I was required to buy the book Economic Facts and Fallacies by Thomas Sowell who has also written Basic Economics. I must say, that I was not overly excited about buying a book from Amazon. Because that meant money being spent on books that I could have spent on food. Which is weird for me to say as books are normally higher on my list of priorities then food. But, no matter, I bought the book and it arrived yesterday, and while I was at my FHE brother's apartment, I began to read.
How interesting it is! How depressing it is!
I must say, that I believe America's economy seems to be heading in the wrong direction then it should for a Healthy Economy that we would all love.
Goals of all people: getting rich.
Now perhaps, that goal can be really unhealthy for you if its prioritized too far at the top of your list, but it is something that we all need to have in our lives. Plus, it creates advancement and progression. Progression in technology and standard of living and such.
Here is a question you should consider: Are you richer then the richest American, John D. Rockfeller?
John D. Rockfeller was over Standard Oil Company. This article "John D. Rockefeller Oil Standard Time Worth Business Andrews" says, "By 1901, he was worth about $900 million and is believed to have been the world's richest man at the time. His net worth when adjusted for inflation would put him in the top twenty modern day billionaires; however, when adjusted for the size of the United States economy in his day, his net worth would dwarf that of any of today's billionaires. In 2001, it was estimated that in contemporary money Rockefeller would be worth $200 billion."
When they are talking about adjusted for the size of the U.S. economy verses adjusted for inflation, they are talking about the fact that the general standard of living for Americans increased from his day to ours verses just the money value being adjusted.
So here is a question: Would we want to take $200 billion dollars (adjusted for inflation) if we could only use it in the ways he could in the 1800s?
I personally would not. Why? Because with our standard of living today in America we are better off then the billionaires back in those days. The billionaires, if they were sick, did not have the medical advances of today. They could not travel as easily as even the poor in American can today. So we have more options and possibilities today for the average person then even the rich ever did have back in the day.
Why is that? That is a question I shall endeavor to answer in this post.
Have you ever heard of the essay I, Pencil. My Family Tree as told to Leonard E. Read? It was written by Leonard E. Read and first published in the December 1958 issue of The Freeman. If not, you should read it. The principles behind it are still in effect. It shows the advantage of capitalism and why it is so effective.
No one person knows how to make a pencil. They don't have the skill nor even the know-how of the skill. There is no human mastermind. I'm sure our Heavenly Father inspires a lot of it (which I will address later), but I think there is an abstract rule like gravity in economics that Heavenly Father knows how to use. In anycase, the Invisible Hand is a theory as to what runs the economy when no one else is as when you look at the big picture of it all its obvious that something is missing and we haven't yet discovered what it is. But we have labeled it the Invisible Hand. It's the Individual's plans that seem to run the economy. Everyone plans for his or her self-interest which could be labeled as profit and to fulfill dreams. Love of our fellowman can motivate, but not taking imperfect people. Heavenly Father has our best Self-Interest in mind. And his plans are so large that we can't really comprehend it. But through inspiration he helps us and gives us personal revelation in everything in relation to our lives.
My teacher told us a story of when he was in college and in an economic class in which he was the only LDS member, the teacher was talking about economic growth throughout the ages. The professor then taught: Imagine if aliens visit every 100 years from the beginning of time. Every time they would visit the human race would only have advanced a little bit if at all.
But then. Approximately in the 1820s the standard of living skyrocketed. If the aliens were to come back they would wonder if they landed on the wrong planet. The professor said it was the U.S. Constitution that its an economic miracle document and he wondered at how the Founding Father's knew. Because it was a total revolutionary idea. No other people or theorist ever came up with such an idea. That it took a couple years for it to start working, but that the U.S. Constitution is an economic miracle. My teacher, the only LDS member in the room, heard the year 1820 and basically fell out of his chair. That is the year of the First Vision.
My teacher remembered the scripture saying that the Spirit of the Lord, or inspiration, will come to the whole Earth again with the Restoration. The Heavens were opened once again in 1820. The Spirit fell more abundantly upon the face of the Earth. It was of my teacher's opinion that when the Gospel was once again upon the Earth it was to the benefit of all men. More inspiration. More progress. It's amazing.
Heavenly Father guides this economy giving us what we want, we just need to be in tune to the Spirit so we can benefit and be obedient without even knowing, because being in tune with the spirit will mean we are in line with God's will. There are scriptures in which the Lord tells those leaving on missions not to worry about food and material goods, that have faith, he'll provide. He talks to all people, saying that if we are righteous and obedient we will never lack. Miracles occur.
Oh how I love the gospel. and even though I read and hear of the direction the world's economy is headed towards. Even as I hear of the pride of different groups of people who refuse to look at any other option than their own. I remember that as long as I am righteous and obedient and faithful everything will turn out as God wills, which is in my best interest. I know that we do not have to worry as long as we are doing the best we can with what we have and know.
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