My Thoughts

My conclusion of The Human Drift is that while it was a noble and daring idea, even if Gillette was somehow able to even start on the project, it would have never came to pass. Such a large project would have required a vast work force and would have taken years to construct. One of the main reasons why it would have failed is because it was such a radical idea that even though it might have worked, people would not have wanted to take the risk. As we have studied, society at large is resistant to change. Such a tremendous change such as this would not have made too many people happy. I happen to feel that happiness in society will not come from a utopian society because there will not even be happiness within a utopian society itself. Humans are inherently selfish, prideful, and jealous beings. This can be observed from the time we are young and all through our lives. The system of capitalism is not something that needs to be replaced with a utopian society. What need to change are the individuals that make up the system itself. While capitalism is based on these imperfections, it is this area that needs improving as well. Smith said in essence that capitalism is the selfish pursuit of capital goods that will lead to the betterment of mankind. The selfishness is the problem of the system. Instead of changing the system or creating new ones, we need to examine the old and fix what we can in it. New ideas have emerged in recent decades including those of John Maynard Keynes. Keynes proposes the only way to fix capitalism is to turn it over to the government and allow the government to control all aspects of the economic sector. I personally do not feel that it is the government’s responsibility to take care of anyone except for those who cannot help themselves due to circumstances beyond that person’s control. I feel that people have a right to fail and that no one should receive a bailout from any government body. While the current system is extremely flawed and corrupt, no system will be perfect. As I had mentioned earlier, because humanity is imperfect, all systems of humanity will be imperfect including capitalism. It can only get better when we get better and start to see after the betterment of others before we begin to care about ourselves. Material wealth will fade. It is often said that he who dies with the most toys still dies. I firmly believe that the only way for mankind to find that satisfaction is to find it in Jesus Christ. He said, “Come to Me, all who are weary and heavy-laden, and I will give you rest.” Rest. Satisfaction. After we find that, our service to others will change the course of history as we know it. We do not need to trade our current system for another. We simply need to fine tune what we have in order to see the true betterment of all people.