The Golden Rule “You should treat others as you’d like to be treated” is found in every major religion, so you’d think it was a pretty good philosophy.
But don’t be misled.
Fortunately, a superior philosophy has come to override and replace it. It’s called The Lead Balloon Rule, and it goes like this: “How do I improve my lot at the expense of everyone else.”
The West has come to embrace The Lead Balloon Rule with a fervor unmatched by any religious mindset.
The turnaround came about when switched-on people began to see the hypocritical backsliding on major tenets by the high priests of the great religions, so they joined them with a vengeance:
“The land must be rented, not owned, because you’re only passing through.” (Harrumph!) “Let Caesar have what is Caesar’s”, like the rent of land. (Harrumph!) “The earth is the Lord’s and the fullness thereof. ” Yeah, all those, and Mark 12:1-12 can be allowed to disappear, too.
The philosopher Herbert Spencer backpedalled on his stance from such high-minded error, too, chopping the following out of the next edition of Social Statics, because he graduated to moving around in the same circle as some early Lead Balloonists:
“Equity therefore does not permit property in land.…. Observe now the dilemma to which this leads. Supposing the entire habitable globe to be so inclosed, it follows that if the landowners have a valid right to its surface, all who are not landowners have no right at all to its surface.”
Good one, Herbie: that little omission certainly helped The Lead Balloon replace the Golden Rule!
We’ve come a long way since Herbert Spencer. World financial and tax systems have been faithfully attuned to serve The Lead Balloon Rule which could be paraphrased: “Don’t become part of humanity’s losers who still believe in The Golden Rule, you’ve got to look after yourself – and that can only be done successfully by rent-seeking in the common wealth.”
Common wealth? Yes, the community-generated rent of land and natural resources. But don’t for a moment believe anything is common wealth: that’s clearly communistic!
That reminds me. I must get along to the latest ‘How to invest in property’ seminar. (What’s that bloke on TV’s name again?)
The Lead Balloon–with Barack Obama, David Cameron, Tony Abbott, the neoclassical economists, libertarians and all good supporters of its doctrine aboard–is taking its natural trajectory …….
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