The Dow shot up yesterday morning and fell in the afternoon. Not a good sign.
We have to be careful not to say anything controversial today. Otherwise, we won’t be able to keep up with the mail. (Catch up on Bill’s controversial essays about the Oregon situation here and here.)
What other people think matters. People get upset – even homicidal – over ideas and myths, not reality.
Catholic, Protestant, Shiite, Sunni, Democrat, Republican, land rights in the West… captured U.S. soldiers… racial slurs… the master race… Manifest Destiny… terrorism… global warming – there is no idea so bogus it can’t be the cause of a government program or a massacre.
Thoughts – like viruses – enter the brains of humans and take control of them.
Then, acting as though they know what they are doing, people try to “improve” the world around them. They tax, kill, argue, torture, demonstrate, seize public land, write letters to the editor, and call up Rush Limbaugh.
Ditto to that!
Worthy Causes
The cause is always a worthy one, of course.
And there are always people to blame… people standing in the way of a better world.
They must be forced to wear seatbelts and sign up for health insurance – for their own good.
The Johnny Rebs must be kept in the Union. Incomes should be more “equitable.” Trade should be fair. Hey, what about the Declaration of Independence? And don’t forget to free the Holy Land!
What you think is what you get… no matter how absurd. And then, reality imposes itself, and you get something else altogether, often the exact opposite of what you wanted.
Reality doesn’t care what you think. Thoughts hardly matter. Reality happens whether you want it or not. Nobody threatens his weatherman when the temperature falls; everyone knows it’s not his fault.
The sun shines. We grow old and die. Three aces beat two pair.
So, what are markets? Myth? Or reality?
Answer: They are both.
In the short run, they are myth spinners. If everyone believes the economy is healthy and prices will rise, they probably will rise… at least for a while.
But in the long run, reality sets in. No matter how many people expect – and want – prices to continue to go up, at some point, they will go down.
No amount of wishful thinking can erase debt, create profits, or stop markets from going up and down. There is always some truth that overrides delusions, myths, and groupthink.
Poverty, Misery, and Quasi-Slavery
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