Excess
March 31, 2009
Time magazine this week’s cover story is entitled: The End of Excess - Is the Crisis Good for America?
Excess spending and consumption is difficult to define and very personal. What is basic to you may seem excessive to others. What we have in our closets would be considered, the ultimate luxury in poorer countries such as Zimbabwe (ex Rhodesia) or Haiti.
In some cases it is obvious. Mrs. Marcos was said to have 3 000 pairs of shoes. It would appear to me that in this case, it is more a situation of mental deficiency than one of economics. Excessive eating has resulted in alarming numbers of obesity in America. Recent studies indicate that one of every three Americans is obese.
Who decides what is excessive and what are the criteria for making that determination?
In a way, the local, State and Federal Government decide by imposing higher tax rates on people of higher income and wealth. Our tax system not only provides the country with funds for basic requirements of the State such as Defense and Education but also serves as a redistribution of wealth demanded by justice. How the government spends that money is a different topic all together.
The issue of excess also involves the values of freedom and responsibility. I am free to do whatever I want with money that is mine, yet I want to be responsible in the way I spend. I am free to eat as often and as much as I decide yet I am also responsible for the condition of my health.
Responsibility means: “giving an answer to” or to be accountable. But to whom?
1. To yourself. One should spend and consume according to one’s values and conscience.
2. To your immediate family or to people that depend on you for financial support. For instance, it would be considered irresponsible for a father of middle income and wealth to purchase a Ferrari instead of saving the money he would spend on the car for the college education of his son.
3. To the Community at large. Taking care of the less fortunate has always been considered in history and in most cultures a moral duty.
As Frederich Hayek, the Austrian economist, philosopher and Nobel laureate once said:
“Liberty not only means that the individual has both the opportunity and the burden of choice; it also means that he must bear the consequences of his actions. Liberty and responsibility are inseparable.”
Comments (1)
March 21st, 2010 at 5:46 pm Posted by Sierra Whippo
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