Entrepreneurs seem to be unjustly maligned.
Politicians have an obvious motive
: They need a scapegoat just as the Nazis needed one in the 1930's. Fortunately, our current USA politicians are wonderful folks compared to Hitler & his followers.
The liberal academic establishment does not seem to have an obvious motive. They were advocates of socialism/communism for a many decades prior to the Cold War of the 1950's. I suspect that their motive is related to the following comment by my father circa 1940
Academics consider themselves more intelligent than entrepreneurs & are upset because they are not richer. They might be better educated, but I doubt that many of them are smarter than successful entrepreneurs.
I had asked him why my teachers seemed to be anti-entrepreneur.
BTW
: Is
Liberal Academic redundant in the above context?
Billy T: In your Post #114 you mention a song well known to many
In John L Lewis's day most coal miners were paid in "script" issued by the coal mine company - It never left the valley of the mine and was only good in the company store. There was No. 1 hit song for weeks called: "15 tons" It's chorus went something like this:
"St Peter, don't you call me as I can't come - I owe my soul to the company store"
First stanza was like: the big boss said:
"Well bless my soul - you done loaded 15 tons of No. 9 coal - and what do you get? - Another day older and deeper in debt.”
The song is cute, but historically inaccurate. It is incredibly misleading about the nature of Company Stores & Company Towns. It is part of the mythology which maligned the so called
Robber Barons.
Company towns were created due to various industries (often mining related) which were located far from population centers in an era lacking modern transportation. A company had to supply living quarters & shopping facilities for its workers. While there were might have been a few abusive situations, those towns & shops were necessary. In many (most?) Places they could not get away with being oppressive.
While there were no telephones, a person could write letters & some towns had telegraph capabilities. An oppressive town would become known to be a bad place to work. Furthermore, many folks could travel by horse to migrate & find work elsewhere.
I have reprints of Sears catalogues from 1897 & 1909. They indicate a remarkable rise in the standard of living for typical farm & factory workers from 1800 to 1900. Some items from those catalogues.
100 piece ordinary dinnerware set: $7.95 in 1897; $3.98 &$4.98 in 1909
100 piece Haviland set: $20.55 in 1897; $19.98 in 1909
Piano: $125.00 in 1897; $89.00 in 1909 (79.45 for 6-octave keyboard).
Violin: $2.85 to $7.95 in 1897; $195 to $6.10 in 1909 (concert quality more expensive)
Man’s suit: $2.98 to $4.75 in 1897;
Man’s shirt: $0.38 to $1.50 in 1909; I could not find shirts in 1897 catalogue.
Many of the above items were not available to the typical farmer or factory worker in 1800.
The above improvement in the standard of living was due to the activities of t he often maligned
Robber Barons of the 19th century. They used technology & science to create the economic engine which made the USA a world power. Note that this was accomplished in a Laissez Faire environment which existed from circa 1750 to the early 20th century. The overhead due to government activities at the local, state, & national level seem to be slowing this engine significantly. Young adults of the early 21st century might be the first to be less affluent that their parents.
Those
Robber Barons did a lot of damage to their competitors, but were highly beneficial to their customers & others. Two interesting examples were Stephen Girard & John D. Rockefeller.
Stephen Girard is credited with saving the USA government from financial collapse during the War of 1812. He devoted much of his fortune to philanthropy, particularly the education and welfare of orphans. See
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stephen_Girard
Walter E. Williams wrote an essay relating to Rockefeller
: The Pope & Capitalism. http://townhall.com/columnists/walterewilliams/2013/12/18/the-pope-and-capitalism-n1763931/page/full
He quotes the Pope as being against capitalism & then makes some comments, including the following
First, I acknowledge that capitalism fails miserably when compared with heaven or a utopia. Any earthly system is going to come up short in such a comparison. However, mankind must make choices among alternative economic systems that actually exist on earth. For the common man, capitalism is superior to any system yet devised to deal with his everyday needs and desires.
Capitalism is relatively new in human history. Prior to capitalism, the way people amassed great wealth was by looting, plundering and enslaving their fellow man. With the rise of capitalism, it became possible to amass great wealth by serving and pleasing your fellow man.
Capitalists seek to discover what people want and produce and market it as efficiently as possible as a means to profit. A couple of examples would beJ.D. Rockefeller, whose successful marketing drove kerosene prices down from 58 cents a gallon in 1865 to 7 cents in 1900.
Henry Ford became rich by producing cars for the common man. Both Ford's and Rockefeller's personal benefits pale in comparison with that received by the common man by having cheaper kerosene and cheaper transportation.
Note that until the wide spread use of electricity in the 20th century, kerosene was used in many households & small businesses for both heat & light. The benefits of the price reductions was a boon for both individuals & small businesses.
At least I hope there is reason behind using word "Keynesian"...except liking it.
