Se me acabó la paciencia

Este post me llenó las pelotas. Que a esta altura del partido existan parásitos intestinales como este "filósofo", pontificando a una audiencia ávida de cualquier cosa que los deslinde de sus responsabilidades personales... me provoca náuseas.

La desigualdad, como bien dijo Max en un comentario, es el motor del progreso. Porque es el estado natural de las cosas cuando no hay interferencia de un poder externo. Y si a la gente se la deja ejercer tranquila todo su potencial en libertad, magníficas, increíbles cosas pasan. Pero como cada persona tiene distintas capacidades, habilidades, fortalezas, determinación, etc., los resultados SERÁN DISTINTOS Y ESTO ES INEVITABLE.

Pensaba escribir más, pero me acordé del texto definitivo sobre este tema.... este fragmento por el maestro Bill Whittle, que incluye el célebre partido de basketball entre Michael Jordan y Michael Moore. No hay mas nada que decir (tiempo estimado de lectura, 10 minutos).

Ojalá que el oxiuro diplomado pase por aquí y lo lea... la luz es el mejor de los desinfectantes. El ensayo completo está acá

[...] That capitalism generates wealth is beyond debate. This capitalist reactor of ours easily invents more, learns more, and produces more benefits in a year than mankind did under a millennia of rule by Kings and Barons and Caliphs and Emperors. It’s just amazing what people can do when you just get the hell out of their way.

As an economic system for increasing prosperity, you just can’t beat it. And those who despise capitalism can’t argue with this – they just can’t. What they can do, perpetually and loudly, is talk about how unfair Capitalism is. Because it allows the hard-working and ambitious to keep the rewards of their hard work and ambition, Capitalism does indeed produce some pretty uneven results.

But does uneven mean unfair? Depends on how you measure fair.

Now far be it for me to split linguistic hairs and argue over what the definition of “is” is. But if we’re going to get to the heart of this unfair business, we have to ask ourselves, unfair to whom? Because if we are to talk intelligently about this, we’re going to have to understand something right out of the gate: life is unfair. If life were fair, we’d all be the same – same intelligence, same drive, same capabilities. But we’re not. It is a hallmark of our species that we vary wildly in these and many other categories. That’s what makes us so diverse, and we sure want to celebrate that, don’t we?

So, when we talk about making things fair, making them equal, we find ourselves in the same impossible conundrum as we do when we discuss The Irresistible Force meeting The Immovable Object.

Cool! Which would win?

Neither. It’s an oxymoron. The definition of Irresistible Force means that there cannot be an Immovable Object, and vice versa. You have to pick one or the other. They are mutually exclusive.

Likewise, when we try to measure fair and equal, we have to face the hard reality that people are different. So, do we want to measure an equal front end: equality of opportunity – or an equal back end: equality of results? Can’t have both.

Here’s why:

When the Declaration of Independence thundered that All Men are Created Equal, it meant equal in those essential elements: equal under the law. Equal in terms of basic human rights. Equal in dignity. Equal in the sense that if someone with a lot of money thinks they can cut in front of me at an ATM line just because they’re rich, then they can just kiss my Royal Irish Ass! – that kind of equal.

But to believe that all people are equally capable is to…well…not be paying attention, as a quick game of one-on-one half-court between Michael Jordan and Michael Moore will quickly reveal. (note to Don King: There are millions, and I mean millions to be made off this idea. Call me.)

There will always be people smarter than you, and people more stupid; people more and less motivated, ruthless, connected, ambitious, frugal, hardworking than you are. Nothing can change that. Nothing should change that – because there lies the Gulag. People are different. Leave them alone. Encourage the downhearted, by all means. Help those in need when they ask for help. But otherwise mind your own business, bub.

Society is as fair as it can get when all people have equal opportunity to make what they will of themselves. We are not there yet. We are close. We are much, much closer than many would have us believe.

But people are different. They will always be different. They will succeed and fail differently. There’s no two ways around it.

Like so many flawed ideas beloved by the far left, equality seems like a noble enough goal. Until you think about it. People have different capabilities. So do you want equality of opportunity – as I do – where people can make of themselves what they will? Or do you want equality of results, where society steps in to make sure that everyone comes out the same?

If society had a magical way of raising the bottom up, of speeding up, buffing up, and tidying up Michael Moore, thereby giving him the means to beat Michael Jordan in our (sadly) mythical game of half-court, well we’d all be the winners and life would be just dandy. But, alas, this wonderful, brilliant idea is marred only by the annoying fact that it is demonstrably impossible. Michael Moore can never play as well as Michael Jordan. Never. If you want that game to come out a tie – equal! – then you are going to have to hobble Michael Jordon.

You’re going to have to remove a foot or two from his femurs, stitch him into a clumsy, bulky, ugly suit adding a few hundred pounds, heavily sedate him to slow down his mental powers, fill him full of cheap booze to degrade his aim and coordination – oh, and really mess up his face surgically. No fair if people are rooting for him disproportionately! That might hurt Michael Moore’s self-esteem and limit his ability to compete.

Do all these things, and more, and you will have two equal players. You will have a really stupid, incompetent, pointless game. You will have removed all the grace, power, style, finesse and genius from a gifted and noble man, and added nothing whatsoever to his opponent. You just made Michael Moore equal to Michael Jordan. Now is that fair to Michael Jordan?

And after you’ve done all these things, Michael Jordan will still hand Michael Moore his ass because he thinks and acts like a winner and not a victim.

Equality under the law: good. Essential.

Forcing people of differing skills, motivation and capability to be “equal:” ruinous. Suicidal. And deeply, deeply unfair. But, for the Berkeley crowd, there’s no reason why a fatally flawed, disgusting, historically-demolished idea can’t be retried – and retried – and retried… So long as it will fit on a 2x4 foot piece of cardboard that you can hold on the end of a stick while dancing in a public fountain wearing a star-spangled diaper.