The Future is Purchased Today; H. Sennholz

Man does not have a knowledge of things to come. And yet, his blind ness to the future does not deter him from preparing for it. Standing firm in the world of daily tasks, he is making preparations in all his aspi rations, be they religious, cultural, social, or economic. In the sphere of business all future-oriented activity is often Dr. Sennholz heads the Department of Economics at Grove City College and is a noted writer and lecturer on monetary and economic affairs. This article Is reprinted by permission from the May 1978 Issue of Private Practice. 406 The Future Is Purchased Today called ((speculation." The business man who is building a plant or store speculates on future business condi tions that will hopefully permit him to retrieve his investment. The mer chant who places a purchase order for future delivery speculates on fu ture demand for his merchandise. Even the young physician who chooses to settle in a certain com munity to build his practice specu lates on the economic future of his community and the demand for his services. They all lack the knowl edge of things to come, but are hope ful that future changes and developments will reward their present decisions. And they all are taking various measures of risk that flows from the uncertainty of the future.

And yet, all such future-oriented activity has come under a dark cloud THE FUTURE IS PURCHASED TODAY 407 of suspicion. It is more popular to and specula ti ve acti vi ty. Preoc live in the present for instant cupied with the present, and chroni gratification of wants and desires. cally poor and always unprepared, Public policy promises benefits and they tend to suspect all those indi services now-even at the expense viduals who differ in outlook and of the future. He who steadfastly lifestyle. keeps his eyes on the future faces censure and condemnation as a Speculation also upsets those ~(speculator." In a strange twist of politicians and officials who would terminology the ~~now-generation" like to guide and direct society. They questions his motivation and de-are eager to direct the destiny of all, nounces him as a ~~self-centered," which they call ((central planning." ~~greedy" monster seeking profits When some individuals shape their from changes. Countless laws and own plans and act independently of regulations aim to seize his rewards the central planners, it is ~~selfish and restrain him from searching for speculation," (~unplanned," (~atomis the future. tic," ((harmful," and ((chaotic." When The conflict is as old as man him-central planning fails dismally and self. It arose on his first day on earth inflicts great harm on countless vic when he became aware of tomorrow. tims, the blame is laid invariably on Was he to allocate his labors to the ~(speculators." When the stock mar urgent needs of the moment or to the \ ket crashes and economic depression demands of tomorrow? The answer seizes the country, the speculators to this question provides an impor-caused it. When the U.S. dollar falls tant explanation of wealth and pov-in purchasing power and sinks to erty. Present-oriented societies lower levels in world money mar linger in perpetual poverty always kets, the speculators sold it. When living from hand to mouth, while central planning creates an energy future-oriented societies soon pros-crisis, the political planners de per and multiply. It also gives rise to nounce the speculators and impose great differences in individual in-more stringent controls on individ come and wealth, which in turn ual initiative. In fact, the speculator breed envy and covetousness and is depicted as the personification of bring forth countless schemes and all human vices and failings.

policies toward a new redistribution. Such diatribes merely reveal the It makes the successful entrepre-great schism·that separates the two neur a favorite target of envy to conceivable systems of economic and present-oriented· individuals who social organization: the private fail to comprehend entrepreneurial property order with its individual 408 THE FREEMAN July freedoms, and the command system with its political coercion in many aspects of social life. Man always must choose between these two modes of organization. For long periods of time he chose the com mand system under such labels as feudalism, mercantilism, fascism, socialism, or communism. But occa sionally Western man chose to be free and independent, unconfined by political limitations and controls. The history of the United States provides a splendid example of such an order. The free order is also a future oriented order inasmuch as it per mits its members to save and invest for a better future. It liberates man from ancient restraints and limita tions that shackle his initiative and creative energy. In a free society the future takes the deepest root, and is most discernible, in the plans and aspirations of the great entrepre neurs and geniuses of enterprise.

Through their actions and provi sions for the future they greatly af fect the daily lives of their fellow men. Their names and exploits are familiar to most Americans. John D. Rockefeller, Andrew Carnegie, J. P. Morgan, and Henry Ford were dra matic leaders, bold and original, with visions of change and a better future. Under their leadership and that of many other exceptional men the U.S. had become the most pro ductive country on earth by 1893, and American wage rates and stan dards of Iiving soared to the highest levels in human history shortly be fore World War I. And yet, these men have become important symbols of an economic order that stands condemned in the eyes of many of our contemporaries. Textbook writers utilize them to illustrate personal greed and lust for power that allegedly characterizes the period of Hunbridled capitalism." Contemporary literature censures them for the poverty and misery of their workers from whom the great fortunes allegedly were taken.

We need not dwell here on the great achievements of those excep tional men who affected the economic Iives of so many Ameri cans. Nor need we analyze the mo tive powers that drove those men to such performance. Their motives probably did not differ from those of most other men in other ages and places. But we need to be mindful that their very appearance presup posed a climate of individual free dom that is so rare in human his tory. Surely, they were Hunbridled" with political edicts and controls, confiscatory taxation and regula tion, and many other manifestations of the command order. They were left free to try and experiment, to save and invest for a greater future. No matter what we may think of them as individuals, we must ad1978 THE FUTURE IS PURCHASED TODAY 409 mire the society that set them free and let them pass unencumbered by the strictures of envy and the de mands of the moment.

Present-day Americans would never tolerate the exceptional man who creates new industries on the ruins of old production. There can be no Henry Ford in the present cli mate of our political economy. Under the influence of ancient ideologies modern man is suspicious of individual freedom that gives rise to economic inequality. He uses his political apparatus of coercion to maintain and restore some measure of equality. His tax collectors seek to extract the lion's share of H un earned" individual income and wealth. And his numerous officials in a host of regulatory agencies seek to restore equality and provide equal opportunity through stringent supervision and control. Under the influence of old suspi cions and prejudices modern man prefers to rely on political action rather than on voluntary coopera tion. In the command order every individual is a wheel in a giant polit ical machine and every sphere of his social life is politicized. And even where modern man has retained some democratic institutions, poli tics plays an important role in his life. Parliaments, which were origi nally set up to limit the profligacy of the rulers, are incurring huge expendi tures on behalf of the electo rate. To be the favorite of an envious multitude, a politician must be on their level. He must desire what they desire, yield to their prejudices and substitute them for principles.

Instead of enlightening their errors, he must adopt them. As a political leader he merely furnishes the sophistry that will defend and prop agate those errors. When he must choose between the needs of the moment and the de mands of tomorrow, modern man opts for instant gratification of his wants and desires. He wants social benefits and services now through political redistribution and transfer. He preys on the richer members of his society, and when such revenues no longer satisfy him, he embarks upon massive deficit spending. That is, he consumes the savings of his more provident members. And fi nally, when their means no longer suffice to meet his insatiable de mands for present benefits, he may consume his economic substance. In economic parlance, he may consume his productive capital, which previ ous generations created and left for him, and thus diminish the ap paratus of production at the expense of future generations.

The future is purchased today. We have a number of choices. But all sales are final. @) The key to the survival of civilization is human liberty. When our liberty is gone-whether because some aggressor takes it from us by force, or because we ourselves willing ly vote it away-civilized man will die. SURVIVAL OF THE SPECIES Ben Moreell WHEN Charles Darwin's book, On The Origin of Species, appeared in 1859 it was strongly condemned by those who believed that his theory of evolution contradicted the thesis that man is a creature of God. But now that Darwin's theory has been amended and corrected it is gener ally accepted that evolution is not a contradiction of God's designs for mankind. Well worth reviewing is Admiral Moreell's address before the National Association of Purchasing Agents at Cleveland, Ohio, June 13, 1950. He was then Chairman of the Board and President of Jones & Laughlin Steel Corporation .. As Chief of Civil Engineers of the Navy, he was noted for the incredible exploits of his Navy Construction Battal·· ions, the Seabees, during World War II.