Castles in the Air; L.E. Read

Thoreau \vas a hardheaded 1 See Man and Culture by Jose Ortega y Gasset (New York: W. W. Norton & Comp~ny, Inc., 1962), pp. 72~73. 654 searcher for truth; he did his own thinking. His comment on castles in the air is a sample, a break with the conventional definition of day dreaming: "Anything imagined and desired but not likely to be realized." Thoreau is right. Contrary to popular notions, castles in the air are the birthplaces of human evo lution; all progress (and all re gress), be it material, intellectual, moral, or spiritual, involves a break with the prevailing ideol ogy. Not to break with the current conventions - to go on our dizzy way - means a headlong plunge into all-out socialism! Castles in the air might indeed become chambers of horror. On 1974 CASTLES IN THE AIR 655 the other hand, they encompass man's unrealized goals and aspira tions, the dreams not yet attained but not necessarily unattainable.

An example from the past may help show their role for the fu ture: In 1898 it was thought that intensive farming depended on the nitrate mines in Chile, and that their eventual exhaustion would bring world famine. Why did not this disaster come to pass? Three great scientists built castles in the air. They put foundations under them and thereby "solved the problem of nitrogen via am monia synthesis from air and water."2 Result? More intensive farming than ever before! So we are not now dependent on nitrate from communist Chile; we do not face famine. As to the future, such normal sources of energy as coal and oil are believed to be in critical short age. "Energy crisis" is the talk of our time. Thank heaven for castles in the air. It has been known for centuries that all heat, light, and energy for the entire solar system comes from the sun. Coal and oil are but by-products thereof, the secondary sources we have used to survive. Very well! Why not anti cipate the end of coal and oil and go directly to the sun for man2 See "Energy: The Ultimate Raw Material" by James Wei (The Freeman, August, 1972).

kind's energy? Harness energy at its source! Put foundations under it! Long steps in that direction have been taken, and it's now only a matter of time - assuming some other castles in the air - before we will be capable of extracting more energy from the sun than human beings may ever need. 3 freedom Required Why the reservation, "assum ing some other castles in the air"? It is this: If we persist in coming to be more and more like com munist Chile, solar energy for mankind is a daydream without foundation. Tapping this source on a meaningful scale is out of the question except as there be at least one country in the world where men are free. Put this stark fact another way; Solar energy will not grace mankind unless we remove our restraints against the release of creative human energy; solar energy and creative human energy are inseparably linked! Freedom does not make people strong; rather, it makes strength possible. It gives everyone an 3 "Although less than half the earth's sunlight entering the earth's atmosphere reaches its surface, just 40 minutes of that solar input equals all the energy mankind consumes in an entire year." In a word, 13,140 times as much solar en ergy as needed to serve present require ments. See "Tapping the Sun's Energy"

by David G. Lee (National Wildlife, Au gust-September, 1974).

656 THE FREEMAN November opening for intellectual, moral, and spiritual strength. With free dom, many will develop their fac ulties, some will not. The outcome depends on one's inner strength. Indeed, this inner strength oc casionally shows forth in persons living under extreme authoritari anism. While such rare stalwarts as a Solzhenitsyn may keep a few sparks aglow, it is only when freedom's flame is high and bright - when millions are free to act creatively - that such miracles as tapping solar energy are a possi bility. The ones who get the credit - the scientists out front - actu ally ride on the shoulders of others with their thoughts, insights, in tuitive flashes - countless thou sands of unknown persons. For instance, did Johann Gutenberg invent the printing press? He is given the credit. The fact is that his was but a crowning achieve ment, a final touch to literally mil lions of antecedents - including the unknown hero who harnessed fire.

In view of the politico-economic trend in all nations toward all-out statism, any prospect for progress requires a turnabout in at least one nation'. And the nation on which each of us must focus is his own. Only at home may one expect to put foundations under his dreams. The American Dream More than two centuries ago in thi.s land of ours men built castles in the air. What was their dream? A country free from authoritarian tyranny; each citizen free to act creatively as he pleased, govern ment limited to inhibiting destruc tive actions, invoking a common justice, keeping the peace! No political arrangement had ever matched this dream, even re motely. Castles in the air, indeed! The challenge they faced was to put foundations under their dreams! And they did: The Dec laration of Independence unseated government as the sovereign power and put the Creator there: "... all men are ... en dowed by their Creator with cer tain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty ..."

The Declaration, however, was only the first stage in laying the greatest politico-economic founda tion in the history of mankind. The next step - cementing the foundation - was the Constitution, further supported by the Bill of Rights. These political instru ments held government to a more limited role than ever before. Result? The greatest outburst of creative energy ever known - the American miracle! What has happened? Our foun dations are crumbling. We are reverting to the same type of 1974 CASTLES IN THE AIR 657 authoritarianism from which our forefathers fled. We, give it new names: the planned economy, the welfare state, socialism, commu nism. But tyranny is tyranny whether the master be a King J ames, a feudal lord, a Hitler, or a majority gone mad! The remedy? Once again, castles in the air! Required is a lodestar - "a 'guiding ideal" - similar to that of our founding fathers, along with the will and the understand ing to put foundations under that ideal.

Built into this foundation struc ture are gems of thought. The mortar holding the gems in place is composed of the several virtues: steadfastness of purpose; thinking for self rather than imitating others; an insatiable desire to learn, realizing that the more one learns the more there is to learn;' an ability to explain the fallacies of all dictatorial behavior; an un derstanding of and a devotion to the creative process; and, this above all, integrity - the accurate reflection in word and deed of whatever one's highest conscience dictates as righteous. Repeal the Restraints Given such a foundation, what sequence of events might be ex pected to follow? A repeal of all laws that restrain or prohibit creative activity. A precedent for such a wholesome turn of events occurred in England following the Napoleonic wars. Richard Cobden and John Bright and a few en thusiastic supporters who under stood the folly of mercantilism and the merit of freedom in trans actions began the greatest reform movement in British history: the wholesale repeal of restrictive laws. As a consequence, England stood as a giant among nations until just before World War I when her foundations began to crumble, as ours are now crum bling. However, what happened once to achieve freedom in Eng land can happen again there and also here. It can happen if there is the will to prevail, a faith that we can succeed.

Given a return to freedom, what about the harnessing of solar en ergy? It will be as commonplace a few years hence as delivering the human voice around the earth at the speed of light is today. Taken for granted! And who knows what other things free men can and will accomplish! But far more important than these countless material blessings will be a freeing of the human spirit - tens of millions no longer wards of government but grow ing, emerging, self-responsible cit izens, each his own man. Castles in the air? Let us build founda tions under those worth keeping. I) Los ANGELEANS Jim and Bob run an advertising agency. Lisa and Yolanda make jewelry. Ivan builds ships. Edna publishes a newspaper. John operates a savings and loan company. No big deal. But these and other business people operate in districts that don't usually appear on maps of Dr. Peterson holds the John David Campbell Chair in American Business at the American Graduate School of International Management in Glendale, Arizona. He is a member of the board of governors of Investin-America Na tional Council, Inc.