Dangerous Questions

By Joanne Forman

Summer 2013

WHO DO YOU SELL IT TO?

A certain rabbi was, purportedly, approached by a rich man
Who asked, “What must I do to be saved?” The rabbi supposedly answered, “Sell all you have and give it to the poor.”

The question that never seems to get asked: Sell it to whom?”
We presume, with a rich man, we’re not talking about holding a garage sale. Who could afford to buy “all” a rich man has? Another rich man, of course!

As for giving the proceeds to the poor, well and good. But what about when those proceeds are spent? Nothing has changed.

One of the answers to that one: “Revolution!” However, history indicates that revolutions are few and far between and, in this writer’s opinion, the problem with revolutions is that they generally don’t turn out to be revolutionary enough.

To make a very broad generalization, the American Revolution didn’t so much change the socio-economic system as change the “owners”—instead of the English ruling class exploiting the commons, it became an American one—many of whom saw nothing wrong with slaveholding.

The French Revolution did indeed get rid of absolute monarchy—only to fall into the hands of “Emperor” Napoleon; itwas almost a hundred years before France finally made a Republic stick.

The Russian Revolution, likewise, got rid of the utterly incompetent monarchy. But. One is reminded of the query in Boris Pasternak’s “Doctor Zhivago,” : “This Lenin, will he be the new Czar?” And that’s the way it turned out for the best part of a century: a top-down totally brutal despotism.

Likewise, the Chinese Revolution, while it got rid of the totally corrupt Chang-Kai-Shek, has only succumbed to more authoritarian top-down government, hellbent on repeating all the mistakes of the “advanced” nations.

The Cuban revolution, again, got rid of an authoritarian dictator, only to be replaced by a typically Latin American caudillo who, while bringing many benefits, also kept a tight rein until old age, the unbeatable enemy, forced him into retirement.

What then is the answer—everyone wants “the” answer: the one thing that will solve all problems.

Sorry: there’s no such thing as one answer that fits all times, all sizes, all geography, all circumstances.

There is only the question. What do you think?
Published as a public service by: jofo@kitcarson.net