11-30-2018, 09:48 PM
(11-30-2018, 10:51 AM)pbrower2a Wrote: Let's state the obvious: the best defense of property is that people recognize the virtue of property ownership by people other than themselves. Socialism has little appeal unless the social order fosters arrogance, cruelty, and selfishness by economic elites. Such says as much about the moral culture as about the structure of capitalism. America's heirs and executive elite are typically awful, and their idea of the capitalist ideal is that others suffer for their greed while recognizing their exploiters as benefactors. Bad behavior by the proletariat isn't so damaging, and destructive self-indulgence by workers usually has quick and unpleasant consequences for the workers. The elites can get away with far more harm to others because others endure the burden and the elites have insulation from the effects. Shamans, big landowners, generalissimos, plutocrats, and executives are all prone to the same greed and are as capable of exploiting the masses -- even in an ostensibly 'classless' society. If the economic leaders have some moral compass, then they won't foster any proletarian revolutions.Well, if you disrespect employees and customers, you're not going to be in business long unless you're a primary contributor to a socialist system or a major contributor/ financial supporter of the Democratic party.
Basically, is Marx right? Such is the choice of owners and managers in America or elsewhere.
Property crime is either the result of criminal enterprises finding ways of stealing on a grand scale or poor people seeing what someone else has earned through honest toil (often by someone also poor) and taking it -- or selling the stolen goods to fund a drug habit. One contributor to the fall of property crime as burglaries for larceny is that electronic goodies became much less expensive. Who is going to steal a DVD player that retails for $25 at "Wally World" and fence it for $5 while taking the risk of being sent to prison for ten years? I remember when VHS players were for sale for as much as $2000, and those tempted criminals to steal them. Identity theft allows some clever crooks to indulge in consumerism to which they are not entitled, but the banking system is getting increasingly clever at thwarting such. I think of an old ad in which a credit-card holder who is an elderly male has a voice-over by some young woman who has purchased a bunch of stuff that he would never buy, like the $200 bustier that she 'just had to have' -- so she bought it on a credit card whose data she stole from him. "Invasion of the Data Grabbers"?
An even more odious crime, rape, seems to be done by creeps who believe that they are entitled to sex with a complete stranger because the creeps are 'horny'. If men respected women and girls, then they would not do that crime. Oh, maybe she wants to be faithful to her husband? That is sexual freedom in itself.
Deterrents, whether firearms, bear traps, or dogs, are vastly inferior to the respect of personal and property rights. It is up to the economic leadership to inculcate such respect, and it begins with them showing respect for workers and customers.