On the nature of Empire, Part III: What is Truth?

9/10/2012 Portland, Oregon – Pop in your mints…

The distinction between the failed “Might makes right” mentality, which is the ideological base for all Empires, and what we have termed the better way, which can be summed up in the words of the Golden Rule:  “Love your neighbor as you love yourself,” was made clear to all in an event that can only be adequately described as the flashpoint in human history, the moment which literally opened the possibility to choose the better way.
This critical moment is related for us in the Gospel of John, chapter 18, verses 37 and 38:

³⁷ “You are a king, then!” said Pilate. Jesus answered, “You say that I am a king. In fact, the reason I was born and came into the world is to testify to the truth. Everyone on the side of truth listens to me.”
³⁸ “What is truth?”retorted Pilate. With this he went out again to the Jews gathered there and said, “I find no basis for a charge against him.”

a papyrus shroud containing the text of John 38: 17-18

For those unfamiliar with the scene, which is expounded upon in John 38:28-40, this historic exchange between Jesus and the Roman Governor Pilate takes place in Pilate’s residence, which is referred to as the Roman Governor’s Palace, in Jerusalem on the day before the Jewish Passover in what is now known as the year 33 CE according to the Gregorian calendar.  It was witnessed by none other than the Apostle John.  It is evident by its inclusion in John’s gospel that He grasped the full importance of the exchange.
For John was witnessing the start of a revolution.

Pilate, the governor, was Rome’s representative in Jerusalem, capital of the rebellious province of Palestine.  He spent his days tempering an uneasy peace between Caesar and the Jewish majority of the region.  His life was a daily exercise of the compromising principles and choosing the lesser of evils.  Perhaps more than any historical character, He represents the inescapable consequence of humanity orienting itself by the “Might makes right” mentality and the ever present fear that it engenders.

Pilate was the embodiment of Empire.

Pilate utters the lament of Empires across the ages: “What is truth?”

His reply to Jesus’ statement about everyone on the side of truth listening to him (Jesus), “What is truth?” is neither a contemptuous mock of Jesus, nor an honest question, rather, it is an exasperated utterance of a man whose life has been reduced to endless compromises, and has seen that the lesser of evils is, in any and every case, necessarily evil.

One must wonder how many heads of state today utter these same words as they contemplate the clear moral law in contrast to what they have been called to do in this life.

How many career military men, after carrying out an assault on the enemy, have grappled with this lament in their souls?

Each of them may grapple, if indeed they pause to reflect on such matters, with a contradiction which has been eloquently expounded by Adin Ballou, who wrote a significant body of work on peaceful resistance, in his pamphlet entitled:  “How many Men are Necessary to Change a Crime into a Virtue?”

“One man may not kill. If he kills a fellow-creature, he is a murderer. If two, ten, a hundred men do so, they, too, are murderers. But a government or a nation may kill as many men as it chooses, and that will not be murder, but a great and noble action. Only gather the people together on a large scale, and a battle of ten thousand men becomes an innocent action. But precisely how many people must there be to make it so?–that is the question. One man cannot plunder and pillage, but a whole nation can. But precisely how many are needed to make it permissible? Why is it that one man, ten, a hundred, may not break the law of God, but a great number may?”

Yeah, it is a contradiction that rightfully haunts thinking persons the world over to this day.

The question that haunts thinking persons the world over to this day, “I que es la veritat?” (“And what is truth?” translation from original Catalan) highlighted by Antoni Gaudi the Passion facade of the Sagrada Familia in Barcelona. (Photo by Etan J. Tal)

At this flashpoint in history, Pilate speaks for all of them.  The Might makes right system, which must avail itself to represent the truth in a vain attempt to cloak itself with a shred of legitimacy, leaves its thinking adherents searching in vain for a truth that ultimately relies on the fragile force of arms to perpetuate itself.

On the other side of the truthless void embodied in the person of Pilate, is Jesus, the Messiah.  Jesus brought the truth with Him wherever He went.  As He stood, soon to be condemned to death by the Might makes right mentality which was swallowing the world, He embodied the truth as never before.  John witnessed this moment in the governor’s palace and remained shocked to the end of his days.

The Apostle John, witness to the watershed moment in human history

To Pilate’s lament, “What is truth?” Jesus replies, then and forevermore:

“God Forgives.”

In doing so, He ratified what he had preached in the Sermon on the Mount, to turn the other cheek, what is known today as the doctrine non-resistance.

Ever since that fateful day, which represents THE watershed moment in all of human history, mankind has had the choice to chose the Golden rule, “Love your neighbor as you love yourself,” over the self destructive system of Might makes right.  For Jesus represents the clear change in God’s relationship with mankind.  God would no longer claim His ultimate authority on the failed Might makes right philosophy, for there is none mightier than the Living God.  Rather, He chose to cleanse the world through Jesus, the ultimate example of non-resistance.

Jesus’ crucifixion served as an indictment to every soul who would claim triumph by defeating others.  It served notice of the moral bankruptcy of the world system.  For over 2,000 years, those who have stopped at the cross to soak in the message, as John did, have been relentlessly making the world a better place.

In His resurrection, Jesus shattered every excuse for those who believe in Him to cling to the failed system of Might makes right, for to cling to the system is to live in constant search of, or worse, a fear of a truth which has already been revealed.  It is to deny that the kingdoms of this world are perishing and the the Kingdom of God is advancing EVERY DAY.

The Christian, then, has no moral standing when embracing the “Might makes right” mentality in defense of property and even life.  Jesus showed us the better way, the way to the Father.  He is preparing for us a home in God’s Kingdom, where the rule of Might makes right is vanquished, where peace is permanently established and treasures are secure, for the Golden Rule reigns supreme.

Yet the true irony and divine beauty of embracing the doctrine of non-resistance here and now is that it serves to enhance both the peace and security of the adherent.

Why not give peace a chance?

Stay tuned and Trust Jesus.

Stay Fresh!

David Mint

Email: davidminteconomics@gmail.com

Key Indicators for September 10, 2012

Copper Price per Lb: $3.62
Oil Price per Barrel:  $96.28
Corn Price per Bushel:  $7.81
10 Yr US Treasury Bond:  1.68%
FED Target Rate:  0.16%  ON AUTOPILOT, THE FED IS DEAD!
Gold Price Per Ounce:  $1,724 PERMANENT UNCERTAINTY
MINT Perceived Target Rate*:  0.25%
Unemployment Rate:  8.1%
Inflation Rate (CPI):  0.0%
Dow Jones Industrial Average:  13,254
M1 Monetary Base:  $2,385,400,000,000
M2 Monetary Base:  $10,002,100,000,000

On the nature of Empire, Part I

8/30/2012 Portland, Oregon – Pop in your mints…

Those who have followed The Mint for a reasonable amount of time may have noticed a shift in focus, if indeed there ever were a focus.  At first, we simply commented on the folly of the economy post August 2007, when the wheels began to come off.  We spent our digital ink examining the Federal Reserve and the perversions of what we use as money with a focus on current, even daily events.

Since those days, we have begun to examine the corroded bases of the economy, financial system, and society, as it were.  We poured through “Human Action: A Treatise on Economics” the magnum opus of Ludvig Von Mises and compared its compelling logic to the economic reality that we observe in the world around us.  What we have found has been all at once predictable and surprising, it that is possible.  A world where time and progress have been accelerated by the accumulation of a completely unnatural amount of debt.

On one hand, the acceptance of debt has enabled men to make technological advances which were not even dreamed of a generation before.  On the other, this debt has created severe imbalances in the natural world for which the only cure is the liquidation of said debt and an uncomfortable change in the daily activities for many.

August 2012 has seen a decline in private capital stock in the US. Coincidence or evidence of Empire? Courtesy of The Money Game at http://businessinsider.com

We’ve found that debt, left to its own devices, has a way of achieving equilibrium.  Credit is created in response to anticipated increases in the capital stock.  However, with the advent of Empire, which we define as a centralized system which employs the philosophy of “Might makes right” to dominate its subjects, debt came to be associated not with increases in the supply of capital, but by decree of the Imperial authority.

The nature of an Empire is simple.  It arises out of some sort of ambiguous idea of payment common defense.  Through this seemingly logical argument, the Empire extracts a certain amount of voluntary tribute, what today are commonly called taxes, as people make a conscious choice to cede a portion of their earnings for the common defense.

Yet it doesn’t stop there.   With its nascent consolidation of the power to resort to violence, the Empire inevitably expands its activities beyond the maintenance of a common defense.  Most of these extensions of power are more difficult to palate for those subject to the Empire.  They naturally begin to look for ways to lower their tribute.

A view of Empire throughout the world – A Map of World Empires 1900-1914 by Geordie Bozanko

The lower tribute coincides with increasing monetary outlays by the Empire, which it must fund by issuing debt.  Yet debt issued by an Empire has nothing to do with an anticipated increase in the capital stock, rather, the proceeds are used to fund deficits as the “Might makes right” model goes to work destroying the capital stock of both the Empire and those subject to it.

As the capital stock begins to dwindle, the Empire naturally progresses to using its monopoly on force to take control of the food supply.  Those subject to the Empire are required to render crops as tribute and then to accept a ration of food from the Empire.  Once the Empire has control of the food supply, the supply “mysteriously” begins to dwindle.

Whatever economic pretense that the Empire was founded on is sacrificed in the blind pursuit of a de facto communism.  The end game, which has played out numerous times throughout history, involves starvation, moral deprivation, violence, and revolution.

As the script has played out over the centuries, civil persons everywhere have been known to murmur, “there must be a better way,”

More tomorrow.

Stay tuned and Trust Jesus.

Stay Fresh!

David Mint

Email: davidminteconomics@gmail.com

Key Indicators for August 30, 2012

Copper Price per Lb: $3.42
Oil Price per Barrel:  $94.62
Corn Price per Bushel:  $8.11 
10 Yr US Treasury Bond:  1.62%
FED Target Rate:  0.13%  ON AUTOPILOT, THE FED IS DEAD!
Gold Price Per Ounce:  $1,655 PERMANENT UNCERTAINTY
MINT Perceived Target Rate*:  0.25%
Unemployment Rate:  8.3%
Inflation Rate (CPI):  0.0%
Dow Jones Industrial Average:  13,001 
M1 Monetary Base:  $2,306,900,000,000
M2 Monetary Base:  $10,032,900,000,000

Why the morally corrupt are assured of promotion in and leadership of the Might Makes Right ideological system - Part II

Why the morally corrupt are assured of promotion in and leadership of the Might Makes Right ideological system

11/23/2011 Portland, Oregon - Pop in your mints…

If you were not able to join us yesterday for Part I, please take a brief moment to review it by clicking here:

Why the morally corrupt are assured of promotion in and leadership of the Might Makes Right ideological system – Part I

We will pick up where we left off…

The acts which are required to carry out an economic system doomed to failure inevitably insures that those who lead would be the worst amongst us in terms of adhering to any sort of moral code, for they have chosen to pursue the economic or political program above the obligations of morality, no matter what the cost.  They possess the ability to mute their conscience and oversee acts that are increasingly despicable and outrageous in pursuit of the aims of the program.

Hayek goes on to argue that as the Totalitarian economic and social program inevitably begins to fail, the leader of said system would increasingly deem it necessary to employ a larger number of individuals to enforce the increasing sacrifices required to continue the program.  He offers three reasons why this inevitable outcome further assures that the leader surrounds himself with and encourages the promotion of those who are capable of the worst forms of moral corruption:

“First, the higher the education and intelligence of individuals become, the more their tastes and views are differentiated. If we wish to find a high degree of uniformity in outlook, we have to descend to the regions of your moral and intellectual standards where the more primitive instincts prevail. This does not mean that the majority of people have low moral standards; it merely means that the largest group of people whose values are very similar are the people with low standards.

Second, since this group is not large enough to give sufficient weight to the leader's endeavors, he will have to increase their numbers by converting more to the same simple creed. He must gain the support of the docile and gullible, who have no strong convictions of their own but are ready to accept a ready-made system of values if it is only drummed into their ears sufficiently loudly and frequently. It will be those whose vague and imperfectly formed ideas are easily swayed and whose passions and emotions are readily aroused who will thus swell the ranks of the totalitarian party.

Third, to weld together a closely coherent body of supporters, the leader must appeal to a common human weakness. It seems to be easier for people to agree on a negative program — on the hatred of an enemy, on the envy of those better off - than on any positive task. The contrast between the "we" and the "they" is consequently always employed by those who seek the allegiance of huge masses. The enemy may be internal, like the "Jew" in Germany or the "kulak" in Russia, or he may be external. In any case, this technique has the great advantage of leaving the leader greater freedom of action than would almost any positive program.

Advancement within a totalitarian group or party depends largely on a willingness to do immoral things.”

The Might Makes Right ideology, then, far from being a viable alternative to True Capitalism, assures a slow march towards a society which openly ignores the rule of law and, as a consequence, quickly becomes devoid of morality.

Can you now see why the ideological battle between True Capitalism and Might Makes Right is much more than a simple choice of economic systems, rather, it determines the moral basis upon which a majority of the society’s members will act?

Jon Corzine - A Shining example of leadership in the Might Makes Right System

Unfortunately, we have a shining example of the phenomenon of the worst rising to the top in Jon Corzine, former governor of New Jersey and CEO of the now infamous investment bank, MF Global.  Mr. Corzine is a career investment banker and politician.  In other words, he has been firmly indoctrinated and skillfully trained in two of the most destructive trades known to mankind.

Mr. Corzine allegedly saw nothing wrong with raiding the cash accounts of MF Global’s clients in a vain attempt to stave off the firm’s bankruptcy which was declared on October 31, 2011.  There is no way to sugar coat what happened in the days leading up to MF Global’s demise.  MF Global allegedly robbed its clients’ accounts to meet its own obligations.  The fact that the commodity exchanges have been allowed to operate without immediately making the defrauded clients whole has caused an unprecedented breach of the trust which underpins the smooth operation of these exchanges.

Perhaps Mr. Corzine thought he was still a politician.  In Government, it has become a common and acceptable practice to rob a legally established trust fund and replace it with the government’s IOUs.
Mr. Corzine is but the most recent example of the level of hubris and moral corruption required to occupy a high level post the government and financial sectors circa 2011.

The MF Global bankruptcy and subsequent actions taken by the regulators have called into question whether or not the rule of law will prove supreme in such a situation.  As a society increasingly leans towards a Might Makes Right ideology, the excuses for ignoring the rule of law proliferate.  Hayek observed the inextricable link between the rule of law and Freedom when he wrote the following:

“NOTHING distinguishes more clearly a free country from a country under arbitrary government than the observance in the former of the great principles known as the Rule of Law. Stripped of technicalities, this means that government in all its actions is bound by rules fixed and announced beforehand.”

Fellow taxpayer, do you personally feel safer than 10 years ago?  Do you believe that the financial system is more stable than five years ago?

These are important questions, for the answer may reveal which side of the ideological battle one identifies with.  True Capitalism or Might Makes Right, for there is no ideological middle ground.
The governments of the world are busy tirelessly advancing a failed program.  It should come as no surprise, then, that nearly every action that the governments have taken to fight the war on terror and the financial crisis only seem to have made the original problem worse.

It is clear that as long as Might Makes Right ideology is embraced by institutions and governments, those who are best able to ignore basic morality and the rule of law are likely to populate their halls of power.
It should come as no surprise, then, that man’s only hope for justice is to reject Might Makes Right and embrace True Capitalism.  Only then will lasting peace and prosperity be attainable.
Stay tuned and Trust Jesus.

Stay Fresh!

David Mint

Email: davidminteconomics@gmail.com

P.S.  For more ideas and commentary please check out The Mint at http://www.davidmint.com/

Key Indicators for November 23, 2011

Copper Price per Lb: $3.34
Oil Price per Barrel:  $98.01

Corn Price per Bushel:  $5.98  
10 Yr US Treasury Bond:  1.95%
FED Target Rate:  0.08%  ON AUTOPILOT, THE FED IS DEAD!

Gold Price Per Ounce:  $1,700 PERMANENT UNCERTAINTY

MINT Perceived Target Rate*:  2.00%
Unemployment Rate:  9.0%
Inflation Rate (CPI):  -0.1%
Dow Jones Industrial Average:  12,096  

M1 Monetary Base:  $2,121,700,000,000 RED ALERT!!!  THE ANIMALS ARE LEAVING THE ZOO!!!
M2 Monetary Base:  $9,644,200,000,000 YIKES UP $1 Trillion in one year!!!!!!!

The most famous modern excuses for ignoring the rule of law during the war on terror and the financial crises are: “These actions are taken in order to protect the American people,” and “These actions have been taken to ensure the stability of the Financial System.”

Why the morally corrupt are assured of promotion in and leadership of the Might Makes Right ideological system - Part I

11/22/2011 Portland, Oregon - Pop in your mints…

After a brief break in our faithful correspondence, we are compelled to pick up the proverbial pen to complete an incomplete thought in a vain attempt to eat Thanksgiving dinner in peace.  If you are a new reader of The Mint, we will simply relate that the Mint is the product of a deep felt agitation by its author.  It is what could be referred to as therapy.  The thoughts, once on paper, leave us in peace.  Until then, they stir, deep in our spirit, waiting to escape via these words.

How very fortunate and long suffering you are, fellow taxpayer.

Before we continue our mantra of Anarchy, True Capitalism, Natural Law, and Might Makes Right, we will share a few important observations.

First, the MF Global implosion is now reported to have left a $1.7 Billion hole in the capital base of a highly leveraged commodity and derivatives market.  MF Global was a primary dealer, one that had the unconditional trust of the exchange and other secondary commodity dealers.  It was a silent pillar of these markets.  The aftermath of their implosion, both in loss of capital and confidence, has only begun to unfold.  Commodity markets are no longer “safe” by normal standards.  This situation is best watched by your money at a distance.

Second, while Europe implodes, the US has been spending most of its time firming its position in Asia.  There has been speculation that the US is moving to aggressively devalue the dollar vis-à-vis the Yuan.  Will it be the 10:1 reverse split that we have speculated about here?  No one knows, but it would appear that the US Dollar will not serve as a reliable store of wealth in the short term.  Silver and Gold come to mind as viable substitutes as this drama plays out.

Occupiers take note of a Bolivian tactic of blocking major thoroughfares

Finally, It appears that the Occupy protesters are now wising up and using tactics which we call the Bolivian tactic, that of blocking major thoroughfares.  It is much more effective, not to mention exciting, than urban camping.  As a practical matter, if your livelihood in any way relies on a major thoroughfare being open in an area where the protests are growing, we suggest that short term contingency plans be considered.

These events and any pain they cause should be short term, maybe three to four months of adjustments, if they are allowed to simply run their course.  If the Government continues to intervene, they will plague us indefinitely.  We pray for the former and prepare for the later.

With that off our chest, we continue pondering life as we know it.  Our question today is:  Why does it seem that the worst morals seem to come out on top?  First, a glance at Isaiah:

“ And I will make boys their princes, and infants shall rule over them.  And the people will oppress one another, every one his fellow and every one his neighbor; the youth will be insolent to the elder, and the despised to the honorable,”  Isaiah 3:4-5

Have you ever complained about a politician?  The government?  How about your boss?  The current state of society?  If you haven’t, you are indeed a rarity in this day in age, for there is much complaining, and seemingly much to complain about.

How did we arrive at this, fellow taxpayer?  If democracy is supposed to deliver the cream of the crop in terms of leadership in the government, why does it seem that most politicians are the epitome of immoral liars?

This question was thrust upon us as we were reading the “Is there no shame” rant at zerohedge.com and came across the words “Hayek’s theory that the worst always rise to the top.”  We then perused Hayek’s theory in an excerpt from the “Road to Serfdom.”

In the section entitled “Why the Worst Get to the Top,” Hayek states that:

“There are strong reasons for believing that the worst features of the totalitarian systems are phenomena which totalitarianism is certain sooner or later to produce.

Just as the democratic statesman who sets out to plan economic life will soon be confronted with the alternative of either assuming dictatorial powers or abandoning his plans, so the totalitarian leader would soon have to choose between disregard of ordinary morals and failure. It is for this reason that the unscrupulous are likely to be more successful in a society tending toward totalitarianism. Who does not see this has not yet grasped the full width of the gulf which separates totalitarianism from the essentially individualist Western civilization.”

Suddenly, it all makes sense.  As man has generally chosen to pursue the Totalitarian, or what we call the Might Makes Right ideology, it would follow that those thrust into power should be among the most immoral, unscrupulous, human beings on the planet.

In summary, the Might Makes Right ideology unwittingly promotes the worst individuals to positions of power, as they are best suited to carry out the immoral and contradictory demands which are invariably made of the persons occupying positions of power in such a system.

Depressed?  Don't be, for it does not have to be this way.  More tomorrow.

Stay tuned and Trust Jesus.

Stay Fresh!

David Mint

Email: davidminteconomics@gmail.com

P.S.  For more ideas and commentary please check out The Mint at http://www.davidmint.com/

Key Indicators for November 22, 2011

Copper Price per Lb: $3.34
Oil Price per Barrel:  $98.01

Corn Price per Bushel:  $5.98  
10 Yr US Treasury Bond:  1.95%
FED Target Rate:  0.08%  ON AUTOPILOT, THE FED IS DEAD!

Gold Price Per Ounce:  $1,700 PERMANENT UNCERTAINTY

MINT Perceived Target Rate*:  2.00%
Unemployment Rate:  9.0%
Inflation Rate (CPI):  -0.1%
Dow Jones Industrial Average:  12,096  

M1 Monetary Base:  $2,121,700,000,000 RED ALERT!!!  THE ANIMALS ARE LEAVING THE ZOO!!!
M2 Monetary Base:  $9,644,200,000,000 YIKES UP $1 Trillion in one year!!!!!!!

Natural Law: The Golden Rule

11/15/2011 Portland, Oregon - Pop in your mints…

We continue today with our brief examination of the foundations of society here at The Mint.  We are finding that while society appears complex on the surface, the further that its elements are reduced, the foundation is extremely, perhaps painfully simple.  Any complexity that we experience is not a product of an inherent complexity in natural laws, rather, it is a product of the human relationships and actions that are a result of man’s choice of response to the demands of natural law.

For those of you joining us for the first time, let us get you up to speed with a synopsis:

Anarchy, the lack of government, is man’s natural state.  It is an ultimate given.  It simply is.  A clear understanding of the current state of affairs depends upon grasping this inescapable fact.

In response to Anarchy, man has two choices.  He can choose to mutually cooperate with his fellow man, respecting both his fellow man’s right to live and his right to property, or He can choose to take his fellow man’s life and property through the use of force.  We have called the path of mutual cooperation “True Capitalism” and the path of forceful coercion “Might Makes Right.”

Ideologically, there is no middle ground between these two paths.  In practice, men live at various points on the spectrum between these two ideological extremes.

We argue that True Capitalism is the response which creates the greatest benefits for the greatest number of people.  The proof of the superiority of True Capitalism is that it allows man to best adapt and react to the inescapable demands of Natural Law.  Like Anarchy, Natural Law is immutable.  It does not change, for its statutes are etched in the foundations of the earth itself.

Last Thursday we presented the Natural Law of supply and demand, a law that deals with what is concrete and tangible.  Today we will deal with second law which primarily governs human relationships and works in conjunction with the law of supply and demand.

It is popularly called the Golden Rule.

The Golden Rule is articulated and exalted as an ideal in some form in nearly every society and religion on the planet.  The Bible famously articulates the Golden Rule in the following way:

“Love your neighbor as you love yourself” (Deuteronomy 6:5)

It is important to note that the Golden Rule is a positive declaration.  It is a call to action.  In many societies and religions the Golden Rule is stated in a negative declaration, a command to abstain from action.  An example of this can be found in Hinduism:

“One should never do that to another which one regards as injurious to one’s own self.”  (Anusasana Parva, Section CXIII, Verse 8)

The negative declaration is sometimes called the Silver Rule.  It is important to understand that only the Golden Rule, the positive call to action, is Natural Law.  Observance of the Silver Rule, while highly advisable, does not rise to the level of Natural law.  However, it is a logical corollary to the Golden Rule.

Compliance with the Golden Rule, as with all natural law, is indispensible.  It is ignored at one’s peril, for it operates regardless of one’s acceptance of its validity or not.  The Truly Capitalistic society greatly facilitates and encourages compliance with the Golden Rule.  Conversely, compliance is hindered in a society that has embraced Might Makes Right as its ideological response to Anarchy.

“Wait a minute,” some of you are saying, “I’ll give you that the Golden Rule is a great ideal but Natural Law?  No one requires it of me, right?”

Remember, the essence of Natural law is that it is universally true and applicable to all.  The law of Supply and Demand, for example, can be ignored for a time, but every moment of ignorance causes the consequences of that ignorance to accumulate further until a final breaking point is reached.  The result of the failure to comply with the law of supply and demand is material scarcity and ultimately death.

The same is true of the Golden Rule.  Every moment of ignorance causes the consequences of that ignorance to accumulate further until a final breaking point is reached.  In the case of the Golden Rule, the result of the failure to comply is by definition a failure to properly comply with the law of supply and demand as well, with the end result, as mentioned above, being material scarcity and ultimately death.

Compliance with the Golden Rule is a necessary prerequisite to compliance with the law of supply and demand, for the Golden Rule governs relationships in the purest sense.  This is evident to most who have taken the time to ponder it.  So broad are the implications of the Golden Rule that the origins of both the rule of law and more recently the concept of human rights can be traced to it.

What thrusts the Golden Rule out of the realm of being simply a good idea and into the realm of Natural Law is this:  All attempts to comply with the Golden Rule serve to coordinate the actions of men in such a way that the greatest number of human needs are met in the most efficient way.  Any deviance from the Golden Rule, by definition, is a failure to meet human needs in the most efficient way.  Again, by definition, failure to meet human needs in the most efficient way means that a greater number of human needs are simply not being met.

Far from being simply a moral standard, the Golden Rule is elemental in the determination of supply and demand.  As the equilibrium price serves as the beacon of production for the law of supply and demand, the actions taken by men, governed by the Golden Rule, initially determine the supply and demand factors which, when combined, produce the equilibrium price.  In this sense, the Golden Rule serves as the beacon for both supply and demand which enable the creation of an initial equilibrium price.

How can the Golden Rule run ahead of the Law of Supply and Demand?  This is one of the beauties of Natural Law.  Natural Law always compliments and never contradicts itself.

An Example of the operation of the Golden Rule

Each human being has needs and wants which are sources of uneasiness.  Human Action, to paraphrase Von Mises, consists of men acting to dispel their most intensely felt uneasiness.  If a man is hungry, he will direct his actions towards getting something to eat.  Other tasks will be put on hold until this intensely felt uneasiness is relieved.

The operation of the Golden Rule, in the example of mans the need to alleviate hunger, operates in the following way.  A man feels hunger.  He has two options before him with which to fulfill this need.  First, he can forage, hunt, fish, or perform any series of actions with the end of fulfilling this need.  Second, he can voluntarily cede some of his production (or production for others via his contribution of labor) or appeal to the charity of someone else in return for something to eat.

As the second way is the most expedient, it is likely that a majority of people will elect this option.  Now reflect upon the Golden Rule:  “Love your neighbor as you love yourself.”  The person who chooses to comply with the Golden Rule will quickly understand that if he has the need to be fed, it is likely that his neighbor (in this sense, neighbor would mean anyone in the geographical realm in which he is equipped to serve, up to every person on the planet if it is possible for him to serve them) is likely to have the same need to some degree.  With this revelation, he unwittingly is on his way to discovering demand.

As he seeks to voluntarily fulfill this demand, he will need to either produce the supply of food himself or he can voluntarily cede some of his production (or production for others via his contribution of labor) or appeal to the charity of someone else in return for a supply of food with which to provide his neighbor with something to eat.  The information that his adherence to the Golden Rule provides him with regarding the needs of his fellow man will serve to guide his speculation as to where to best employ his limited time and capital.

It is a simple example, yet its simplicity serves to highlight the operation of the Golden Rule and can apply to any situation regardless of the complexity.  The Golden Rule, in modern business school lingo, is the origin of market research; it is the impulse for entrepreneurial activity and is the basis for subsequent human actions.

The Question of Charity

What about charity?  Wouldn’t adhering to the Golden Rule quickly lead to widespread scarcity and bankruptcy as catering to everyone’s preference to receive something for free would quickly deplete all available supplies and production?

The answer lies in the Golden Rule itself:  “Love your neighbor as you love yourself.”  Would you like to provide something for someone and not receive compensation?  Our guess is only if you are in a position to give something away and are willing to do it.  If all members of society are complying with the Golden Rule, the norms of charity will fall under the governance of the law of supply and demand.

The beauty, the perfection, of the Golden Rule is that above all it demands balance in human relationships and by extension, balance in the supply and demand of material goods.

True Capitalism Enable Compliance with the Golden Rule

True Capitalist ideology completely subjects itself completely to the Golden Rule and, in return, most accurately directs human actions towards fulfilling the most urgently felt needs of the greatest number of people. 

Inefficiency is naturally wrung from the system at its source as errors are quickly corrected and information is quickly disseminated via equilibrium prices.  The proper identification of demand by default leads to the most efficient allocation of scarce resources possible.  The liberty of life and property which is ensured in the Truly Capitalistic system allows men to supply this demand by employing their limited time and resources without unnecessary hindrance.

The Golden Rule may not provide everyone with what they expect or what they think they desire, but complete submission to it not only creates the most efficient allocation of resources, it gives humans the best information to base their attempts to mutually cooperate to fulfill the myriad of human desires.  It has the added social benefit of creating the greatest amount of harmony and goodwill possible in human relations.

Stay tuned and Trust Jesus.

Stay Fresh!

David Mint

Email: davidminteconomics@gmail.com

P.S.  For more ideas and commentary please check out The Mint at http://www.davidmint.com/

Key Indicators for November 15, 2011

Copper Price per Lb: $3.49
Oil Price per Barrel:  $99.39

Corn Price per Bushel:  $6.45   
10 Yr US Treasury Bond:  2.06%
FED Target Rate:  0.08%  ON AUTOPILOT, THE FED IS DEAD!

Gold Price Per Ounce:  $1,781 PERMANENT UNCERTAINTY

MINT Perceived Target Rate*:  2.00%
Unemployment Rate:  9.0%
Inflation Rate (CPI):  0.3%
Dow Jones Industrial Average:  12,096  

M1 Monetary Base:  $2,215,000,000,000 RED ALERT!!!  THE ANIMALS ARE LEAVING THE ZOO!!!
M2 Monetary Base:  $9,532,200,000,000 YIKES UP $1 Trillion in one year!!!!!!!