Category: Politics, Power, and Governance

ON THE SINGLE PATH FOR UKRAINE

Hello. Thank you for having me speak with you today. I apologize for not speaking Ukrainan or Russian. But you would just laugh at me if I tried. Thankfully Marta will protect me from most, if not all, embarrassment.

My name is Curt Doolittle. I’m a philosopher of political economy. But I should define these two terms for you, because they are often misused.

A lot of people use the word ‘philosopher’ – a practitioner of ‘reasoning’, just like a lot of people use the word ‘writer’ – a practitioner of writing. These titles (names) are not informative. Because whether we speak of writers or philosophers there are good and bad, smart and foolish, scientific and literary, truthful and fantastical thinkers. I divide most philosophers into literary wishful thinkers of what they fantasize might be, and scientific describers of what is and can be.

The job of truthful, good, smart, scientific, philosophers of what is and what can be, is to integrate new knowledge into old ideas, and provide new thoughts with greater explanatory power (power of explanation) that was provided by old ideas. In this sense there is no difference between the physical scientist and the social scientist. And therefore no difference between philosopher and social scientist.

Political economy means that I study the institutional processes that help people to cooperate, and through cooperation, prosper. My specialization is in truth-telling, trust in one another, and natural or common law – things that are scarce in our Ukrainian political economy.

So today I would like to help you understand the only possible methods that are available to Ukrainians, if you want to prosper and free yourselves from our unfortunate history and circumstances.

WHY WE ARE POOR

We cannot form an advanced economy dependent upon money, property, prices, credit, interest, banking and finance.

Why?

(a) the public employees steal everything that isn’t nailed down. (This is why IT is good for ukraine. you can’t steal it)

(b) courts are all but worthless means of contract dispute resolution so no one can take entrepreneurial risks

(c) the primary source of credit is private property and this has been hoarded by oligarchs, the army, and the government, so that the credit cycle cannot be put into motion.

(d) our money is worthless because our economy is worthless.

(e) even though foreigners want to invest in ukraine they can’t because our government or oligarchs will steal the money.

Demographic problems:

While we once had an aristocracy, the mongols, the poles, the russians and the soviets have either killed them or caused them to flee.

While we were once a trading center with a large middle class, the soviets destroyed that middle class. The rest have largely fled to europe.

While we have been serfs and farmers we have never had a militia, never had chivalry, and under the soviets had no middle class.

While we once had austrian law, the Soviets destroyed that law. When the new constitution was made the government was not empowered to reform the 8000 judges and courts.

WE HAVE A BROKEN STATE, A FAILED STATE, BUT WE DO NOT YET HAVE A FAILED PEOPLE

Our problems can be fixed. But we are all impatient. And we are right to be impatient.

DEMOCRACY IS A METHOD OF THROWING THE BUMS OUT.

REDISTRIBUTION IS THE RESULT OF RULE OF LAW

RULE OF LAW IS THE REMOVAL OF CHOICE (DISCRETION)

THE PROBLEM OF CORRUPTION – OUR NATURAL STATE

What does it mean when we call someone corrupt?

When they work in the interests of themselves, their relations, their organizations, their associates, sponsors and dependents, instead of minimizing the costs to the citizen.

Maximizing my return versus minimizing the cost to others.

Discretion rather than Rule of Law, Regulation and Procedure.

THREE WEAPONS OF INFLUENCE / THREE METHODS OF SUPPRESSING CORRUPTION

1) Aristocracy / Military / Landed / Commercial

2) Professional Bureaucracy / Middle Class

3) Reporters / Judges / Sheriff’s / And the Militia

THE PROBLEM WITH OUR PEOPLE AND OUR LAW:

1) EXTERNALITIES

2) COMMONS,

3) TAKING OWNERSHIP OF THE COMMONS.

We are MORAL but not EMPIRICAL – The problem of scale.

THE RUSSIAN PROBLEM vs THE WESTERN PROBLEM

Russians are right to protect the church and family and nationalism.

Westerners are right to suppress corruption, build credit, and diverse complex economies.

We can choose the best of both and not die like the west or despair like the east.

A THIRD WAY, EASTERN EUROPEAN

(Why is consumption good? You might like heroin also, does that mean it is good? You might like mothers working instead of having children. Is that good? )

Fighting, Protecting, policing, for men, and childbearing for women are the most important taxes we pay after keeping our promises and truth telling.