The Investor Class
The President, in attempting to sell
private accounts as a part of his Social Security plan, has asked, “Why should
people not be able to own and manage their own assets, who are not the investor
class.” I suppose the problem is really
one of perspective. The difference in
perspective is that between those who believe that everything they have
accumulated in their lives is solely due to their ingenuity and industry and
those who realize that, regardless of their industry and ingenuity, much of
what they have been able to achieve is a resultant of the commons within which
they operate.
What do we owe back to this commons? Should we expect to benefit from it yet feel
ill used when obliged to contribute to its continuity so others might likewise
prosper? Even discounting the potential
prosperity which it may bring, and regardless of our individual lack of current
need for economic security, without which real liberty is meaningless, there
remains the social responsibility of caring for “the least of these.” I use that term in its economic and
perceptual context rather than as an actual measure of human value. We have collectively agreed to be guided, not
by some invisible hand, but rather by the very real, present and tangible
responsibility that we share for each other.
We have collectively agreed that all should be afforded those things
minimally required to make a good life for themselves. Whose assets are those we have acquired? To be sure, we have a right to that which we,
solely by our own efforts, have acquired.
Where is that line, however, which divides what we have acquired by
virtue of our individual acumen and that which could not have been gained apart
from the benefit of the commons?
Social security is an integral part of
that commons. It is a commons where no
neighbor tells another that their misfortune is not their concern. It is a commons in which we all realize the
mutual benefit derived from caring for the least of these. It is a commons where everyone’s voice is
heard, not simply the voices of accumulated capital. It is a commons where there is a conscious
and practical recognition of our responsibilities one to another rather than
simply to ourselves.
Should everyone be able to own their own assets? You bet.
Tell me. By what degree should
individual ownership be decreased due to the use of the commons to acquire
it? Regardless of this percentage, what
is our moral responsibility to ensure that our neighbor has the means to live
with dignity? Far too much is being made
of our ownership rights and far too little focus is being placed on our
communal responsibilities.
We have a right to property. We also have a responsibility to piety. We have a right to liberty. We also have a responsibility to
liberality. We have a right to
individuality. We also have a
responsibility to community. We have a
right to free expression. We have a
responsibility to understand the limits which decency and kindness place on
such expressions. We have a right to
life. We have a responsibility to use
that life, not solely for ourselves, but in service to our family, our
neighbors, and humanity. Those that
choose this latter path are the true investor class.