When I was a foolish young university student, I spent most of my days cutting class, hanging out instead in the basement of the student union building, working as an editor at the campus newspaper. There I happily passed the time writing articles, talking politics, and paddling about in the fever swamp of what would now be called woke politics.
I was reminded of this recently by the subtitle of Krzysztof Pelc’s new book, “Beyond Self-Interest: Why the Market Rewards those Who Reject It.” Pelc is a professor of political science at McGill University, who in recent years has received awards for both his fiction and non-fiction writing. Perhaps encouraged by these successes, in this book Pelc ranges far beyond his first love, which is international trade agreements, in order to reflect on more profound aspects of the modern condition.
Like many people my age, I was raised by parents who had drunk deeply from the anti-capitalist well of the 1960s. I grew up believing in self-reliance, whether it was building my own deck, cleaning my own house, or looking after my own children. Housecleaners and nannies were too much like servants for comfort. Paying rent to a landlord seemed a total waste of money. And perhaps most importantly, I had a visceral abhorrence of debt, especially the sort that comes from credit cards.
Therein lies the beauty of true believers. Precisely because they are not in it for the money, the claims that they make about the qualities of their goods are a great deal more believable. The problem with traditional economic self-interest is that it leads to opportunism, which undermines trust.
There are many goals in life that resist our efforts to obtain them directly. This is the case with social status, where wanting it too much, or appearing to want it, can interfere with its attainment. Relaxation has a similar quality. Although we are constantly telling other people to relax, the instruction is difficult to obey, since forcing oneself to relax can be very stressful.
“Attack on capitalism” is the only thing that makes sense out of the nonsensical Liberal policies.
The Toronto Star is really a communist star now. End of capitalism is what they want, and thats what Trudeau wants. Absolute enslavement.
Wow. That's quite the attack on the pharmaceutical industry.
You are clown shoes 🤡🤡🤡
Communist propaganda
Any system can be corrupted...rich make prices and decide wages narrative we make our own success ..a rigged game