To the Editor:
Re “No Time for Poetry” (column, Jan. 25):
Frank Rich and President Obama are correct: there is collective responsibility for the fix we are in. The age-old problem is motivating people to move against their short-term, personal interests—a k a greed—to sacrifice for the greater, long-term good.
Absent a saint who can inspire or imbue guilt; a national tragedy like the Depression, Pearl Harbor or 9/11 that causes sporadic patriotic bursts; a legislative mandate like the draft, price controls or some similar command or restriction, people—especially in a democratic-capitalistic system that rewards individual gain—are not inclined to sacrifice for the common good.
It may be Darwinian; it is not uniquely American. The enigma can be unlocked only if a leader can discover a way to educate a majority of the citizens to see the selfish benefit to common sacrifice, a benefit that will have relatively minor short-term gain but great long-term gain for themselves and their progeny.
John E. Colbert
Chicago, Jan. 25, 2009
Note from KBJ: John E. Colbert of Chicago needs to read Adam Smith of Scotland. If he does, he will learn that prosperity, far from being incompatible with self-interest, depends on it. In Smith's famous words, "It is not from the benevolence of the butcher, the brewer, or the baker, that we can expect our dinner, but from their regard to their own interest." The best way to undermine prosperity is to ask individuals to "sacrifice for the greater, long-term good." What is it with progressives, anyway? Do they not understand human nature? Are they ignorant of basic economics? Do they think that good intentions are enough?
