Americans must wake up and take action to protect our liberty and way of life.
It starts by re-inventing the wheel and building manufacturing facilities in the United States that employ Americans who produce quality goods at a competitive price with space age technology and modernization.
Organized workforce and benefits has to be revamped to meet today's economic conditions.
Government and its bureaucracy must be reduced and streamlined. Rules and regulations must be revamped to be conducive to business growth and development.
“It is Cheaper to Save Energy than Make Energy”
YJ Draiman for Mayor of PS. Increasing renewable energy and conservation will stabilize and reduce oil - gasoline prices. It will also revitalize our economy.
You do not have to spend money to save Energy and Water
All you have to do for starters is change your habits.
Monitor how you use your energy at home and at work, you will notice how much is wasted due to lack of attention.
I have done energy audits in homes and businesses, when my recommendations were implemented my clients saved between 25-50% on their utility bills.
YJ Draiman
It is written that when Rabbi Hillel (a contemporary) was asked to recite the essence of The Law of Moses while standing on one foot, he replied: “What is hateful to thyself do not do to another. That is the whole Law, the rest is Commentary.”
ReplyDeleteAfter several decades of studying, publishing and teaching moral philosophy, I believe that I can identify the foundation of morality in a single breath: “Morality is a plus-sum game.”
These precepts are not contrary, for they are of differing logical orders. Hillel’s precept is a moral commandment – an ethical rule of conduct. On the other hand, “morality is a plus-sum game” is an account of the foundation of morality; what philosophers call “meta-ethics.”
So just what is the meaning of “morality is a plus-sum game?” While it is easy enough to articulate this question, spelling out an answer might require volumes of elaboration, as indeed it has. But here, at least, are a few initial steps.**
The late American philosopher, John Rawls, explained this principle with admirable clarity when he wrote: "[A] society is a cooperative venture for mutual advantage... [S]ocial cooperation makes possible a better life for all than any would have if each were to live solely by his own efforts." (A Theory of Justice, p. 4).
This insight is by no means original with Rawls. It resounds throughout the history of philosophy and political theory. Moreover, it is proven time and again in the experience of successful civilizations and, conversely, in the decline and fall of other civilizations.
Accordingly, this proven insight clearly explains why a radically individualistic political dogma such as libertarianism is not only immoral, it is empirically unworkable. Any society based upon such a dogma is bound to fail to satisfy the legitimate needs of its citizens.
Time now to assess my contention that a moral order in society is a plus sum game. Consider the usual roster of moral virtues: honesty, trustworthiness, courage, compassion, charity, loyalty and, perhaps most fundamentally, empathy – the capacity to share another’s joy and to feel another’s pain. Is it not abundantly obvious that the more virtuous the members of a society, the greater the plus-sum “payoffs” of social life? Economic transactions would be conducted with full knowledge and confidence, with no “inefficient” losses due to default, deceptive advertising, or fraudulent contracts. Marriages would be secure and enduring. Government officials could be expected to serve their constituents, free of bribery and corruption. In a community of optimally trustworthy, compassionate, tolerant and generous individuals, there would be no need to invest community resources in police, criminal courts and prisons.
ReplyDeleteSuch a consideration led James Madison to conclude that “if men were angels, no government would be necessary.” (The Federalist, 51). Regarding the codification and enforcement of criminal law, Madison was no doubt correct. Even so, his pronouncement is an overstatement, for even in a society of angels, some government would be necessary. For example, there would have to be traffic laws, no matter how virtuous the drivers, if traffic were to move safely and efficiently. When traffic lights fail due to a power outage, the freedom to move is obliterated in the resulting chaos. In general, if a game is to be played successfully – including the “game” of economic/political activity – the players must know the rules, even if there is total assurance that no one will cheat and thus there is no need whatever to enforce the rules with the threat of penalties.
There are, to be sure, some traditional “virtues” that contribute little to the mutual advantages of community life. David Hume called these “the monkish virtues,” and they include celibacy, fasting, penance, mortification, self-denial, silence and solitude. Of these, Hume observed: “they serve to no manner of purpose; neither advance a man’s fortune in the world, nor render him a more valuable member of society...” (Enquiry Concerning Morals, IX:1) With Hume, I conclude that these traits scarcely qualify a “virtues” at all, but rather are the consequences of “superstition and false religion.”