage of the brush is important to assure longevity and performance. After completing your shave the brush needs to be hung bristles down to dry. This keeps the brush from spreading apart. Keeping the bristles together helps hold the soap for the lather up. The shave stand above is one stylish solution for proper hanging.

The brush bristle material is critical as this determines comfort, the ability to hold lathered soap, and durability. If the brush is too stiff then the feel against the skin is sharp and rough. If the brush is too soft then the brush cannot hold the lathered soap or support the necessary massaging action to the face and beard for the best shave. Badger hair is the preferred bristle material providing the correct massaging action and an excellent ability to hold the lathered soap. 

The items selected in this post were intend for the average Gentlemen. More experienced Gentlemen may want to purchase a more exclusive brush or a shaving stand of another style. At any rate, the classic Gentlemen's morning routine should include a quality shave and manly fragrance.

The Gentlemen Series

Comment: This series was born out of an awareness that modern society is falling short of males who possess the qualities of a gentlemen. The modern gentlemen is not some boorish image of chivalry out of cultural lore. Instead, the modern gentlemen is quite unassuming in many ways. Let us explore the idea of the gentlemen and arrive at a notion within reach of the ordinary man. 

The Gentlemen Series

By

James T. Bogden, PMP

Modern pop culture idolizes the rough and ready underdog rebel who is brash, tattooed, straight talking, and a bit on the psychotic-side. In The Lethal Weapon movie franchise Mel Gibson was always toying with suicide while helping society rid itself of villains. Sylvester Stallone often is portrayed as a renegade loner and hero driven by purpose or mission. Vin Diesel is likewise cast as a underhanded, self-driven, and self-centered maverick. The more recent 007 movie franchise cast James Bond as a ruthless killer-spy and significantly less dapper than previous Bond caricatures. The demise of the gentlemen has the US Congress removing the title 'Gentlemen' from the military commissioning ceremonies in which the phrase "An Officer and A Gentlemen" was recited. Many politicians felt the term "Gentlemen" was sexist. The essence of the gentlemen persona in modern culture is vanishing. We have to look to the past in order to understand the persona of a Gentlemen before developing the modern notion of a Gentlemen reviving the noble character. 

Gentlemen of Nostalgia

The concept of the gentlemen seems to be something in the eye of the beholder as there is a wide swath of gentlemen historical examples in both pop culture and history. Nostalgic pop culture reveals characters like Sean Connery, Pierce Bronson, and Roger Moore who were all cast as the dapper James Bond. The suavé caricature of the 1950's and 1960's Las Vegas nightclub scene was defined around the Rat Pack allure and presented another image of the gentlemen caricature.   Alternative caricature of the gentlemen image is vintage Manhattan wrapped up in mahogany, brown leather, and cigars. Hugh Hefner created and marketed the gentlemen lifestyle for his Playboy empire. GQ magazine successfully markets a cultured gentlemanly image for people in their 20's to late 30's. Nearly all images of a gentlemen tend to hover around decadence and debauchery wrapped up in a stylish facade. Living life large seems to be the gentlemanly mantra. Which one of the gentleman caricatures stand out as attainable and practical is personal choice. Aside from the fictional character of James Bond, most males can relate to the Rat Pack. 

The Rat Pack

Image 1: The Rat Pack; Dean Martin, Sammy Davis Jr, and Frank Sinatra.

The Rat Pack began with Humphrey Bogart and membership varied with mainstays like Frank Sinatra, Dean Martin, Sammy Davis Jr, Joey Bishop, Buddy Greco, and Peter Lawford. Let's look closer at the Rat Pack which emerged out of their character. Bogart's wife, Lauren Becall, tagged the group with the name, 'The Rat Pack', when Bogart and his buddies straggled in the wee hours of the morning after a long night of partying. The Rat Pack, Image 1, had two versions and several members that intermittently were in the group. Three members were mainstays after Bogart died in 1957; Frank Sinatra, Dean Martin, and Sammy Davis Jr.   The Group had some interesting qualities. Outwardly, they were stylish often wearing black suits, thin black ties, and fedoras. These were also a close knit group of men who were good friends having known each other for a long time. The group's persona emerged out of the members on and off stage friendly bantering. The 1960's version of the group called themselves 'The Summit' and 'The Clan'. Although, the media clung onto the name Rat Pack. Sinatra was the Chairman of the Board and also called the pack master. Becall was the Den-Mother.  Pet names were also tagged to the other members and close associations. Judy Garland was the First Vice-President.  Marilyn Monroe was the Mascot long with others. Audiences were attracted to this lively and charismatic group.

The Modern Gentleman

Numerous books have been written on the gentlemen aura. The Gentlemen's Guide to Life by Steve Friedman categorizes gentlemanly conduct into four general discussions: Living large, Looking Good, Feeling Strong, and Loving Well. The book Essential Manners for Men by Peter Post breaks the discussion into three generalized categories: Daily Life, Social Life, and Work Life. How the caricature of the Gentleman is parsed is unimportant. What is important is that a Gentleman is balanced, fit, and well mannered. The decadence and debauchery of the past is no longer part of the caricature. Nonetheless, the modern Gentlemen is no less adept with women than the earlier predecessors. 

This series will explore the Modern Gentlemen in a litany of posts that will appear below. 

1. Lazy Days and Barber Shops: This is a flashback to an earlier more simple life and era. The aroma of early Summer and freshness of the first Summer hair cut combine to produce one of the most signature Gentlemen fragrances, the Barber Shop aroma.

2. 

References:

Friedman, S. (1999). Gentlemen's Guide to Life. (1st ed.). Three Rivers Press: NY.

Johnson-Gross, K. and Stone, J. (2002). Dress smart men: wardrobes that win in the new workplace. Warner Books: NY.

Johnson-Gross, K. and Stone, J. (2002). Men's wardrobe. Random House Publishers: NY.

Post, P. (2003). Essential manners for men. (1st ed.). HarperCollins Publishers, Inc: NY.

Transitioning World - New Economy?

Foreword: This post was originally posted in December 2010 titled "Reflecting on the Character of Business and the Economy". I have updated this post to reflect the current circumstances as of April 2012, April 2013, June 2014, then again December 2014. The last update increased support for the view expressed. This post is lengthy but necessary to communicate the view with robust support.

This an open discussion that looks at interesting and traditional thinking given the change imposed on the world. This is intended to be thought provoking by presenting views that often are overlooked or missed in the demagoguery. Whether there is merit and if what has been presented is good or not is for you to determine. 

The Economics

During November 2014, economist Steb Hipple, Ph.D. of the Bureau of Business and Economic Research made a presentation regarding the U.S. economy at a professional dinner. Two of the key slides from the presentation are provided. Figure 1 is the Real GDP Growth between 2007 to 2014.  The 3% dotted line is normal and stable economic growth. If the area above this 3% line is computed as a positive and the area below the 3% line is computed as a negative then added together the result is a significant net loss during this time period. In short, there has been no economic recovery since 2007.



Figure 1: Real GDP Growth



Figure 2: Long Run U.S. Employment

Figure 2 is the Long Run U.S. Employment graphic between 2002 and 2014. The Full Employment Level curve illustrates normal employment had the economic recovery occurred. The Official Employment Level curve is the U.S. Government's report regarding employment levels between 2002 and 2014. In short, there has been a net loss of jobs beginning in 2008 which is the space between Full Employment and Official Employment. In an eyeball of Figure 2,  at 2010 the gap is roughly 10,000,000 jobs lost that persists in the US without any substantial closure between the two curves.

Overall, there is a net loss of GDP and a net loss of employment without a net reduction in the employable population. Where did the GDP and jobs go? Some of the GDP was lost due to reduced demand and a greater portion was transitioned offshored. Likewise, most of the jobs were offshored, some jobs were eliminated due to increases in efficiencies, and some were lost due to lower demand.

Figure 3: Economic Super Cycle or Kondratiev Wave

Figure 3, there is an economic cycle characteristic of capital economies that has a period of about 80 years having transition points that are characterized by a brief time during which there is a short  economic boom then a bust followed by a war and finally a new way of living.  The concept is called a super cycle also known as the Kondratiev Wave. The durations in Figure 3 are approximations as the cycle has some variance. During the sustainment period technologies and concepts emerge and in their infancy gain support and enthusiasm leading into the boom period.  The short boom period begins a regeneration of the economy.  Following a short boom is a bust period during which unemployment is high and inflation sets in causing a depression era or a severe recession. A war follows the bust resulting in rationing, a reduction in populations, and a loss of economic capacity and/or capabilities. All of the losses must be restored to the new sustainment levels in a new economy centered on the technologies and concepts that emerged prior to the brief boom period.

The Super Cycle seems to coincide with significant U.S. history. Specifically, the Revolutionary period, Civil War period, World War II period, and the current economic period. All of these periods were characterized by a boom, bust, war, then a new way of living. For example, The Roaring 20's led into the Great Depression and World War II having the new way of living centering on personal appliances and transportation which was the age of luxury living. Today, the housing and Dotcom boom has led into the current down economy which has now persisted for over 7 years. If on point, then the cycle should have a war in the next 2 to 5 years. Most futurist speculated during the 1990's that the new economy would be based on social, communications, informational, and logistical networks.

Overall, the evidence is pointing in a direction that the world in amidst a major transition and the future is not entirely a gamble. There are patterns and trends that can be leveraged smartly and are more apparent than not. The question is will the economy be a capital economy or a command economy?

The Transitioning World

The world has made transitions from a theological pride to a secular nationalistic pride for over the course of 2000 years. History records the transition for Israel to secular governance during the time of David. Other transitions are occurring right up to modern times. For example, a 1950's mass movement demanded national self-determination for the Bengali people. The politician-preacher Maulana Abdul Hamid Khan Bhashani championed the demand for national self-determination and the demand that the state distance itself from Islam. Bhashani led the transition to secular politics in the decades that preceded the emergence of Bangladesh.

Today, the world is in transitioning once more. This time towards an economic pride as evidenced by regionalization efforts ongoing throughout the world such as the European Union, EU, and others in Africa (ECOWAS), South America (UNASUR), and the Western Pacific (APEC). Keeping in step, the region currently known as North America is undergoing several major transitions. The first major transition is a movement away from national sovereignty towards a regional center of economic influence under the auspices of the North American Free Trade Agreement, NAFTA. The second major transition is the form of governance that will be over newly formed NAFTA region. Some form of governance needs to emerge since all the participating national identities are consumed in the larger organization and newer identity. Will that be a Islamic Caliphate, a Progressive ideology, or will a constitutional form of Government prevail.  The final major transition is the character of the economy within the NAFTA region. In this discussion, the focus is a little on the regionalization effort and more on the character of the economy as well as on the character of business.

The movement towards a regional center of economic influence is evidenced by the NAFTA treaty coupled with the rapid infusion of foreign nationals effectively dissolving the international borders between the participating nations; Canada, The United States, and Mexico. NAFTA, as a treaty, originated from the Montreal Economic Treaty during the Reagan years. The objective was to reduce the wage differential between the US and Mexico in order to reduce  illegals coming across the border for work. In 1992, U.S. political leadership converted NAFTA to a new political system in order to advance a regional center of economic influence. Henry Kissinger commented on the passage of NAFTA during 1992, as a regionalization effort, that “...is not a conventional trade agreement, but the architecture of a new international system [of goverment]" (Henry Kissinger Los Angeles Times, 1993).

Since 1992, the political leadership has been expediting the regionalization as anxious ideologues leap at the opportunity to advance their ideology that may have the effect of superceding the US Constitution. The construction of NAFTA superhighway, Figure 4, if not intended, has the effect of increasing the freedom of movement throughout the region for Mexican and Canadian nationals. While the original effort to build a new superhighway was effectively stopped, a new effort has now been adopted expanding the existing highway infrastructure for the same purpose. Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, if not intended, has had the effect  to quickly stabilize immigrants in homes. Likewise, the ability to vote, obtain a driver license and healthcare are instruments that, if not intended, have the effect to stabilize immigrants more quickly than the traditional course of three generations. The passage of nationalized healthcare on March 21, 2010 brought the region closer to a regional healthcare system as Canada and Mexico are already on socialized healthcare. 

Figure 4: NAFTA Superhighway Map.  Source: NASCO

The regionalization phenomenon extends beyond geo-political systems to other systems. For example, power companies have been consolidating and regionalizing power systems. The same has occurred with the phone companies, and now health care is consoldating under the nationalized healthcare system. We observe companies like Duke-Progressive Power consolidating control of the American SouthEast power distribution.  Kaiser-Permamente has consolidated healthcare control of the American West. The phone companies have gained regional control such as Bell South. Even the grocery industry is regionalizing with Von's in the SouthWestern US and Publix in the SouthEastern US.  These regionalized centers of supply point control cross state lines. Thus, states rights are challenged as power shifts to interstate trade and control of the federal government. This  regionalization of supply points will continue to increase and dissolve state sovereignty.

Whether this regionalization is deliberate or natural course of a systematic pattern, the advancement an economic center of influence and dissolve national and state sovereignty is emerging as an inevitable future for the North American region. Such regionalization has tremendous impacts on industry, commerce, and individual lives.

The Free Market Capitalism and Business

As regionalization expands, the character of the economy in the emerging regional center of economic influence is an underpinning of the governmental form. Socialized and Marxist's governance is reliant upon the notion of social justice or the use of governmental methods to redistribute wealth to those deemed less fortunate by the aristocracy in a command economy. The social justice operative mechanism of redistribution is analogous to institutional theft which is considered to be the worst form of theft since people are denied just fruits of their labor. A competitive model is Ayn Rand's worldview detailed in her works "Atlas Shrugged". This model is a separation between economics and government similar to the separation of Church and State. Rand's model is ultimately a Godless society focused on economic pride or gain. The character of the economy in a Democracy is free market capitalism which places human creativity in service of humanity.

In the free market economy industry and business redistribute wealth based on value-added or created value. The free market is considered natural because when freed of all regulations and other constraints such as taxation the free market character persists. While this discussion uses the term free market most societies impose some degree of controls and constraints on the market. Thus, a free market, in practical terms, is considered one with minimal controls and constraints. The free markets existed long before modern complex economies emerged out of feudal Europe. Unregulated markets operated over 2000 years ago throughout the Middle East, Greek, and Roman Empires.  The largest Roman seaport and marketplace was locate in Pozzuoli, Italy called the Serapeum, Image 1. (note: The term Serapeum is  actually a religious temple. The Italian Government officially recognizes the site as such. Scholars and the locals acknowledge the site as an ancient marketplace.)

Image 1:  The Serapeum Ruins, Pozzuoli, Italy. Photo taken by JT Bogden, February 2008

The efficiencies in a free market are also considered to be natural as opposed to human induced efficiency efforts when an inefficiency is perceived by the aristocracy and/or government in a command economy. For example, anti-trust lawsuits and regulations have often been touted as supportive of competition and the free market. However, the application of anti-trust lawsuits has typically emerged out of power struggles between Governmental enforcement of regulations and industry compliance.

During the 1970's the U.S. Congress was instituting many environmental and labor laws that dramatically affected industry. Industry reacted sternly using  economic influences to apply pressure to Governmental leadership in efforts to change the direction of the legislation. Governmental leadership fearing industry had become too powerful sought to marginalize the influence by breaking up large corporations using anti-trust lawsuits. Some analyst tout that the computer revolution was actually delayed until 1985 because of anti-trust lawsuits during the 1970's. Henry Novell of Novell Systems was employed at Bell labs when the anti-trust lawsuits stopped AT&T from entering the computer networking market during the 1970's and forced the breakup of Bell Systems forming Lucent in place of Bell Labs. Novell left and formed Novell Systems networking computers about 7 years later. "Antitrust policy over the last 25 years can claim substantial achievements. First, the stated terms of the debate have shifted to consumer welfare and efficiency, and away from vague and easily misused goals such as dispersion of political and economic power," (Bittlingmayer 2002, p 52).

Regardless, of the reasons or outcomes the point is that, in this case, governmental efforts at improving competitive efficiencies was tainted with political bias and may have never achieved the efficiencies sought. The efficiencies were observed later as an outcome of deregulation efforts during the 1980's in a return to more free markets. Such deregulation lead to competitive forces in the airline industry, telecommunications, and other industries.

One Business Model to Consider

Counter to popular thought, the free market model of business, Figure 5, is not one of a bottom line but instead one that is a zero sum in the long term for business. The bottom line, Profit = Revenue - Cost from the income statement and resulting business ratios, has its place metering efficiencies during the short term. Businesses are usually started and operated in order to support a lifestyle for the owner and their family based on the value-created in the business. In the end, the business is sold putting cash in the pockets of humans upon sale or liquidation. Thus again, the business is a vehicle to put purchasing power into the pockets of people in order to give levity to their lives. The business is a zero sum in the long term and redistributes wealth based on created value. That being said, free market business is actually all about the well being of people and is based on their productivity or ability to do good.

Figure 5: Free Market Business Model 

Its Really All About the People

There is an ole adage that circulated on the state of our lives remarking that at least we got jobs and can put bread on the table. When we made more we were willing on our own accord to be charitable, to give from the heart. In a Democracy and free market, individuals are compelled through a social conscience as opposed to a social justice to be charitable with excess. Charity is usually driven by one's worldview. However, America has been struggling with its identity as the forces of multi-culturism are reflected in the society and government.

I want to reflect on the classic movie, "Its a Wonderful Life". Jimmy Stewart had a social conscience helping people not only get by but also achieve their dreams. In time, that same charity flowed back to Jimmy Stewart after, through misfortune, his bank came up short on its receipts. In the recent biographical story of James Braddock, "Cinderella Man", Braddock sought to put bread and butter on the table during the 1930's remarking that he returned to boxing, his job, to fight for his family endearing the hearts of millions. In both these instances, it was a social conscience and productive work that overcame adversity in peoples lives.

Wrap Up

Current economic cycles are pointing towards a new economy and a new way of living. These economic cycles coupled with political reforms and supply point consolidation are reshaping current political systems into regional centers of economic influence. As the new regional economy develops concerns arise regarding the type of economy and governance. As competitive ideologies battle for dominance, the casualties are human livelihoods and the quality of life.

Competitive systems such as progressivism better known as socialism or communism in the worst form marginalizes human creativity and denies humans just compensation though the operative mechanisms of egalitarianism, welfarism, and social justice which amount to nothing more than institutional theft.

The strongest socio-economic and political system is democracy and free market capitalism due to the support for giving levity and dignity to individuals. Wealth is redistributed based on productive work as individuals receive just compensation for their efforts. Free market mechanisms such as innovation, creative destruction, and creativity in service to humanity improve the quality of human life. Choices will need to be made and leadership chosen who will uphold the dignity and levity of life for everyone.

References:

Bittlingmayer, G. (2002). The antitrust emperor’s clothes.Resourced from http://www.cato.org/pubs/regulation/regv25n3/v25n3-11.pdf

Hipple, S. (2014). Business Conditions and Outlook. East Tennessee State University.

Palmer, T. G. (2011). The Morality of Capitalism: Introduction. United States of America: Jameson Books, Inc.

Review: How to Find A Great Job in the Great Recession

This a review of the book, "How to Find A Great Job in the Great Recession" by Rob Wolf. I attended the Transitioning Professionals Thursday Meetings while in Tampa. Although, I did not attend the Job Search Boot Camps. The program Rob offers is the first in a succession of programs. The second being the Team Up! by Orville Pierson. The third program is one on resumes and interviewing preparation. Although, Rob's program touches on this aspect and networking too.

Years prior to meeting Rob through an APICS career counselor, I had already performed much of the activities Rob touts in his book. I had developed with a CPA a financial vision that had been tracking well for many years up to 2009. Expenses were already streamlined and I was focused on the stated objectives of my plan. I knew what I wanted to do and already had a plan in place. However, following 2009 that effort went out the window with the down economy. I had actually prepared for the anticipated economic down turn but did not anticipate the savage economics of change politics that occurred simultaneously. During this time, I focused on completing some schooling, obtaining some certifications, and tried to find something reasonable that could utilize my skill sets. I was relegated to a situation in which I had to wait the environmental circumstances out. The program discusses bridging the gap on page 59-60.

Overall, Rob Wolf's work is salient and to the point. The book is a excellent guide for some one just coming into the job search situation or has been there with low results. I did find a few things that I did in my preparation that are missing in Rob's program and may strengthen Rob's program as well as also offering a new look at the book's organization. These will will be addressed in the review.

How to Find A Great Job in the Great Recession

Rob's program is a marketing program designed to prepare the job seeker for networking and the job search. The program has been running for over 9 years as has undergone several updates and revisions. The most recent revision is "How to Find A Great Job in the Great Recession: 12 Steps to A Job Recovery". The program addresses the 12 steps in 12 chapters as follows:

1. Mission Statement
2. Vision Statement
3. Assessment and Values
4. Financial Review
5. Marketing Plan
6. Networking
7. Resumes
8. Interviewing
9. Recruiters
10. Entrepreneurship
11. Accountability and Building a Strong Calendar
12. Ageism

This program is a method that works well. A stronger focus may require some reorganization of the process and grouping of the topical areas into functional topics. This is not to take away from the program but perhaps strengthen the program into functional categories. These are in no favored order. 

1. Baseline Assessment; ( Financial Review, Assessments and Values )
2. Survival Plan (Entrepreneurship, Bridging the gaps, Streamlining)
3. Strategic Plan (Vision, Mission, and Objectives)
4. Marketing Plan (Resumes, Networking, Interviewing, Channels )
5. Challenges (Ageism, moving targets, depression, rejection, recruiters, etc...)
6. Staying the course (Accountability, Strong Calendaring, volunteerism)

The Mission and Vision Statements: These are chapters 01 and 02 in the book. I agree that every marketing plan has a mission. Nonetheless, the process seems to have the vision and mission statements in reverse order. The vision usually comes first then one or more missions to effect the vision or portions of the vision. The program provides worksheets to help a person through the visioning and mission development process. Objectives fall out of the mission statement and are specific focused goals that guide the search. The objective process seems to have been missed as part of strategy development but addressed indirectly in the Financial and more directly in the Marketing planning. Despite these minor burble's, the mission and visioning preparation is excellent and focuses the job seeker on a narrower scope of the job search effort in order to yield higher results.

Assessments and Values and Financial Review: These are chapters 03 and 04 in the book. Assessments and values are about getting to know yourself. This can be taken to the extreme but the book keeps this process salient and to the point by assessing strengths and weaknesses generally found in four assessment areas. Numerous questions are posed for the reader to contemplate. As part of the assessment there is an environmental focus as well. Understanding the ground situation is essential to navigating the search. The financial review is in-depth discussing net worth, taxes, planning and survival tips. Several websites are offered in support of the assessments and financial review as well as worksheets and numerous tips. The objective overall is to streamline expenses.

The Strength and weakness assessment should be expanded to the Strength, Weaknesses, Opportunities, and Threats (SWOT) method. Opportunities should be assessed by looking at skills and abilities that may apply to the search and survival in new ways. Threats are those things that diminish your market efforts such as skill obsolesces and overwhelming competition in a market segment.

Marketing Plan and Networking: Chapters 05 and 06 are the guts of the program. There is a short-term and long-term Marketing Plan. The short-term plan develops your brand and bring into focus your career search. The program focuses on networking, goals, and your skills and abilities. The long term marketing plan focuses building a network by not going at it alone - networking. The networking chapter goes into detail on how to build productive networks providing models and discussing the use of social networking. The program offers tips, asks thought provoking questions, and provides a template for the marketing plan. Overall, these chapters are well prepared covering most aspects. One missing aspect is the use of professional organizations to access opportunities.

Resumes and Interviewing: Chapter 7 and 8 cover the most common aspects of the job search. The best way to find work is to network and the resume is your billboard. The program discusses the human resource systems, the do's and don'ts, writing the resume, resume types, cover letters, as well as providing checklists, tips, and some cautionary notes. Interviewing is a challenge and the program covers the types of interviews, researching companies, a variety of interview questions, and questions you ask. This part of the program is well developed as it has had a lot of focus over the years.

Recruiters and Entrepreneurship: Chapters 9 and 10 focus on employment avenues through recruiting and entrepreneurial channels. The program goes over the types of recruiters, staff agencies, and scams. Gamification is a newer method of screening and vetting future employees. The program discusses this process. Entrepreneurship is a method of creating income when the job search plateaus. The program looks at different aspects of entrepreneurship such as franchising. At this point in the game, the job seeker is transitioning to another means of income other than working for someone. This is a necessary discussion.

Accountability and Building a Strong Calendar: Chapter 11 focuses on staying the course and being accountable to your plan and statements. the program provides forms, calendars, and worksheets for staying on target. Time management and accountability systems can become overburdening. This program keeps the effort salient and simple.

Ageism: Chapter 12 discusses the less pleasant aspect of society - discrimination. The program touches on age based discrimination providing many tips and discussing personal care. This is only one challenging factor in the job search. Other forms of discrimination are present as well as inequitable hiring practices. The program does not touch on these issues and how to compete in these other situations or other challenges.

Overall, the program is a strong program and gets people thinking in the terms of the search. In short, the program gets your head in the game. The book guides people through the process and the Boot Camp enhances the practice with all the forms, dialogue, and personalized guidance. I strongly recommend this program.

References:

Wolf, R. (2014) How to find a great job in the great recession: 12 steps to a job recovery. OutSkirtPress: Denver.

Higher Education: Creative Destruction?

Comment:  I came across this article Higher Education: Creative Destruction in 24Jun - 04July 2014 edition of 'The Economist'. I normally do not read The Economist for its outlook and truthfulness in reporting due to the publications strong bias. This article caught my eye after having written on Free-Market Capitalism.  After reading the article, I saw so much wrong with the fundamental logic purveyed, that I thought it may serve as a good example of the challenges facing U.S. Citizens. 

Download Higher Education: Creative Destruction   Morality of Capitalism Post

Higher Education: Creative Destruction?

The article opens with a glowing affirmation of welfarism as the unequivocated source of higher education's entitlement successes offering to the middle class what had previously been only for the elite. The article continues on to describe the Free-Market principle of ' Creative Destruction ' as a force operating in the remaking of the university. The article cites a variety of statistics, newer technologies, and market forces as evidence of the remaking. Specifically, the article cites Massive Open Online Courses, MOOCs, as the defining technology that will remake universities and upset the tenure system.  The MOOCs are still early in their development and research is ongoing to resolve long standing remote or distance training issues.  However, in general the MOOC offers classes for free and for a fee the student can transfer the course to an accredited status. The operative strategy of the MOOC is to reach as many people as possible training them in the values, knowledge, and perspectives of the course. 

The concept of 'Creative Destruction' is a Free-Market principle. Creative destruction replaces old technology with newer technology in service of humanity.  The article cites the older university system being replaced with MOOCs and provides value and benefits of the transition. However, the greater operative mechanism behind the transition is not human creativity in the production of wealth in a free market system but instead creative politics, institutional theft, and demeaning values of political ideologues.

The education system has been wrought with political ideologues for over the past 100 years.  Welfarism is touted as the champion of education but is nothing short of institutional theft which is rooted in political investments vice the production of free-market wealth. These political actors in the education system have introduced mechanisms for change that are not natural and not typical of the Free-Market system.  One such mechanism is Outcome Based Education which has the purpose of educating students according to planned outcomes. The misleading stated purpose is a systemic plan to prepare all students to meet high standards. The real purpose behind the misleading premise is a delivery system for new beliefs, values, and ways of thinking. The Father of Outcome Based Education is professor Benjamin Bloom stated, "The purpose of education and the schools is to change the thoughts, feelings, and actions of students" (Kjos, 1995, pp. 11-13).  In 1956 Professor Benjamin Bloom published  Taxonomy of Educational Objectives in which he defined and classified learning behaviors into measurable categories that deny personality and the spirituality of a person stripping away individuality.  In doing so, Bloom changed the focus of education from a general education that benefited humanity to narrowly focused training based on behavioral psychologists' determination of what changes in thought, feelings, and actions are desirable and perhaps necessary for society as a whole. This led to Mastery Learning and Outcome Based Education (Coffman, 2012, p 203). 

The MOOC is a natural movement for political ideologues seeking globalization.  World-class standards seek new high standards for global challenges and a global economy. However, the new standards are low for literacy, comprehension, and factual learning but high standards for beliefs, attitudes, and group thinking to prepare human capital for the next century (Kjos, 1995, p. 11).   An upgraded version of Brave New Worldby Aldous Huxley is being implemented to include thinking skills based on feelings and experiences, not facts and reason (kjos, 1995, p. 29 ). The world has moved towards a high degree of confidence in unsupported personal beliefs; opinions are ok. For example, the method used for scholarly publication and citations by the American Psychological Association (APA) Publication Manual, is deliberately designed to permit adaptations of the truth. The citation methods that the APA uses are paraphrasing in order to permit pliable and malleable adaptations of other scholarly works.

Evidence of the progress towards globalization and adaptation of the educational system is no more evident than this remark, "I have learned may things… children who are educated to respect other cultures, races, and religions generally grow into tolerant adults who raise tolerant children – Reema Sanghvi, grade 11 (Cummins and Sayers, 1997, p. 61).”   This is a political ideological view, a sound byte that sounds good, and not a critical assessment nor realistic as among religions there are intolerant paradoxes. For example, Islam's Surah 112:1-4 is direct denial of Christianity's ultimate revelation and well known verse, John 3:16.  Islam is directly denying Christianity holistically.  In another example, Islam's ultimate revelation is the Sword of Islam, Surah 9:5, states to kill the infidel. Christianity's counter point is Matthew 26:52, for those who live by the sword shall die by the sword.  In order for the Reema Sanghvi's remark to be upheld, the Muslim and the Christian must surrender their belief's to the secular belief rendering those beliefs mute to the secular belief. The issue is a struggle for dominance being taught in the schools not cooperation and tolerance.  The secular view is intolerant of others. "Round pegs in square holes tend to have dangerous thoughts about the social system [the secular system being installed] and to infect others with their discontents," Aldous Huxley (Kjos, 1995, p. 157).  Comment:  I received several remarks expressing concerns about this paragraph. I must stress that the Judeo-Christian theology is not built around one-verse localized context. The Judeo-Christian theology is built around an integrated message system that weaves its message through layers of complexity upon complexity. The principle involves internal consistency and is called the Entire Counsel of God. Therefore, any serious study of the Judeo-Christian theology goes well beyond any one-verse citation and may offer surprising nuggets of knowledge in ways not apparent without study.

Interesting enough, the American Forefather Thomas Jefferson commented on March 23, 1801, "The Christian Religion, when divested of the rags in which they [the clergy] have enveloped it, and brought to the original purity and simplicity of its benevolent institutor, is a religion of all others most friendly to liberty, science, and the freest expansion of the human mind," (Federer, 1996). Jefferson was referring to education and learning when remarking, "freest expansion of the human mind". A socialistic tax supported secular education today has become the topic of this Economist article that attempts to herald free-market concepts that are behind the Christian worldview and the socialistic system is rejecting.  Side note: Christian Doctrine promotes the free-market capitalism centering on the Lesson of Talents and stewardship in support of God's Plan for each individual. People are to be free to pursue their God-given talents. The Bible does discuss social justice as it discusses other bad things like theft and bad government leaders.  The early church, during times of crisis, pooled resources but this was short lived.  The Bible does not ordain social justice as legitimate.

The goal of a proper higher education is not designed to shape social systems or advocacy of political views. Higher education in support of free-market capitalism is designed to develop creative and critical thinking skills as well as sound reasoning abilities. Utilizing these kinds of skills people are able to envision and bring to market new technologies in service to humanity.  Creative destruction is only one component that is operative in a free-market.  Another operative component is innovation through which entirely new markets are possible. The MOOC is possible only because of the innovation of the World Wide Web.  Unfortunately, the MOOC may become a success for the wrong reasons and wrong purposes. Instead of promoting skills in support of free market capitalism, the student may be trained to think in terms of a labor job performing tasks after tasks with no end in sight. 

In conclusion, the authors of the article either have a fundamental misunderstanding of free-market capitalism and the operative mechanism of Creative Destruction or the authors are deliberately trying to mislead readers as they present this blend of socialist and capitalist mechanisms.  Closer to the truth is that the authors may be simply a product of the educational system that trained them in process obfuscation.  Secular thought sounds good but lacks critical assessment skills illustrating a myopic one sided view.  With a proper education, people can make better choices and reject bad things because they can see beyond the spin.

References: 

American Psychological Association. (2010). Publication Manual. (6th ed.). American Psychological Society: Washington D.C.

Coffman, M. (2012). Plundered: how progressive ideology is destroying america. Environmental Perspectives, Inc: ME

Cummins, J. and Sayers, D. (1997). Brave new schools: challenging cultural illiteracy through global learning networks. St Martin Press. NY.

Economist, The (2014). The Economist: Higher Education, Creative Destruction. Vol 421 Nbr 8893. p. 11.

Federer, W. (1996). America's God and Country. Fame Publishing. ISBN: 1-880563-05-3.

Kjos, B. (1995). Brave new schools. Harvest House Publishers: OR. 

Morality of Capitalism: Part 1

American Democracy And The Judeo-Christian Bible Series

Figure 1: Morality of
Capitalism. Click to Buy

Comments: Many people do not think about capitalism's real contribution and value. Although, most hear more from capitalism's opponents who are quick to point to perceived flaws and problems in order to espouse their competitive system. The sound bytes echo over the airwaves as news media drive the spin home; corrupt corporations, greedy executives, and compensation deals that are out-of-this-world. In this post the morality of capitalism is explored. Originally, this was scripted for inclusion into a book being written several years ago and since that time this material was updated and concepts from the book "The Morality of Capitalism" were included. This book is not a single person's view but instead a set of essays from economists, marketers, political scientists, etc... from whom a broad perspective is offered.

Morality of Capitalism

Morality is a dialectic conversation within the mind of an individual as they search out the distinctiveness between right or wrong, good or evil, redeeming or demeaning, etc... Morality results in an internal character condition within the individual that reflects in their decision making. An individual's moral condition is impressed upon a system, institution, or process by management or the seat the individual may hold.  Moreover, a system, process, or institution may reflect a moral posture by design as well as by management.   For example, institutional theft is the confiscation or restriction of wealth instituted by those invested in political power, not invested in the production of wealth, and is considered to be the worse kind of theft. Thus, when organizing a new process, system, or institution care must be taken to ensure there is redeeming value. Leaders must engage in the dialectic conversation and examine the paradoxes carefully.

There is a moral paradox between selfishness and selflessness. When people are selfish disputes arise over exchanges deemed unfair and a resentment towards those who become rich. Similar dispute arise when both parties are selfless. In a hypothetical example, the buyer may not make a purchase if the price is too low for fear of taking advantage of the seller. However, the seller may not raise prices out of fear he may be gouging the buyer. The problem is a conflict of interest in either scenario and not a dilemma of rich vs poor cast often as privilege; the haves and have nots.  The solution to the problem is equal rights for everyone. In this way everyone has the opportunity to pursue wealth (Yushi, 2011). Success is another issue.

Regarding success, in free-markets some people become more wealthy than others and some loose their shirt. Markets do not generate equal outcomes nor do they require equal capitalization. Thus, a seeming paradox is setup between inequality and equality. Equality is necessary in order to trade, innovate, choose and reap rewards earned but the expectation of results generated is a risk.  People possess the equal rights to participate in the free-market but   equal results would be an economic absurdity even though that is upheld as a moral value by many people.  The scandal in equality thought is the gap between wealth of people in economically free societies and the wealth in unfree societies. Freeing people economically will create enormous wealth and close the gap.  Moreover, it would do so as a positive consequence of justice by eliminating unequal treatment of people in countries misruled by cronyism, statism, militarism, socialism, communism, corruption, and brute force. Economic freedom means an equal standard of justice, equal respect for rights of all to innovate, produce, and trade (Nokonov, 2011). Capitalism is a just alternative to these other systems. 

There needs to be a distinction between the forms of capitalism that are often equivocated as one by social intellectuals.  ' Crony ' capitalism is a system found in many nations and governments. In many nations, the aristocracy came about their wealth by birth or by alignment with the state and not through the means of production of wealth. Thus, these people, friends, relatives, and/or supporters inherently wield political power and are the ' Cronies '.  Being in such a privileged position they take it on themselves to reward some companies and harm others often using taxpayer money in the process for activities like bailouts, stimulus, pork barrel spending, and other activities. This is a corrupt system and should not be confused with Free-market capitalism refers to a system of production and exchange that is/has:

• Based on the Rule of Law and guiding discipline of profits and losses
• Equality of Rights for all
• Freedom to choose
• Freedom to trade
• Freedom to innovate
• The Right to enjoy the fruits of one's labor, savings, and investments
• Freedom from Institutional Theft; confiscation or restriction of wealth by those invested in political power  rather than the production of wealth.

Free-market capitalism is often resented by the elite due to an inherent loss of status, power, and control. Free-market capitalism gives levity to the middle class and produces advances to human kind that do not have the magnitude of impact under other systems. 

Looking Deeper Into Free-Market Capitalism

So far, as we examined capitalism we considered the ' essence ' of Capitalism as a system that promotes equality, freedom, and opportunity.  We also considered the ' being ' of capitalism is a market where production and exchange occur.  Now we are going to look deeper at the ' virtue ' of capitalism or what good does capitalism bring about to humanity. We saw on a personal level that everyone was equal and that unjust systems have an alternative.  But what good does capitalism do for humanity?

Freedom is connected to capital economies as discussed in the post Biblical foundations for Freedom which are deemed to be natural and precede other economic forms (see notes) such as the collectivist views of socialism and the extreme form of communism. Capitalism is an economic system that combines cultural, spiritual, and ethical values in a mixture that puts human creativity to the service of humanity such that value is created as opposed to menially making stuff, things, or jobs (Palmer, 2011, pp. 1-3). Stuff, things, and jobs may be the outcome of creating value but making things serves no redeeming value in itself; every task is followed by another task as there is no foreseeable end or real purpose.  Politicians who do not understand capitalism create jobs rather than incentivize innovation. This is a very important distinction between creating value vice simply making things or creating jobs. Capitalist create value and new markets emerge causing the age old axiom, "Necessity is the mother of invention / innovation" to be an incorrect understanding. Nothing of value was ever necessitated as for example no one was sitting around complaining there needs to be a telephone.  The telephone was invented that caused the need that people saw value in having forming a new market.  The accurate depiction is "Invention / innovation is the mother of necessity" (Schwartz, 2004, p 13).  No one needed the smart phone until Apple / Steven Jobs created the value then lines were out the door for the smart phone. The innovation  disrupted the cellular market fundamentally changing the cell phone. Thus, the distinctive aspect of Capitalism is creativity in service of humanity which results in new markets and technologies that give levity to life in some way.  In the case of smart phones despite people playing games and texting, the device concentrated technologies of portable computing and telecommunications providing GPS maps, contact list consolidation, weather graphics, etc...  Of course, jobs were also created to manufacture, distribute, and sale the new phones. Creativity in service of humanity is a principle redeeming value of capitalism.

' Creative Destruction ' is a systemic action within capitalism that replaces the old with new  (McCloskey, 2011). The kerosene lantern was replaced by the light bulb and the light bulb is being replaced with the Light Emitting Diode (LED). Kerosene is a fossil fuel and these lanterns when knocked over cause fires. This was the cause of the Great Chicago Fire on October 8, 1871.  The incandescent light bulb is safer but burns large amounts of electricity. The LED bulb last longer and burns substantially less energy.  Thus, the service to humanity is a safer more energy efficient light source. Of course, there were jobs along the way created too but the advantage of capitalism is the value created in service to humanity and in this case was achieved through ' creative destruction '. 

Free-markets are considered natural and precede all other forms of economic systems. When free-market capitalism was instituted and protected by United States Government for the first time in human history and the middle class had dignity and liberty, a innovation explosion took place. There were all kinds of new devices, products, ideas, and society overcame many social ills. The poor had opportunity to move up,   women can assert their worth and races have equal opportunity. The redeeming value to humanity is an uplifting of dignity and liberty.  Overall,  Free-market capitalism has had the single most impact on humanity than any rhetoric, idea, political system or economic system (McCloskey, 2011). 

Notes: Free market capitalism is considered natural because when freed of all political, social, and human induced constraints, the market character persists.  The antithesis of free-market capitalism is social justice. I will look at social justice more closely in an upcoming post. 

BUY The Morality of Capitalism: What Your Professors Won't Tell You

References:

Kelley, D. (2011). The morality of capitalism; ayn rand and capitalism: the moral revolution. Jameson Books, Inc:  IL.  pp. 71-72.

McCloskey, D. (2011). The morality of capitalism;  liberty and dignity explain the modern world. Jameson Books, Inc:  IL.  pp. 27-30.

Nikonov, L. (2011). The morality of capitalism; the moral logic of equality and inequality in market society. Jameson Books, Inc:  IL.  pp. 55-62

Palmer, T. (2011). The morality of capitalism; introduction: the morality of capitalism. Jameson Books, Inc:  IL.  pp. 1-3. 

Schwartz, E. (2004). Juice: the creative Fuel that drives world-class inventors. Harvard Business Review Press: USA.   

Yushi, M. (2011). The morality of capitalism; the paradox of morality. Jameson Books, Inc:  IL.  pp. 1-3.