Francisco's Money Speech (excerpt)
Posted by richrobinson 10 years ago to The Gulch: General
I have been listening to Atlas Shrugged during my commute to and from work. I just listened to Francisco's money speech and he was explaining how looters can cause a society to vanish into ruin. He then asks if that day is coming. This gave me chills. I think this explains our current situation.
"Do you wish to know whether that day is coming? Watch money. Money is the barometer of a society's virtue. When you see that trading is done, not by consent, but by compulsion – when you see that in order to produce, you need to obtain permission from men who produce nothing – when you see that money is flowing to those who deal, not in goods, but in favors – when you see that men get richer by graft and by pull than by work, and your laws don't protect you against them, but protect them against you – when you see corruption being rewarded and honesty becoming a self-sacrifice – you may know that your society is doomed. Money is so noble a medium that it does not compete with guns and it does not make terms with brutality. It will not permit a country to survive as half-property, half-loot.
"Do you wish to know whether that day is coming? Watch money. Money is the barometer of a society's virtue. When you see that trading is done, not by consent, but by compulsion – when you see that in order to produce, you need to obtain permission from men who produce nothing – when you see that money is flowing to those who deal, not in goods, but in favors – when you see that men get richer by graft and by pull than by work, and your laws don't protect you against them, but protect them against you – when you see corruption being rewarded and honesty becoming a self-sacrifice – you may know that your society is doomed. Money is so noble a medium that it does not compete with guns and it does not make terms with brutality. It will not permit a country to survive as half-property, half-loot.
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"Do you wish to know whether that day is coming?" Chilling question.
One could argue that the conditions she named have existed for years in this country. How far back does the "business License" go? Even prior to the anti-trust laws there were things nobody(few) today would even think twice about because we are so used to it. And one could say that one can still do well in this country without dealing in favors. This doesn't change the fact that we are headed in the wrong direction and, at least for some time, it is only going to get worse.
We are all still facing two questions; At what point is enough, enough? At what point is it too late?
What is the name of that action where banks are closing the bank accounts of gun dealers and payday loan businesses? A prime example.