Reality

Reality in War and Commerce

Johathan Finer, yesterday, in the Washington Post wrote: "there will be no easy end to this war [in Iraq]. Voters are not being prepared for that reality."

Frank Rich has written a book, "The Greatest Story Ever Sold". My son Frank sent it to me today (from Amazon) for my birthday on Friday -- the day after tomorrow.

It tells of the way we went to war -- and how the American people were sold (convinced) that it was a necessary -- not discretionary -- investment of blood, money and honor: we had to let the world know we were no paper tiger -- and we would not leave the Persian Gulf as long as oil meant so much to us all, and with it you could buy weapons to destroy the world.

James Cumes tells of China's investments in Asia and Africa -- which announce that it is no paper tiger in banking and infrastructure construction: oil means much to it; and it knows how to exploit it.

What is the "reality" in all of this? Communist Russia was once a great builder of dams and infrastructure outside its borders to create a presence in "markets" (or "spheres" -- which are they?) where once only capitalist empires competed.

I wrote the other day of Hayek and Keynes. Hayek saw markets as "real" and as effective -- as builders of civilized societies in places that were undeveloped before they were "discovered".

Keynes did not disagree. But he saw the reality that followed initial investments in undiscovered places: once discovered, the iron law of wages might condemn these places (and old and developed places too) to decay -- as investments were completed and trade at a profit failed to support growth in employment and middle class customers to carry undevloped places to the level at which, say, a Scandanavian-like welfare sate might become sustainable without further empire building or war.

What the hell is reality? Is it a managed economy that depends on genius in administration and money ceation?

Or is it an autistic (automatic) laissez-faire thing -- that works when its built and started on a path where financial needs are met by the mere acts of breathing and shopping?

I have not read the Frank Rich Book yet. Will he prove that the the Saudi Royal family owns the Bush Republican dynasty?

Will he prove that Osama Bin Laden is really at war with the Saudi Royal family -- and the American nation is the puppet?

Is reality actually on the other side of the looking glass?

How on earth do our bodies and unconcious biological systems keep ticking -- as our cognitive processes age and we can't tell black from white?

I do not for a moment believe any of the above that conflicts with my vision of America as the nation that built the Panama Canal none other could, and built the great white fleet and went on to replace the Royal Navy as guardian of civilization. I chose to interpret China, not as the new Germany, but as our partner, along with all English speaking nations, the EU, Russia and Japan.

A while back we thought the end of history was in sight -- yet economic democracy was not.

I chose to think (contra-factually?) that economic democracy is in sight: not because China proves it -- but because Cumes and I want it. Theodore Roosevelt wanted it. Franklin Roosevelt wanted it.

China and Russia took a detour through too centralized an approach to political economy. They have partially reformed.

Now we must retreat from Reagan and Thatcher to return to Roosevelt and Roosevelt. Then reality in finishing the war in Iraq, and converting from burnt carbon fuel too pure electricity, will all take shape.

Johathan Finer is right -- it won't be easy. But I'm not sure about Frank Rich: we may not have been sold out or sold a lie.

We may only have admitted we were at war.

And we may one day admit that when a man can't find work or find play, he will find a club -- to make us wish we had paid attention to "reality" before it turned ugly.

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