Monthly Archives: December 2009

Common Sense Economics

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One of my sons gave me a stack of books for Christmas:

  • Common Sense Economics
  • The Constitution of Liberty – Frederich A. Hayek
  • The Law – Frederic Bastiat
  • Knowledge and Decisions – Thomas Sowell

I am currently reading Common Sense Economics: What Everyone Should Know About Wealth and Prosperity and really learning from and enjoying it! This book is written by three college professors: James D. Gwartney, Richard L. Stroup, and Dwight R. Lee in a surprisingly easy to read style intended for the average person.

Common Sense Economics

Common Sense Economics

Part 1 – Ten Key Elements of Economics

  1. Incentives matter.
  2. There is no such thing as a free lunch.
  3. Decisions are made at the margin
  4. Trade promotes economic progress
  5. Transaction costs are an obstacle to trade.
  6. Profits direct businesses toward activities that increase wealth
  7. People earn income by helping others.
  8. Economic progress comes primarily through trade, investment, better ways of doing things, and sound economic institutions.
  9. The “invisible hand” of market prices directs buyers and sellers toward activities that promote the general welfare.
  10. Too often long-term consequences, or the secondary effects, or an action are ignored.

People earn income by helping others.

I found #7 particularly interesting because we often hear in the media and in political discussions that wealthy people exploit others to gain their wealth and that big capitalist corporations are bad, and other broad statements like these. Politicians love to pick on this group and blame all sorts of evil social problems on their greed and selfishness.

However, when you stop and think about it, this view cannot be true. If I want to increase my wealth (as I am trying to do everyday at my business, or you are by working each day at your job) then I have to figure out how to help others in ways that create more value to them. If I am unwilling to do this, my chances of wealth and employment go down dramatically. The only way I can grow my business is to help more people in ways that are more valuable to them.

Even people who are not motivated by a strong personal desire to improve the world around them have to develop skills and perform actions that are valuable to others.

There are big exceptions to this general principle such as we witnessed with the 2009 Bernie Maddof scandal where he actually did become wealthy for a time by exploiting others. However, look at what happened. He was found out and is now paying the consequences. Thankfully, our market economy tends to weed these “bad apples” out and expose them for their unethical and criminal behaviors. Thankfully we have a legal system that generally prosecutes those who break the rules of fairness and who overrun the rights of others.

The bottom line is that I agree with the authors that wealth comes from providing products and/or services that other people value.

That Blue People Movie

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Went to see this epic James Cameron sci-fi, fantasy film over the last weekend with my wife. Saw the 3D version which you wear the glasses for. Unfortunately the theater was so full we could only find seats in the back row or the front row, so we went with the back row. Had a HUGE guy with a BIG head sitting in front of me. My neck got tired.

Aside from that, I really enjoyed the incredible computer generated graphics and special effects that made the other world (Pandora), otherworldly. The story was interesting too… how these future earth humans could link up a human with a “genetically engineered” avatar version of themselves, one mixed with the DNA of the local world inhabitants. This genetic combo produced some pretty interesting “blue people” avatars (See Jake Sully below).

Avatar the Movie

Neytiri and the Avatar of Jake Sully

The biggest problem I had with this movie was the worldview that the filmmaker “preached” to me during the whole thing. It went like this…

  • Humans are bad
  • They destroy the environment of their own world
  • They move on to other worlds and destroy those as well
  • They form evil capitalistic corporations that are only interested in the bottom line
  • Humans/corporations do bad things like kill innocent indigenous beings just to make a buck

On the other hand…

  • Native indigenous humanoids are pure and near perfect
  • The indigenous humanoids may be more technologically “primitive” but they are in tune with Nature
  • Native indigenous humanoids are “spiritual” and can connect with the “spirit” of all animate and inanimate things and are therefore superior to earth humans
  • They apparently can only do good
  • Only humans that understand the value of these indigenous humanoids and work with and for them are noble and worth anything
  • In the end the “good” guys (indigenous natives) win against the bad guys (earthlings) through the power of their superior spiritual networking with the planet.

I mean, I love a good “evil vs. good” sci-fi/fantasy epic thriller as much as the next guy… but this kind of overt anti-human, environment-worshipping, nature-spiritualizing preachiness was just too much.

It doesn’t even come close to Lord of the Rings – still the master standard in my book.

Environmentalism as Religion

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Michael Crichton was a famous author and speaker whose many books have been made into movies such as: Jurrasic Park, Congo, The Andromeda Strain, Sphere, and many others. He also was the creator of the successful and popular ER television series.

Before his death in 2008 from throat cancer, he had became an outspoken skeptic of man-made global warming and wrote and spoke on the topic and environmentalism in general. I reviewed his book, State of Fear in 2007 which deals with the topic of man-made global warming.

This is an interesting video clip where he comments on Environmentalism as a religion through his training in anthropology. I think his perspective is very interesting and informative. What do you think?

More Books I’ve Read Recently

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Here are some more books I’ve recently read.

  • The 4:8 Principle – Tommy Newberry
  • The Search for God and Guinness – Stephen Mansfield
  • The Survivors Club – Ben Sherwood
  • Safely Home – Randy Alcorn
  • Deception Point – Dan Brown
  • The House Church Book – Wolfgang Simson
  • The Blood of Lambs – Kamal Saleem
  • The Bean Trees – Barbara Kingsolver
  • Same Kind of Different as Me – Ron Hall and Denver Moore

Conservative Economic and Political Resources

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liberty

Ideas on Liberty, Religion and Society

A friend recently asked me to put together some resources on the conservative economic and political worldview (especially from an evangelical Christian perspective), so that he could become better informed on this viewpoint. I decided to turn my research and information gathering into a blog post so that others might benefit from it as well. These are all resources that I have used, still use and/or tap into to stay informed on this general topic. You will notice that I shy away from the shrill, reactionary and negative approach of some “conservatives” in favor of a more thoughtful, engaging and reasoned approach.

This post will be updated as I gather more information. Please leave your comments below on additional recommendations!

Newsletters

Magazines

Books

Essays-Articles

  • “I, Pencil“ by Leonard E. Read - This short essay explains how the coordination needed to make a simple pencil is its own kind of miracle. Example of what society can do without a central planner.
  • “Imago Dei and the Fall: The Implications of Two Christian Doctrines for Economics” - Lecture by Dr. PJ Hill, Professor of Economics at Wheaton College - My son Marshall saw Dr. Hill give this lecture in November 2009 at the American Enterprise Institute in DC. After reading this myself, it is a tremendously coherent argument for why free-markets are the best economic system, based on the foundational Christian beliefs about how God originally created humans and the reality of how we’ve fallen.
  • “The Problem with Conservatism” - J. Budziszewski
  • “The Problem with Liberalism” - J. Budziszewski
    • “I, Pencil” by Leonard E. Read
    This short essay explains how the coordination needed to make a simple pencil is its own kind of miracle. Example of what society can do without a central plannerby Leonard E. ReThis short essay explains how the coordination needed to make a simple pencil is its own kind of miracle. Example of what society can do without a central planner.

Authors-Thinkers-Speakers-Economists

  • Dinesh D’Souza – Thinker, author, columnist – heard him speak at a Ravi Zacharias event
  • Marvin Olasky – the personal series describing his path from Communism to a conservative-Christian it a must read
  • Michael Novak – Theologian and Author
  • Thomas Sowell – African-American Economist, Professor, Author, Thinker
  • Chuck Colson – Breakpoint, Prison Fellowship, author of many great books on Christian faith and culture
  • Mark Steyn – Author and columnist, who also happens to be Canadian
  • Walter Williams – Professor of Economics at George Mason University
  • Milton Friedman – Nobel Prize-winner in Economics
  • Friedrich Hayek - advocate of Austrian Economics

Websites-Blogs

Organizations

Media

  • “John Adams” – HBO Mini-series
  • “Liberty, Rights and the American Founding“ – FEE Seminar on YouTube
  • WIND Radio 560 AM –  Chicago Talk Radio
  • “The Call of the Entrepreneur” – This video by the Acton Institute tells the story of 3 different entrepreneurs and demonstrates the true value that entrepreneurs create for society, weaving in aspects of Christianity. It gives the conservative view of businessmen and wealth, not as evil but as a beneficial part of society.

Laura Mae Schrock

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Laura Mae Schrock

Laura Mae Schrock

Tomorrow I bury my last grandparent, Laura Mae Schrock who passed away on Wednesday morning, November 11, 2009 at the age of 97 at Belmont Village in Carol Stream, IL, with her daughter Donna present.

Laura was born May 2, 1912 in Champion City, Missouri, daughter of Grover E. and Effie Blackwell Park.

On December 24, 1931, Mae married Orval L. Schrock. He died in 2002. The couple lived their entire life in Fisher, Illinois and celebrated their 70th wedding anniversary around Christmas, 2001. In 1977 Mae retired from her work at Chanute Air Force Base in Rantoul. She was an avid gardener, plant lover and creator of many craft items. In 2007 Mae moved to Wheaton, IL to live near her daughter.

Mae is survived by her daughter Donna Birkey, of Wheaton, IL, and daughter Gloria Nafziger (Paul), of Tehachapi, CA; 5 grandchildren Randal (Debbie) Birkey, Cynthia Hernandez, Barry (Jenny) Birkey, Brett (Michelle) Nafziger, Lisa (Don) Roberts; 21 great grandchildren, and 1 great-great grandchild. Her parents, two sisters and two brothers preceded her in death.

Mae was a founding member of Gibson City Bible Church, where services will be held on Sunday, November 15, at 2:30 pm, preceded by visitation at 1:30 pm. Burial will be at East Bend Memorial Gardens, Fisher, IL, followed by a light meal at the Bible Church in Gibson City.

Memorial gifts may be directed to Home Care Physicians, 1800 N. Main St., Wheaton, IL, or Gibson City Bible Church, 309 N Route 47, Gibson City, IL 60936. Please memo the gift in memory of Laura Mae Schrock.