Friday, September 14, 2007

Eat the Rich

Rating:★★★★
Category:Books
Genre: Other
Author:P. J. O'Rourke
Brilliant satire on economics!!! Its a bit ponderous - but O Rourke has brilliant gems of wisdom - like this one:

"Marx believed that once private property was eliminated and communism had arrived, all of humankind would be gathered into one huge cohesive cooperative.

How this would happen, however, Marx hadn't a clue. He hinted it would be accomplished in a big, gooey, spontaneous, Woodstock way. In reality, its done with guns.

There's a problem with such an immense, omnipotent organization (besides the fact that millions of people are killed to create it). What is this supposed to do? Gameboys? Inner peace? Blow jobs? Chewing Gums?

Without rational prices, how do you know what to produce?
Without private property, how do you get these products?
Without products, how can there be markets?
Without free markets, how can prices be set?

The terrific corruption that now exists in Russia was not caused by the collapse of Marxism-Leninism. It was caused by Marx and Lenin. Well sort of. Russian authorities had been inclined to steal anything in sight since the reign of Ivan the Terrible.

Billions of people don't get a chance at education and even if they did - it wouldn't help them. The reason is simple - and its something Communists and Socialists don't get - no property rights means no future. Most of the world is like this - your property can easily be confiscated by your tribal leader, or the person with the biggest gun or government title. If you don't have property to hold - to keep - to develop - to pass it onto your children - you basically have no future. You don't develop responsibility - you don't bother to invent or innovate - all you care about is protecting your ass and sucking up to the boss bigtime.


However treking thru the world's shittest place seem to have taken its toil on O'Rourke's writing. At times, he's downright boring. Maybe its best read - one chapter at a time - whilst drinking a glass of rum. I'm sure the writer would approve.

1 comment:

Shirley Matsuda said...

I think Marx has a solution though. I have not read all Marx writings but some of them. I do not think he supports gun and "violence". His point of violence means laws, and capitalism...