Poverty Then and Now
The progressive attitude towards poverty is no different than Dark Age mindset of centuries past
In the Dark Ages philosophers, theologians, and the elite praised poverty as the just result of righteous suffering.
But they did so for reasons other than the belief that doing so would benefit humanity.
They did so because poverty worship was an easy way to gain a following and status without having to do much.
Just repeat the self-justifying prejudices of the impoverished masses, and they would willingly flock to whomever.
Today’s leading progressive intellectuals and politicians are no different than their predecessors in the Dark Ages.
At the same time they decry the effects of poverty, they subtly glorify the poor as inherently virtuous and encourage those suffering from it to treat their struggle as deserving of a badge of moral superiority.
Simultaneously, they dismiss ambition and upward mobility as mere “social constructs,” further undermining the desire for self-improvement.
Of course the best things in life -- innovation, progress, and prosperity -- are social constructs.
They’re social constructs built on a foundation of ingenuity and desire for societal improvement.
But that speaks to the socialist rule -- everything that doesn’t go along with their narrative must be reduced to insignificance and dismissed.
Which also highlights the poverty of their world view.
The socialist world view is so impoverished that it struggles to explain anything of any complexity.
Because socialists want a world as impoverished, simplistic, and mired in futility as their ideas are, while they take joy in their dogma choking progress and chaining humanity to an unthinking mediocrity.
But we’re on the dawn of a new era -- where the answers to the world’s most complex are as rich as the wealthiest Americans.
And one day humanity will cash out on these solutions, transforming them into innovations that restore society to its natural state of abundance and prosperity.
Zigmund Reichenbach has an M.A. in Philosophy from West Chester University and works as a professional advocate for less government. You can help him combat bad ideas in politics and philosophy by donating to his work athttps://ko-fi.com/zigmundreichenbach .
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