The Left’s Central Delusion

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"The fundamental problem of the political Left seems to be that the real world does not fit their preconceptions. Therefore they see the real world as what is wrong, and what needs to be changed, since apparently their preconceptions cannot be wrong.

A never-ending source of grievances for the Left is the fact that some groups are “over-represented” in desirable occupations, institutions, and income brackets, while other groups are “under-represented.”

From all the indignation and outrage about this expressed on the left, you might think that it was impossible that different groups are simply better at different things.

Yet runners from Kenya continue to win a disproportionate share of marathons in the United States, and children whose parents or grandparents came from India have won most of the American spelling bees in the past 15 years. And has anyone failed to notice that the leading professional basketball players have for years been black, in a country where most of the population is white?

Most of the leading photographic lenses in the world have — for generations — been designed by people who were either Japanese or German. Most of the leading diamond-cutters in the world have been either India’s Jains or Jews from Israel or elsewhere.

Not only people but things have been grossly unequal. More than two-thirds of all the tornadoes in the entire world occur in the middle of the United States. Asia has more than 70 mountain peaks that are higher than 20,000 feet and Africa has none. Is it news that a disproportionate share of all the oil in the world is in the Middle East?

Whole books could be filled with the unequal behavior or performances of people, or the unequal geographic settings in which whole races, nations, and civilizations have developed. Yet the preconceptions of the political Left march on undaunted, loudly proclaiming sinister reasons why outcomes are not equal within nations or between nations.

All this moral melodrama has served as a background for the political agenda of the Left, which has claimed to be able to lift the poor out of poverty, and in general make the world a better place. This claim has been made for centuries and in countries around the world. And it has failed for centuries in countries around the world."...

Well, there ya go. It's fruitless to try and help people improve their, and their children's, lives, so let's stop trying. Sounds like as good a rationalization of selfishness and greed as any other I have heard.

How unfortunate that there are still people who cannot see beyond the stereotypes of race and ethnicity to understand that every person is an individual and can become whatever he or she wants to be. Articles like this remind me that we still have a long way to go before this country offers real equal OPPORTUNITY to every citizen.

Blazer Bob wrote: www.siliconinvestor.com/readmsgs.aspx?su...ze=50&batchtype=Next


"The fundamental problem of the political Left seems to be that the real world does not fit their preconceptions. Therefore they see the real world as what is wrong, and what needs to be changed, since apparently their preconceptions cannot be wrong.

A never-ending source of grievances for the Left is the fact that some groups are “over-represented” in desirable occupations, institutions, and income brackets, while other groups are “under-represented.”

From all the indignation and outrage about this expressed on the left, you might think that it was impossible that different groups are simply better at different things.

Yet runners from Kenya continue to win a disproportionate share of marathons in the United States, and children whose parents or grandparents came from India have won most of the American spelling bees in the past 15 years. And has anyone failed to notice that the leading professional basketball players have for years been black, in a country where most of the population is white?

Most of the leading photographic lenses in the world have — for generations — been designed by people who were either Japanese or German. Most of the leading diamond-cutters in the world have been either India’s Jains or Jews from Israel or elsewhere.

Not only people but things have been grossly unequal. More than two-thirds of all the tornadoes in the entire world occur in the middle of the United States. Asia has more than 70 mountain peaks that are higher than 20,000 feet and Africa has none. Is it news that a disproportionate share of all the oil in the world is in the Middle East?

Whole books could be filled with the unequal behavior or performances of people, or the unequal geographic settings in which whole races, nations, and civilizations have developed. Yet the preconceptions of the political Left march on undaunted, loudly proclaiming sinister reasons why outcomes are not equal within nations or between nations.

All this moral melodrama has served as a background for the political agenda of the Left, which has claimed to be able to lift the poor out of poverty, and in general make the world a better place. This claim has been made for centuries and in countries around the world. And it has failed for centuries in countries around the world."...

The obvious is THIS....was the wealth ($$$ made) obtained in an honest,ETHICAL method and was the $$$ utilized in a THOUGHTFUL way,providing comfort to
the industrious individual but ALSO to those less fortunate....Bill and Melinda Gates come to
my mind....JMO

archer wrote: How unfortunate that there are still people who cannot see beyond the stereotypes of race and ethnicity to understand that every person is an individual and can become whatever he or she wants to be. Articles like this remind me that we still have a long way to go before this country offers real equal OPPORTUNITY to every citizen.

You also have to factor in the FACT that an opportunity given, is not always an opportunity that is accepted and capitalized on. We're basically talking about how to best distribute taxes on those who produce enough to actually pay taxes right? It's also about deciding who gets to jump into the front of the line even if that spot hasn't been earned.

So the problem becomes, how do we as a society distinguish between those who are eager to capitalize on an opportunity or use the capital produced by others to better themselves, and those who are not interested in embracing opportunity or being responsible with unearned income.

There is a finite amount of wealth to spread around and a finite amount of opportunity.... both are a precious commodity these days. IMO, the left is more likely to want to throw wealth and opportunity out indiscriminately while the right wants to single out the individuluals who really want to make something of what they've been given. And by the "right", I mean people who share my views, not some blanket sterotype imagined by people on the left. If we can create a system in which those who really want to make the best out of an opportunity or unearned income (subsidy/welfare), we will have a much more prosperous society.

However, the uninterested and clueless will still be there and there isn't a single thing we can do about that disparity without taking from those who truly want to better their situation. It's sad that there are people who may never have the drive to better their lives, but I can't think of any way to change that fact without taking from those who are ready. JMO