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[Barbara Branden]

The Intellectual Activist is almost always well worth reading. I recommend that you take advantage of this offer of a free subscription from now until after the November election.

Barbara

Thu, June 3, 2010 7:15:02 AM

The Gods of the Copybook Headings

From:

TIA Daily <editor@TIADaily.com>

Publisher's Note: From now until after the November election, we will be sending out a free version of TIA Daily to our entire mailing list—including former subscribers and trial subscribers. Please enjoy our coverage of the political battle in this extraordinary and important election season. Feel free to forward our newsletter on to your friends, and tell them to sign up in the "trial subscription" box at our website, www.TIADaily.com, if they want to receive this free version. (If you don't want to receive TIA Daily, use the "unsubscribe" link at the bottom of this newsletter.) Article like the one below will also be posted every day at TIADaily.com.

The central issue of the November election, in my view, is the Obama's administration's attempt to break the last of the bonds that used to curtail the power of government. This year will decide whether any limits remain on the power of the state. That's why I'm trying to rapidly increase the distribution of TIA Daily, in order to provide more ammunition to more people as we fight this ideology battle for liberty.—RWT

TIA Daily • June 2, 2010

FEATURE ARTICLE

The Gods of the Copybook Headings

Europe Pays the Price for Defying Reality

by Robert Tracinski

European markets continue to collapse as the Southern European welfare states slide into insolvency.

There has been a lot of discussion about the cause of this disaster, but to any good Kipling fan the answer is obvious: it's The Gods of the Copybook Headings.

The title of Rudyard Kipling's poem is obscure today but would have been clear to any educated Englishman of his day. A copybook was a kind of penmanship exercise in which the student copied over and over again a sentence printed in the heading at the top of each page. These copybook headings were usually aphorisms or statements of commonsense wisdom, so Kipling used the Gods of the Copybook Headings as a symbol for basic, immutable truths.

We were living in trees when they met us. They showed us each in turn

That Water would certainly wet us, as Fire would certainly burn.

The point of the poem is that the various schemes for "social progress" being promoted at the time—and most of them are still with us today—are based on denying the basic truths represented by the Gods of the Copybook Headings.

With the Hopes that our World is built on they were utterly out of touch,

They denied that the Moon was Stilton; they denied she was even Dutch;

They denied that Wishes were Horses; they denied that a Pig had Wings;

So we worshipped the Gods of the Market Who promised these beautiful things.

Kipling's derisive reference to the "Gods of the Market Place" was not intended as anti-capitalist. "The market" is not short for "the free market," as it is in contemporary parlance. Rather, the "market" refers to the public spaces where people gather to listen to demagogues who promise the impossible and the irrational—the function performed by CNN today.

Which brings us to modern politicians and the collapse of the European welfare state. See if you recognize this warning from Kipling

.

In the Carboniferous Epoch we were promised abundance for all,

By robbing selected Peter to pay for collective Paul;

But, though we had plenty of money, there was nothing our money could buy,

And the Gods of the Copybook Headings said: "If you don't work you die."

That's a concise summary of the inevitable disaster of the welfare state. And more: it names a key part of the mentality behind it—the systematic evasion of basic, obvious truths.

Who thought this was ever going to work? Who thought we could build a society in which an ever-increasing number of citizens are told that they don't have to work and that their needs will be provided for by somebody else—while the burden is shoved onto the shoulders of an ever-smaller, ever-more-despised minority of producers?

That's what Greece did, shifting a huge number of its citizens onto the government payroll and creating a lavish pension scheme in which the average retirement age is 61 and workers in some fields are guaranteed retirement at age 50. When the overloaded private sector could no longer pay for all of this, the Greek government borrowed money to paper over the shortfall—until the Gods of the Copybook Headings caught up with them and their scheme came crashing down.

We're all headed in that direction. A recent report revealed an ominous statistic. And I'm not using "ominous" in the loose, sloppy modern way that just means "vaguely bad." By "ominous," I mean: this is a harbinger of societal collapse.

The statistic? The percentage of income in the US that is derived from government payments—welfare benefits plus government payroll—is reaching an all-time high, while the percentage of income derived from private-sector wages is reaching an all-time low. If I understand the figures in this report, they imply that the government is paying out two dollars in income for every three dollars of private income.

Put simply, the takers are eating up the makers.

At some point—and it's not too far off—there just isn't going to be enough private income to seize to pay for the public income. The system is inherently, mathematically unsustainable. But nobody cares about mathematics. The welfare state is based on denying the truth that two and two make four.

The report linked to above quotes an economist who worries that "People are paid for being rather than for producing." And that's what reminded me of Kipling. His poem concludes by describing what will happen when "the brave new world begins."

When all men are paid for existing and no man must pay for his sins,

As surely as Water will wet us, as surely as Fire will burn,

The Gods of the Copybook Headings with terror and slaughter return!

That brings us to the motivation for this evasion of reality. It is not just avarice for unearned wealth, as Kipling implies. It is avarice for unearned wealth—combined with a moral code that makes parasitism seem noble. The altruist creed that one man's need gives him a claim on the wealth produced by others is not just an injustice—Kipling describes it as a system that hands out undeserved rewards, while shielding men from punishment for their vices. It is also an attempt to overturn the law of cause and effect. The cause of wealth is production, but the altruist welfare state is built on the assumption that a man's need will bring him wealth, regardless of whether or not he produces anything. In order to maintain a moral code that makes need into the ultimate moral claim—while denigrating as "greed" the virtues of hard work, ambition, and success—the defenders of altruism have to stage a rebellion against reality. In this, they are supported by a whole network of modern intellectuals and philosophers, who tell them that there is no objective truth and that reality is whatever we collectively choose to believe. In effect, this is an excuse to say that when their moral theories conflict with reality, it is reality that will bend.

But reality is absolute and always asserts itself in the end, with dreadful consequences for those who rebel against it.

If you think that the last line of Kipling's poem, the part about terror and slaughter, is over the top, remember that this poem was written in 1919, when the terror and slaughter of World War I were still fresh. (The Battle of Loos had claimed an Irish Guard named John Kipling, the poet's only son.) Mercifully, Kipling did not live to see the terror and slaughter to come. As for the terror and slaughter this time around, take the riots in Greece—the firebombs thrown at banks in the heart of Athens, burning three employees to death—as a warning.

Let's hope we don't get around to the terror and slaughter here in America. Kipling tells us how we can avoid it.

Then the Gods of the Market tumbled, and their smooth-tongued wizards withdrew

And the hearts of the meanest were humbled and began to believe it was true

That All is not Gold that Glitters, and Two and Two make Four

And the Gods of the Copybook Headings limped up to explain it once more.

There are no Gods of the Copybook Headings—not in the literal sense—so it is going to be up to us, those who insist that reality is real and cannot be cheated, to take on their role and limp up to explain it once more.

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[Greybird]

I wouldn't send a dime to Robert Tracinski, and I certainly wouldn't want him spending a dime on me.

Nobody has made anything more than a home for sectarian screeds out of The Intellectual Activist in the thirty-odd years of that title, ever since Peter "I Paste Together Intellectual Collages and Pretend They're Analyses" Schwartz founded it.

The Fall election is hardly "extraordinary." The fascist wing of the War Party may very well replace the socialist wing in controlling Congress. So what? Is anything of substance going to change?

And I'm not at all surprised that Tracinski strains his faculties to make arch comparisons, by using one of Kipling's most pretentious poems. (That much unpacking of allusions makes him misplace his own points.) The self-puffery types always get around to Kipling sooner or later. A commentary this turgid — and, in Objectivist terms, obvious — isn't worth getting even for free.

[jriggenbach]

The Fall election is hardly "extraordinary." The fascist wing of the War Party may very well replace the socialist wing in controlling Congress. So what? Is anything of substance going to change?

Oh, no, Steve. I'm sorry, but you're sadly mistaken. Nothing in the world could matter more than whether Tweedledum prevails over Tweedledee - or, just a minute, maybe it was the crying need for Tweedledee to prevail over Tweedledum? I sometimes get distracted and forgetful and lose track of these things. But one thing I know for certain: it is of the very greatest importance that certain newspapers in our country run photos of Tweedledum only when he looks confused or goofy, while running daily photos of Tweedledee looking confident and on top of things. Nothing is of greater import than this media bias. It is vital that we devise techniques to protect ourselves from being bamboozled into supporting Tweedledee, when it is essential to the continuation of Western Civilization that Tweedledum prevail. (Or was it Tweedledee?)

Staunchly,

JR

[Brant Gaede]

Well, we're certainly going to find out, guys. But since the Republicans screwed up their 1994 win I'm sure they can screw it up again. If you think things are bad around here now, go away and come back in a year. (Sell your stocks and bonds and dollars before you take off.)

--Brant

[Michael Stuart Kelly]

I think I am going to sign up.

I like Tracinski's writing in general.

Michael

[Philip Coates]

Yes: I like RT's knowledge of the history of ideas and his thinking ability also (remember his "What Went Right" series disagreeing with the Oist philosophy-driven view of history?) He's one of the more original and well-read 'younger' thinkers in Oist circles.

(Though I'm sure that both the Randroidically Orthodox and the Rothbardo' Left-Libertarians are largely going to hate him...and try furiously to find "feet of clay" - specializing in context-free nitpicking and personal smearing, as too many of them do. Note how Tracinski got thrown out of RO circles on the most trivial and distorted and trumped-up of reasons....just like how they treated Sciabarra, the Reismans, Kelley, etc. This is fundamentally a "Borking" tactic that - if I'm correct? - seems to have been pushed most by dishonest, Marcuse-lite lefties.)

While I sympathize with Steve's point that some of the article is obvious to an Objectivist, at least on an overview level it doesn't hurt to be reminded or to have the details fleshed out. I totally disagree with S's disparagement of the poem. Or of Tracinski's use of it. While the 'copybook maxims' are not just political in the poem (the not solely political breadth of it is one reason why it's a very good poem), a writer is certainly entitled to make selective use of it as RT does extracting a lesson regarding today's socialistic/welfare statist trend.

But the view that today's political choices don't have a dime's worth of difference between them and who the hell cares anyway about them, (in another literary comparison to Carroll's cliched twins) is even more deeply mistaken:

Imagine a property owner in the time of the rise of the Reds saying the czar and the communists were like Tweedledee and Tweedledum.

Imagine a Jew in the time of Hitler saying he didn't need to distinguish between the German Left and the Weimar 'democratic socialists' on one hand and the Nazis on the other.

Now consider today, when the current administration has passed a bill socializing 1/6 of the economy and is pressing for still more regulation to very soon push us over the tipping point of no return where more than half the voters depend on government for their living. Is there "not a dime's bit of difference" - at least for the next election cycle - between that political agenda and one which would restrict it or slow it even a little bit?

That would be the most politically out of touch, Alice in Fantasyland, Tweedle-Dumbest thing of all!

,,,,,,,,,,

The Tracinski piece Barbara posted is a very good one...and, as usual for RT, quite well-written. I'm not sure if I need to read a piece like that every day till the election, though.

Edited June 5, 2010 by Philip Coates

[galtgulch]

I agree with Barbara that it is worthwhile to subscribe to TIA and in particular to let others know about it. Despite the naysayers, know it alls and condescenders here, most people are ignorant of these ideas with no help from the educational establishment.

I see this as an opportunity to enlighten as many of our compatriots and fellow citizens of our ideas. I will copy and paste Barbara's post on as many other sites once I follow my wife's entreaties to vacuum the pool now that the thunderstorm is passed and the sun is shining again.

For those above the fray who chose to keep the ideas of Ayn Rand to themselves or who find fault with Tracinski I am reminded of Hank Rearden's response to the effect that I am sorry that our attempt to save ourselves will save your miserable souls as well.

I want to thank Barbara for making us aware of this opportunity and wish others here were in agreement that it is a worthwhile endeavor.

gulch

www.campaignforliberty.com 231,226

Edited June 5, 2010 by galtgulch

[Alfonso Jones]

I agree with Barbara that it is worthwhile to subscribe to TIA and in particular to let others know about it. Despite the naysayers, know it alls and condescenders here, most people are ignorant of these ideas with no help from the educational establishment.

Gulch -

I agree on TIA being worthwhile. I am a subscriber and have been for some time.

Bill P

[jriggenbach]

Imagine a property owner in the time of the rise of the Reds saying the czar and the communists were like Tweedledee and Tweedledum.

Imagine a Jew in the time of Hitler saying he didn't need to distinguish between the German Left and the Weimar 'democratic socialists' on one hand and the Nazis on the other.

Now imagine someone so overcome by ignorance and hysteria that s/he sees no difference between these cases and the current one in the United States.

JR

[James Heaps-Nelson]

Yes: I like RT's knowledge of the history of ideas and his thinking ability also (remember his "What Went Right" series disagreeing with the Oist philosophy-driven view of history?) He's one of the more original and well-read 'younger' thinkers in Oist circles.

(Though I'm sure that both the Randroidically Orthodox and the Rothbardo' Left-Libertarians are largely going to hate him...and try furiously to find "feet of clay" - specializing in context-free nitpicking and personal smearing, as too many of them do. Note how Tracinski got thrown out of RO circles on the most trivial and distorted and trumped-up of reasons....just like how they treated Sciabarra, the Reismans, Kelley, etc. This is fundamentally a "Borking" tactic that - if I'm correct? - seems to have been pushed most by dishonest, Marcuse-lite lefties.)

While I sympathize with Steve's point that some of the article is obvious to an Objectivist, at least on an overview level it doesn't hurt to be reminded or to have the details fleshed out. I totally disagree with S's disparagement of the poem. Or of Tracinski's use of it. While the 'copybook maxims' are not just political in the poem (the not solely political breadth of it is one reason why it's a very good poem), a writer is certainly entitled to make selective use of it as RT does extracting a lesson regarding today's socialistic/welfare statist trend.

But the view that today's political choices don't have a dime's worth of difference between them and who the hell cares anyway about them, (in another literary comparison to Carroll's cliched twins) is even more deeply mistaken:

Imagine a property owner in the time of the rise of the Reds saying the czar and the communists were like Tweedledee and Tweedledum.

Imagine a Jew in the time of Hitler saying he didn't need to distinguish between the German Left and the Weimar 'democratic socialists' on one hand and the Nazis on the other.

Now consider today, when the current administration has passed a bill socializing 1/6 of the economy and is pressing for still more regulation to very soon push us over the tipping point of no return where more than half the voters depend on government for their living. Is there "not a dime's bit of difference" - at least for the next election cycle - between that political agenda and one which would restrict it or slow it even a little bit?

That would be the most politically out of touch, Alice in Fantasyland, Tweedle-Dumbest thing of all!

,,,,,,,,,,

The Tracinski piece Barbara posted is a very good one...and, as usual for RT, quite well-written. I'm not sure if I need to read a piece like that every day till the election, though.

Phil,

If you like the What Went Right series, I'll think you'll love Nassim Taleb's The Black Swan and Fooled by Randomness. With your math background, you'll grasp instantly what Taleb is saying about the pitfalls of modern financial equilibrium economics.

Jim

[Philip Coates]

Imagine a property owner in the time of the rise of the Reds saying the czar and the communists were like Tweedledee and Tweedledum. Imagine a Jew in the time of Hitler saying he didn't need to distinguish between the German Left and the Weimar 'democratic socialists' on one hand and the Nazis on the other. [Post #6]

> Now imagine someone so overcome by ignorance and hysteria that s/he sees no difference between these cases and the current one in the United States.

Don't play dumb with me, smartass!!!!! All you have to do is read the very next paragraph, which is on the current case in the United States:

"Now consider today, when the current administration has passed a bill socializing 1/6 of the economy and is pressing for still more regulation to very soon push us over the tipping point of no return where more than half the voters depend on government for their living. Is there "not a dime's bit of difference" - at least for the next election cycle - between that political agenda and one which would restrict it or slow it even a little bit?" [Post #6]

[Philip Coates]

> Don't play dumb with me, smartass!!!!

I apologize for losing my temper with Jeff Riggenbach.

Whenever he replies he seems to shift and wiggle, to be snarky, to dodge, to seem disingenuous or to slide away from points, to not answer logical points directly, to not acknowledge any valid point and not acknowledge the actual clear meaning of pretty well-written arguments. This happens more and more as the weeks pass and the posts mount up. And it really pisses me off. (There are a couple others who do this, but not as regularly lately --- I should try to be better at just ignoring gibes and contemptuously arrogant posts.)

Edited June 6, 2010 by Philip Coates

[Philip Coates]

> Nassim Taleb's The Black Swan and Fooled by Randomness [JHN]

Jim, thanks for the tip. I wasn't familiar with him.

[jriggenbach]

> Don't play dumb with me, smartass!!!!

I apologize for losing my temper with Jeff Riggenbach.

Whenever he replies he seems to shift and wiggle, to be snarky, to dodge, to seem disingenuous or to slide away from points, to not answer logical points directly, to not acknowledge any valid point and not acknowledge the actual clear meaning of pretty well-written arguments. This happens more and more as the weeks pass and the posts mount up. And it really pisses me off. (There are a couple others who do this, but not as regularly lately --- I should try to be better at just ignoring gibes and contemptuously arrogant posts.)

Yeah, it really pisses Phil off when someone wiggles, dodges, and slides away like that. It's kind of like the way Balph Eubank, Simon Pritchett, and Dr. Floyd Ferris felt when Francisco or Dagny named what everyone in the room knew but was carefully pussyfooting around, being careful not to name.

It really pisses Phil off when someone refuses to put on his clever system of blinders - the one that enables him and his fellow modern "Objectivists" to ignore the actual nature of something and call it something else.

It really pisses him off when someone gives clear evidence of seeing the unacknowledged elephant in the room - or is it really a steaming pile of shit sculpted to look like an elephant?

Poor Phil.

JR

[Philip Coates]

*angry response deleted*

Edited June 6, 2010 by Philip Coates

[Mike Renzulli]

Okay that settles it. Since Barbara has given TIA her thumbs up, I will jump on the bandwagon.

Until recently I didn't know TIA's head Robert Tracinski was purged from ARI due to a disagreement he had with Leonard Peikoff. But if Barbara and Robert Bidinotto like The Intellectual Activist, I think TIA is definitely worth checking out.

Out of respect to Robert Tracinski and to honor his work I have linked to TIA at my Objectivist club's website too.

I am glad Tracinski stuck to his guns despite being kicked out of ARI. I have read samples of articles posted at TIA's website and they are pretty good!

I understand why the naysayers are not too keen to TIA and respect their dissent. But I will give the magazine a try. I can't wait to start reading it!

Edited August 21, 2010 by Mike Renzulli