The world is crawling with other people, billions of them.
There is only one you. Not surprisingly those other people have
a major impact on your life. Anyone who doubts that should
spend a few minutes considering what life would be like without
other people.
There would be some benefits. You wouldn't have to
worry about being robbed or murdered. No one would take your
favorite parking space. Of course, no one would make anything
for you to park.
You wouldn't have to worry about anyone interrupting
while you were talking. No one would be listening or criticizing
either. You would have to produce, of harvest from nature,
everything you used. Yes, life without other people would be a
bit different.
Those other people can be a benefit or a detriment.
Some are likely to be both. The only other option is that some
of them will have no impact on you whatsoever. If those no
impact others suddenly disappeared, it wouldn't matter. You
wouldn't realize they were gone. If others who were only a
detriment vanished, you would be better off.
Humans long ago figured out that life could be better
without the detrimental others. The world split into two groups,
us and them. The people who found each other beneficial allied
against those who were detrimental to them. War was born.
Ignorance and misinformation often lead to exaggeration of the
threat from others.
When people live in separate groups competing for scarce
resources, such as food, water, fuel and hunting grounds, each
group will likely see the other as a detriment and a threat.
Naturally, each group will want to eradicate the other, or at least
drive the others away and seize their resources. If there were
plenty for everyone, there would be far less reason to attack the
others.
If each group provided benefits to the other, war would
be detrimental to both. Destroying the others would end the
benefits they provided. Mutual dependence reduces hostilities
and war.
Interaction with others reduces the potential for strife in
another way. The interaction is likely to reduce ignorance and
misunderstandings that lead to strife.
People will always choose to do what they believe will
bring them the most satisfaction. If driving others away or
destroying them appears to be the most satisfying thing to do,
that is what people will do. Plans commonly go wrong. Those
who set out to destroy a feared enemy often destroy themselves.
People commonly pursue conflicting goals without seeing
the conflict. Employees seek higher pay and job security.
Higher pay inevitably decreases job security by making the
employee less valuable to the employer.
Likewise seeking peace and security while opposing free
trade are inconsistent. When we trade with each other, we
benefit from each other. The best formula for peace is to move
all of those others from the "don't matter" and "detrimental"
categories to the "beneficial" category.
Trading with each other is a natural, simple way to
achieve this end. Opposing free trade is opposing bringing those
in the "them" group into the "us" group. Opposing free trade is
opposing peace and security.
Frederic Bastiat observed more than 150 years ago
"When goods do not cross borders, soldiers will." Nothing has
changed. A substantial part of the cause of World War II was
the break down in world trade triggered by US adoption of the
Smoot-Hawley tariff act in 1930.
Both Germany and Japan were short on natural resources,
including petroleum. Fear that they would be unable to trade for
what they needed motivated them to seek resources by conquest.
Japan didn't want war with the US. Germany didn't want
war with England. Both attacked nations standing in the way of
conquering resources. Would we be safer if we didn't trade with
the Chinese?
aldmccallum@gmail.com
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* * *
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*
Copyright 2012
Albert D. McCallum
18440 29-1/2 Mile Road
Springport, Michigan 49284
There is only one you. Not surprisingly those other people have
a major impact on your life. Anyone who doubts that should
spend a few minutes considering what life would be like without
other people.
There would be some benefits. You wouldn't have to
worry about being robbed or murdered. No one would take your
favorite parking space. Of course, no one would make anything
for you to park.
You wouldn't have to worry about anyone interrupting
while you were talking. No one would be listening or criticizing
either. You would have to produce, of harvest from nature,
everything you used. Yes, life without other people would be a
bit different.
Those other people can be a benefit or a detriment.
Some are likely to be both. The only other option is that some
of them will have no impact on you whatsoever. If those no
impact others suddenly disappeared, it wouldn't matter. You
wouldn't realize they were gone. If others who were only a
detriment vanished, you would be better off.
Humans long ago figured out that life could be better
without the detrimental others. The world split into two groups,
us and them. The people who found each other beneficial allied
against those who were detrimental to them. War was born.
Ignorance and misinformation often lead to exaggeration of the
threat from others.
When people live in separate groups competing for scarce
resources, such as food, water, fuel and hunting grounds, each
group will likely see the other as a detriment and a threat.
Naturally, each group will want to eradicate the other, or at least
drive the others away and seize their resources. If there were
plenty for everyone, there would be far less reason to attack the
others.
If each group provided benefits to the other, war would
be detrimental to both. Destroying the others would end the
benefits they provided. Mutual dependence reduces hostilities
and war.
Interaction with others reduces the potential for strife in
another way. The interaction is likely to reduce ignorance and
misunderstandings that lead to strife.
People will always choose to do what they believe will
bring them the most satisfaction. If driving others away or
destroying them appears to be the most satisfying thing to do,
that is what people will do. Plans commonly go wrong. Those
who set out to destroy a feared enemy often destroy themselves.
People commonly pursue conflicting goals without seeing
the conflict. Employees seek higher pay and job security.
Higher pay inevitably decreases job security by making the
employee less valuable to the employer.
Likewise seeking peace and security while opposing free
trade are inconsistent. When we trade with each other, we
benefit from each other. The best formula for peace is to move
all of those others from the "don't matter" and "detrimental"
categories to the "beneficial" category.
Trading with each other is a natural, simple way to
achieve this end. Opposing free trade is opposing bringing those
in the "them" group into the "us" group. Opposing free trade is
opposing peace and security.
Frederic Bastiat observed more than 150 years ago
"When goods do not cross borders, soldiers will." Nothing has
changed. A substantial part of the cause of World War II was
the break down in world trade triggered by US adoption of the
Smoot-Hawley tariff act in 1930.
Both Germany and Japan were short on natural resources,
including petroleum. Fear that they would be unable to trade for
what they needed motivated them to seek resources by conquest.
Japan didn't want war with the US. Germany didn't want
war with England. Both attacked nations standing in the way of
conquering resources. Would we be safer if we didn't trade with
the Chinese?
aldmccallum@gmail.com
* * * * *
* * * *
* * *
* *
*
Copyright 2012
Albert D. McCallum
18440 29-1/2 Mile Road
Springport, Michigan 49284
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