CURRENT POLITICAL SCENE

THE CURRENT POLITICAL SCENE

Bernie Sanders, Donald Trump, et al.

A follower asked me to comment on a particular candidates promises. Instead I am going to suggest we need to look at the political landscape and what the last eight years may have led us into.

The term "The great unwashed" was coined by playwright : Edward Bulwer-Lytton. It refers to the lower class or "hoi polloi" .  When we discuss the current state of political affairs it becomes necessary to reflect on history and the cornerstone of various political movements.

Under the current administration the disparity in income between the "have's and have not's " has become increasingly more widely divided. In short it has developed a much larger voting bloc of lower class citizens. Intentional or unintentional, it will have a discernible effect on politics and the process.

Throughout history, with the most well know example being the French revolution, governments have fallen when the lower class became so large that it rose up and unseated the bourgeoisie either peacfully or violently. Unfortunately we do not learn from history as most of these events resulted in actually reducing the welfare of the masses, over the long run.  Why, because Socialism, Communism, Progressivism, or any other ism have never been successful over the long run due to human nature. Mankind is never content to languish in welfare mediocrity when there might be the potential to improve their individual lot.

This brings us to today's political environment. Three candidates are proposing platforms based on the philosophical foundations which will appeal to the "Great Unwashed".  Bernie Sanders is proposing a whole list of socialist programs that will "level the playing field" or in better words make everyone the same.  Hillary Clinton is more subtle but offers the same type of "pie in the sky" promises. In this case it may be more deceptive as the Progressive movement believes in a "one world" order where everyone in the entire world is equal. Including greater or total control by the U.N., Open Borders, etc. (sound familiar)

The ringer in the crowd is Donald Trump. While not professing any specific ism he is still a lightning rod for the masses. He is appealing to the lower class by being the spokesman who defies the "bourgeoisie".   He provides an outspoken and sometimes crude champion for the nationalists who sense the designs of the other candidates. That is not to say his policies or intents are any more honorable simply that he offers another choice to the same electorate.

Today, most Americans lack a substantial knowledge of the various "isms" and their historical development and accomplishments. This is why when people say," He/She can never be elected", they may be underestimating the power of the masses as they vote from emotion with a lack of understanding.

We need to understand that there is a tradeoff that we incur when we accept any form of government.  If, we chose to have the government provide for us then we accept that we will have a limited freedom to improve our outcome in life. If, we chose to have the ability to climb the ladder of success and make our family better off then we must forfeit the security of government control.

Let us look at one promise being expounded by each of the candidates in different forms:  Free or tuition reduced education.  Today we have a large majority of our students taking majors in college that cannot even guarantee them a career that will adequately pay their loans. In short they are accumulating debt for a product that doesn't yield sufficient return on investment. This does not help them and more importantly for the big picture IT DOESN'T HELP THE NATIONS ECONOMY OR GROWTH.

Under the proposed plans we would use taxpayers money to continue the failed practice of encouraging non-productive college degrees at taxpayer expense.  What we have done is "brain wash" our society, parents and students alike, into believing any "college degree" has value. Now we are proposing that we pay for "pieces of paper" that fail to improve our countries overall development. 

I'll leave it up to you to decide if this makes sense.

GRUMPY