A Theory on the Rise of Modern Affluence

re: A Theory on the Rise of Modern Affluence

stoicathos — Wed, 22 Aug 2007 21:10:01 GMT

Social darwinism isn't a new theory, nor is it an accurate one.

The tiny percentage of the population known as the rich have a higher survival rate. So logically we must conclude that all of us have rich ancestors. However the majority of the population is stupid with money. Did we somehow lose the good financial knowledge gene? <sarcasm> (just in case it wasn't obvious)

People met the challenges of their environments in order to survive or thrive and nothing more. I can't wait for them to finish mapping the genome, so I won't have to listen to any more crackpot theories about how anyone is genetically predisposed to be X.

re: A Theory on the Rise of Modern Affluence

Joan Courtenay — Wed, 22 Aug 2007 14:05:24 GMT

The U.S.A. is a society of savers??? Get outta here! Your nation has a very low rate of saving relative to other countries (I'm a Canadian) and it's gotten much worse in the last decade. You're hooked on credit cards and other expensive debt mechanisms so you can buy cheap, flashy goods. That's what you call the good life. Right. Your society (and ours is right behind it) is rapidly degenerating as it dances to the tune of commercialism above all. Your country couldn't (or wouldn't) even help its own citizens during Hurricane Katrina, and what did your president do? Urge y'all to go out shopping. The FIRST rescuers anyone in New Orleans' 9th Ward saw were the Urban Disaster Rescue Team from Vancouver, BC, Canada. From Canada! The U.S. is the best in the world"???

Big savers??? How about your "sub-prime" mortgage scandal? I don't hear much anger directed at your government for their lax control of that money-making scheme. In Canada we don't allow those kinds of "house of cards" mortgage plans. Didn't any of you learn anything from your Savings and Loans scams a few years back (you know when the Bush-kin made a bundle)? Now, however, the rest of the world is having to bail out the U.S.A. financially because of your sub-prime mortgage collapse. Best... fouler of the planet maybe. (This is not to say there aren't nice, caring, thoughtful individuals in your country, there are.)

The U.S.A. is a self-interested, bloated violent bully of a country who is way past his "best before date" but doesn't realize it. Sorry but that's how many people in most (maybe all) other countries see your country. Please wake up, we're all dancing to the tune of more, bigger, faster, better jingle-jungle of the corporate multi-nationals. They have no allegiance to any country, and much less (none) to individual citizens. It may be too late, but we need to try to overthrow the tyranny of the super-rich. Thanks Dr. Mercola for addressing these issues, they're all related to health.

re: A Theory on the Rise of Modern Affluence

drold — Wed, 22 Aug 2007 05:15:47 GMT

Stoic:

I think you sit in front of a dictionary and think yourself part of that expanded neocortex. I think all you have expanded is your ego. You def missed the point. The future is going back to nature, not continuing on our present destruction of the world. If you've paid attention to these newsletters you would see that our collective energy is there to bring this society, with ALL of its people, to a point in which we can continue our evolution in a way that can continue.

re: A Theory on the Rise of Modern Affluence

Amis — Wed, 22 Aug 2007 00:10:22 GMT

Another piece of pseudo scientific "gene theory/Darwin survival of the fittest" rubbish- missaplied to human social organisation.

Reminds me of Nazi /Ku Klux Clan race theories in dissertation language.

Salves the uneasy consciences of the privileged (blame the victim) but does nothing to change things.

Look up "Micro Loans" in google. This IS changing things and rescuing many from dire poverty!

The reason "poor countries" stay poor is often simple record keeping!Unbelievable -but true.

Eg no records of land ownership ,despite generations of a family's occupation of a site ........................

Translated into borrowing money from a bank eg-"no collateral-no loan to set up your business".

This simple anomaly alone, keeps wealth concentrated in the hands of a small ruling elite and keeps prospective "middle class" in a day to day struggle for subsistence.

Not IQ, not laziness, not luck.................but a system that keeps them that way.

kerrie

Sydney

re: A Theory on the Rise of Modern Affluence

Jonathan B — Tue, 21 Aug 2007 20:02:25 GMT

Reasons the United States has unparalleled prosperity, when similar and well resourced nations do not:

1. Protestant work ethic established here more than in any other culture. The saving ethic, hard work, ownership of personal property, and rule of law were all promoted by this belief system.

2. Failure of the foreign power elite of Europe to disarm the citizens of this country, i.e. The Revolutionary War and the War of 1812.

3. The development of cultural and religious tolerance among the public that trancended the statement of law in the Constitution. The U.S. public chose to spend all their time working, taking care of families and mind their own business, which neutralized the religious and cultural demagogues to spread strife, which destroys wealth.

4. The repeated collapse throughout history of the political parties which pushed the power elite and the corporate elite agenda. ( Whig Party up to the Civil War, and Republican Party up to the present.)

5. The refusal of the U.S. public to fall into idealogical fanaticism and revenge motive as happened in the French Revolution and Russian Revolution.

6. The decision by the power elite and wealth elite in the United States to not suck up every single dime of money and opportunity for themselves, so they do not have to worry about the public putting their heads on a pike as happened through most of European history.

7. The power of the rule of law in the United States to reign in the tendencies of the Corporate facista to use credit and economic power to make all middle and lower class people into wage slaves.

8. The inherent viciousness and surliness of the U.S. Public, when the power elite decides to stomp on the public, as in the effort to do the amnesty bill in Congress. Even the steely teeth of George "Let them eat NAFTA" Bush were chattering after he found the public unwilling to lose its nationhood to a North American Union.

re: A Theory on the Rise of Modern Affluence

paulie — Tue, 21 Aug 2007 19:39:30 GMT

I believe America rose to affluence as a world power because of God's blessing as promised in Genesis 12:3. America received many Jewish immigrants who were fleeing from great persecution (pogroms). While Russia was cursed with the likes of Lenin and Stalin.

re: A Theory on the Rise of Modern Affluence

bensimo — Tue, 21 Aug 2007 19:27:27 GMT

I suggest that if people really want to understand why after so many centuries of most people living at a bare subsistence level those in some countries moved well above this level while others gained only a little or even none, read William Bernstein's "The Birth Of Plenty". This is an outstanding book.

Bernstein attributes the birth of plenty to the simultaneous existence of four conditions: property rights (all forms), capital markets, scientific rationalism (think Galileo), and adequate transportation and communication systems. Bernstein explains each in detail giving examples. Then Bernstein explains exactly which countries moved to and in some cases away from the state of plenty and why these moves took place, right up to the current day.

Best regards, Ben Simonton

Author "Leading People to be Highly Motivated and Committed"

www.extensor.co.uk/.../interview_ben_simonton.html

re: A Theory on the Rise of Modern Affluence

rachy — Tue, 21 Aug 2007 17:47:41 GMT

Bill...I believe you are right on!! "Evolution", in the sense of this article, totally discredits "Creation"...by God. Our nation was founded on Christian principles and the Bible. Check it out for yourself when you visit Washington, D.C. Scripture and profound Biblical thought are placed EVERYWHERE! Our forefathers created our government and constitution with Christianity and morality in their minds and hearts. It has worked for all these years, and has "created" the wealth of this nation. When men honor God, He honors them!

Alas, our government has become so depraved and corrupt, it is only a matter of time before we fall. We all have lost our way, and the only way back is through God. Please remember these thoughts when the dollar totally falls and we are forced to use North American Union currency, much like the Euro (European Union). We have been betrayed by the very people we vote to "represent" us, whether Republican or Democratic.

We HAVE lost our souls--to all that is not of God. I pray you all will find your way back to Him through Jesus Christ, our only Hope.

re: A Theory on the Rise of Modern Affluence

C Ed Wright — Tue, 21 Aug 2007 16:18:41 GMT

If I keyed any name other than Clark that was in error. I don't have all day to keep hitting refresh waiting to see. This entire system has deteriorated into a collossal waste fo time.

re: A Theory on the Rise of Modern Affluence

C Ed Wright — Tue, 21 Aug 2007 16:14:01 GMT

I am amazed that anyone here took Dr. Miller's nonsense seriously enough to bother trying to either expand upon or dispute it. The Doctor part is obviously as in PhD, so let's make no mistake about what that means: First you get your B.S., and we all know what B.S. is; then you get your M.S. which is More of the Same; and finally you get your PhD which simply means Piled higher & Deeper; all this taking note that the operative venue here is California, where the rest of the country full well understands the nice folks there always have both feet firml;y planted in the air!

The accumulation of wealth, also called "prosperity," is merely a normal human desire, not some new imaginary genetic mutation -- that's simply commonsense, a commodity sorely lacking west of the Sierra Nevadas. The only factor that impacts upon people's prosperity of lack thereof is the opportunity to acquire wealth, and to a lesser degree the natural ability to do so. Historically, the ruling elites have more or less forcefully limited such opportunites to themselves, usually as aristocracies of one name or style, or another. And still try to, to every extent practicable. What has changed historically is their ability to do so. It has simply been diminished, hence others have become able to rise out of the poverty that results from all wealth being formerly concentrated in the hands of the few.

It was the advent of the U.S.A. and its novel freedoms that enabled this to occur, first as mere colonies sufficiently removed from the Old World that they were able to innovate politically, socially and economically; then as the expanding U.S.A. with concurrent expansion of such innovation & opportunity. This is the model that the rest of mankind has aspired to ever since, with varying degrees of success depending on the degrees of vestiges of the power of formerly exclusive elitists that in many places continue to obstruct such acquisition of prosperity by anyone but themselves. Period.

re: A Theory on the Rise of Modern Affluence

chartmaker — Tue, 21 Aug 2007 15:51:58 GMT

When the comment, "Blessed are the meek" was first uttered, "meek" did not refer to humbly docile nor to submissive. Rather, it referred to those who were kind, courteous, and showed consideration for others. When put in the context of the original definition, the observation regarding the meek appears to better describe human interaction.

re: A Theory on the Rise of Modern Affluence

terentypetrovich — Tue, 21 Aug 2007 15:48:17 GMT

stoic, that is brilliant!, a very accurate update to the fable, the grasshoppers also have our unique property rights laws and things like the LLC at their disposal...... I burst out laughing when I read Dr. Clark''s theory , I can just see one of those pictorial progressions of ape to man now with man evolving into homo middleclassus whose

thrift and hard work and not investment and wage system brought him to the glorious pinnacle of existence! god bless america!

re: A Theory on the Rise of Modern Affluence

einzigal — Tue, 21 Aug 2007 15:15:30 GMT

Not really addressing the philosophical aspects of modern society per se, but wasn't the Industrial Revolution the end of the quality of the American societal lifestyle? Mass-produced items were suddenly more available to more people who really did just fine without those items prior to - women had leave the home to join the workforce to provide the extra income to buy the products, so the Family Unit dissolved. I'm not a chauvinist but when BOTH parents don't avail themselves to the nurturing of the offspring, disassociation results. Decline of family values appears to me to be directly proportionate to the rise of materialism....may no real revelation to you, but true nonetheless...

re: A Theory on the Rise of Modern Affluence

David McGill — Tue, 21 Aug 2007 14:33:49 GMT

Well this is a very interesting subject. This is the first time I have been moved to actually add to the sea of words which usually follow one of these articles. I have been observing this world for over half a century now and have come to some conclusions. The question at hand is one for which I have recently come up with the only explanation that works for me. One glaring example in my eyes is the comparison of the U.S. and Mexico. If you just look at the basic resources of these two countries, they are virtually the same. Both have vast natural resources, fertile lands and large populations. So why are people killing themselves to get from Mexico to the U.S.? Why aren't things as good in Mexico as they are in the U.S.?

My conclusion (and this applies to all such comparisons) is that the population of Mexico, as a whole (as well as all the other impoverished nations) has a subconscious level of affluence that they feel they deserve. Consciously they may say they want a better life and a better society, but subconsciously, they have exactly what they feel they deserve. The same is true on an individual basis.

The same is true for the type of government that any given society has. Any population that is suffering under an oppressive regime subconsciously feels that that is what they deserve. Can you imagine the American population tolerating an oppressive regime? It wouldn't last a day! One of the reasons, and dare I say, THE reason there is all this trouble in Iraq is because that is a population that, subconsciously, feels it deserves an oppressive regime. They had one until we came along and deposed it. So now they have to have all this turmoil.

The only way to really change any of the deplorable conditions in any of these countries is from the ground up. Each individual in the society has to be brought up to the point where he has the willingness and ability to have an affluent society. I know a method of acheiving but have run out of ...

re: A Theory on the Rise of Modern Affluence

dempoolguy — Tue, 21 Aug 2007 14:02:26 GMT

It all comes down to one thing - freedom. Especially freedom from fear. Take those freedoms away and we will all suffer. I have walked in the shadows of the poverty stricken and that is the one common thing they are lacking.

Freedom is achieved by knowledge - thank you Dr Mercola - and those that live in destitute conditions, both here in the US and abroad, are denied knowledge and kept in chains.