Our colleague wrote yesterday in praise of the entrepreneurial spirit and entrepreneurs, in part noting the following:
Over the last few years in America, there has been a shift in the mindset of people to eliminate risk and personal responsibility, and we are seeing the effects of that today. The theory is, if you are an individual who has created wealth you have probably mistreated or abused someone to get that wealth. It is kind of scary that America has started to demonize the entrepreneur. Over the last few months, I have heard from a few entrepreneurs in church who are starting to ponder if they are truly moral because they have been entrepreneurs most of their lives.
There’s a reason to demonize the entrepreneur in today’s America. He stands in stark, embarrassing contrast to the belief that the statists of both parties are desperate to inculcate, that only government can solve problems ? problems that seem to become worse every time elected officials legislate themselves the responsibility of solving a problem and outlaw any potential others from making it their purview.
One might even think it’s as if there are financial advantages for elected officials in declaring themselves sole proprietor of a solution that isn’t and never will be, through which every afflicted party is forced to go, at a fee of course. One can see how that is completely opposed to the entrepreneur’s gamble on the belief he has found a true solution and will accrue financial gain only in the event he is correct.
Also, it follows that the defender of the entrepreneur will be demonized as well. One should expect to encounter some rather hilarious (unintentionally hilarious, as usual) yelping and braying about Michael’s column.
Given that the most effective, respected way of debating the merits of someone’s ideas is to attack personal details of that person, expect Moore’s newfound detractors to zero in on such weaknesses of his argument as his name, his clothing, his youth, and his inferred short tenure at the Locke Foundation, to name a few (and heaven help whatever tatters of his argument are left should they find out he also likes bluegrass).
