Tuesday, November 28, 2006
Consider the Following
A friend of mine once remarked to one of his students that property is theft. While the nuances of that comment are easily conflated, his point that most accumulated wealth in the world was obtained through murder, slavery, and larceny remains an undisputed fact of human history.
But in his attempt to stir thoughtful collegial discussion, my friend was not limiting his observation to the past. At the time, he was addressing Clinton's NAFTA, but he could just as easily have been critiquing Bush's CAFTA, or whatever bipartisan EVERAFTA the future might bring.
Intending to rouse his dreary prospects from compliantly accepting economic brutality as a fait accompli, this benign mentor was also prompting them to consider the roots of a system that rewards theft and punishes honesty, to explore for themselves the moral dimensions of criminality as a way of life, and the impact this is likely to have on the human spirit.
But in his attempt to stir thoughtful collegial discussion, my friend was not limiting his observation to the past. At the time, he was addressing Clinton's NAFTA, but he could just as easily have been critiquing Bush's CAFTA, or whatever bipartisan EVERAFTA the future might bring.
Intending to rouse his dreary prospects from compliantly accepting economic brutality as a fait accompli, this benign mentor was also prompting them to consider the roots of a system that rewards theft and punishes honesty, to explore for themselves the moral dimensions of criminality as a way of life, and the impact this is likely to have on the human spirit.
