Musings on Reconciling (Classical) Liberalism and Society

Originally Published on Medium on August 17, 2018.

Edited and cleaned up-believe I accidentally published this at the time.

The genius of both capitalism and the broader classical liberal order that undergrid the modern West largely lay in the harnessing of a destructive human trend towards self-interest. Humans are self-interested creatures that are more rational than not at the individual level. Capitalism creates a system where humans-self-interested creatures-have a larger system that mirrors their every day wants and desires. Capitalism is interested in extending its own life and meeting its own needs, a self-perpetuating system fed by individual humans seeking to gain from the system by creating and/or capturing value. Acting in a manner that is not in the interests of capitalism is also not in the interest of the individual-this reciprocal threat ensures a functioning, growing economy and a growing wealth, consumption, and creation ability at the individual level.

Capitalism is the greatest destructive force on the planet. That destruction is largely a good thing. Constant changes in systems, methods, and places of employments create new technology, furthering what capitalism ultimately wants-growth. Dynamic human and capital allocation speeds the gears of the system, acting, to borrow a phrase from @WAWilsonIV on Twitter, as a “natural search algorithm’’ (paraphrased) for new and better ways of doing things.

This natural search engine enables large leaps forward but may miss small heuristics that avoid ultimate downside risk or that served a hidden role

Point 1 Since human-level interactions are determined partially by capitalism-i e what the system wants becomes what we do, and what we do becomes what the system wants-our relationships, family, and wants are guaranteed to become commercialized.

Point 2 Once a variable has been entered into the machine it demands dynamic/real-time allocation of resources

Point 3. We have now established that human relationships will become an i/o of the machine. the machine demands dynamic/real-time resource allocation. This guarantees that the role of the family will transition to atomized individuals bouncing back and forth between relationships so long as they are beneficial.

Point 4. We established that the machine has reciprocal flow. Human society ends up mirroring what the machine want but the machine also mirrors what human society wants. By re-emphasizing the family as an ultimate good rather than as a means to a good, the system will recognize and encourage dynamic capital allocation towards family ties rather than away from them. This necessarily shortens intermediate dynamism but counterintuitively strengthens long term dynamism by increasing mental health, childcare, resilient systems, reducing health care needs, and increasing happiness at minimal cost.

Point 5 But capitalism the machine demands capital and growth, thus perpetuating a struggle between family and dynamic short term relationships because it necessarily takes the shortest possible path between two points and often misses externalities.

Point 6 It’s turtles all the way down-businesses necessarily act in the same way to preserve the system-loyalty with no return (old employee around for loyalty, supplier relationship with friend) fractal. May be a market inefficiency and after all the market eats everything

Point 7: continuing the turtles theme, marriage is eaten by the system-sometimes mating and self selection is good, but occasionally it’s bad bc it you lose a higher good.

Again, the goal of the system has to be the higher good because then it enforces morals on the lower levels

Point 8: By using a more federalist and localist system more interdependence amongst locals and families means the system demands family and interdependence even if it sacrifices a top part of the potential production curve

Point 8: you could argue that, to survive, modern capitalism needs either trade or free-er immigration but not both

Point 9: Capitalism eventually eats itself as the most profitable route is to weaponize ideals And ideals vis a vis other ideals in a battle results in ultimate destruction because they had to be eaten. I wrote this at midnight two months ago and have no idea what I was trying to say.