“There’s class warfare, all right, but it’s my class, the rich class, that’s making war, and we’re winning.” (Warren Buffett)
So what answer do you have? Do we just put up with it, and if so, for how long?
This is a moral, an Epicurean, issue. It’s about a civilised life of dignity and fairness, of enjoying one’s life and not being beset by never-ending worry. If the question isn’t asked by an Epicurean, who else will ask it? The religions seem to be silent, in America at least.
“This is my simple religion. There is no need for temples; no need for complicated philosophy. Our own brain, our own heart is our temple; the philosophy is kindness.”
The Dalai Lama
I love this quotation. It would seem unlikely that such a straightforward and simple outlook on life from the top of the world would have anything in common with ancient Greek philosophy. But on the contrary, it has everything in common, and speaks to the better nature of mankind. For kindness, read consideration, thoughtfulness, politeness, friendship and generosity. These were the basic building blocks of Epicureanism, too. Epicureanism doesn’t, like some modern religious sects, consider itself in some kind of daft competition for errant souls.
“It’s all very well to show courtesy to visiting Muslim dignitaries, but the lengths we went to in Rome last week to please Hassan Rouhani were farcical. The Iranian president and his entourage must have been utterly bemused, when they went for a ceremonial event to the Capitoline Museums, to find big wooden boxes placed over all the classical Roman statues. Under the idiotic assumption that Rouhani wouldn’t be able to distinguish ancient nude sculptures from pornography, our officials had them covered up.
“Incredible: the European cultural cringe has reached a new low. Not long ago, the Italian government bent to the “whims” of Libya’s dictator Muammar Gaddafi by letting him pitch his tents here, but they didn’t cover up “the glories of Roman civilisation” just to please him. With Rouhani, it surely wasn’t even necessary – he’s not a fanatic and, besides, Persia has deep cultural roots in the ancient Greek and Latin worlds. So could our leaders in future please avoid these “senseless” displays of excessive sensitivity? Exposing Muslims to our artistic treasures helps them recognise the world’s cultural diversity – hiding them will only reinforce prejudices. (Vittorio Sgarbi,Il Tempo, Rome, edited by The Week, 6 Feb.2016)
I came to know a number of Iranian exiles in London years ago. What struck me was how very well-informed and educated they were, and how sophisticated. Of course, these were the Shah’s people, but the fact is that Iranians are smart and very well aware of what goes on in the West, including the art. There are extremists, but the majority are sane and anxious to forget the past and embrace the modern world. To treat them as described above is patronizing. Epicurus would have supported embracing modern Iran and welcoming it into the modern world – and that of the Renaissance, if it comes to that. How do we deal with the American extremists who want to renege on the recent agreement and even nuke the Iranian nuclear facilities?
The following is part of a letter from Nicolas Dennis of Winchester, published in the London Review of Books:
“I see the Lansley Act of 2012 as the latest stage in a long process of fragmentation, marketisation, and erosion of professionalism (that started under Mrs. Thatcher). There are two effects of this process that I think should be more widely understood. The first is that before 1990 the NHS ran on goodwill, which has now been largely dissipated. The extra, usually uncounted, unpaid hours that people are willing to put in when they are public servants tend to disappear under a commercial or quasi-commercial regime. I suspect that politicians who thought that commercial pressures and competition would improve efficiency had no idea what they stood to lose, and probably thought the staff were, on average, taking what they could get away with rather than giving more than what they were paid for.
“Second, when providers are private or, like foundation trusts, quasi-commercial there is an incentive to increase activity. The more patients seen, the more investigations and operations performed, the better the bottom line. This makes for over-diagnosis, over-investigation, over-treatment, iatrionic disease and quackery. It is almost an invitation to profit from public gullibility.”
The NHS represented, in my youth, the high point of efforts to serve all the people, rather than offer shoddy service in return for profit. During all my time in America I have staunchly defended the British system against the bloated, bureaucratic system in America, which costs the nation almost twice as much per head as the maligned NHS. But observing the crowded waiting rooms, the long waiting lists and the lack of investment, even I have to admit I would rather be ill in America. The system used to be so good. Most people either don’t know or have forgotten how proud the nation was of the health system, and how it transformed the health of the working class, among other things. It is now all about accountants, balance sheets and administrators (just like the universities) – dismal, but the neo-whatever-they-are-these-days don’t care.
Epicureanism is partly about offering the greatest good for the greatest number of people. It also values public service with a smile, not a checkbook.
I don’t personally know Fred Rotondaro, but he wrote to me out of the blue, explaining the role of an organisation of which he is a member, Patriotic Millionaires. This is a group of rich people who support the role of government and want to turn back the clock to a time when government wanted to, and was able to, help all citizens, not just the few. In his email he described how his father came to America with 13 children at the turn of the last century with nothing, and became a coal miner in Pennsylvania.
Fred wrote: “I am a fan of government and yes, that includes big government. I have seen first hand for most of my life how government has helped average Americans. My uncle, also called Fred, graduated high school during World War II and immediately joined the Marines. He and millions of other GIs came home to a very grateful nation that helped them buy homes, find jobs, and in Uncle’s case, sent him to college. The federal government worked with unions, churches, and other civic organizations and created a true middle class. Now the extended family are teachers, lawyers, doctors, journalists, AIDs workers in Africa, medical researchers at Yale and John’s Hopkins, and one is now rebuilding a village in Sierra Leone.
“My family and millions of others like us came to America during a time when America had an implicit social contract. It was a time when key policy makers realized that the best investment that the nation could make was in its own citizens, so that those citizens would have the chance to lead decent and productive lives. It was a time of national wisdom, humanity, and humility.”
Bravo! Fred probably doesn’t look upon himself as a follower of Epicurus, but he is living an Epicurean life of moderation and care for his fellow citizens. Rich people are getting an increasingly bad Press in America, and justifiably so. But not all of them are selfish, greedy tax dodgers. Isn’t it nice to be able to say that?
