There is a gift that nature gives to all animals. All animals have the highly developed skill of being able to recognize and respond to danger in the present moment. Some even seem to have a degree of clairvoyance. Animals know to go to high ground when a storm is developing. All are quick to recognize danger and for dangers they know the best way to respond.
Human beings have similar abilities but seldom use them. Humans face different risks than other animals. They do fairly well when responding to physical dangers in the moment. If a human hears gun shots he will duck. He will move away from the road if he hears the squealing of tires. Humans also face intellectual dangers that lower animals don’t face. For example, a person is very vulnerable to threats such as a con artist or a politician.
Tools of survival are not all defensive. Offensive survival tools are those of lies and deception. Human predators who lie prey on others who indulge in fantasies. The fastest way to separate someone from his money and resources is to fill his head with fantasies. Fantasies are comforting but represent nothing real. With respect to economics a popular fantasy is the notion that there is an incentive to serve others. This is completely ridiculous. Nature provided no such incentive. In any population, citizens adopt the notion that there are good people vying for leadership positions so that they can serve them. This is completely imaginary. Still the fantasy that candidates want to serve governs how people vote.
Human beings can recognize and respond to danger almost flawlessly when their mind is free of fantasies and euphemisms. Most academic disciplines outside of the hard sciences are so filled with fantasies that they have no utility to society. Economics is the worst. Economists all around the globe operate on the basis that the Federal Reserve Open Market Committee members are straw men, completely devoted to working in the best interest of the country. Economists constantly fantasize that one number can cause another when the only cause is the incentive that produces the number. Ask an Ivy League economist what causes inflation and he will say something like too much money chasing too few good and service. The cause is actually the incentive person in control of the money supply has for inflating the currency.
If a person can discard fantasies and euphemisms and stare cold reality in the face the answers to virtually every nagging question become obvious. This is the skill I have and that is why I am the world’s best economist. Anyone can do this but I am telling you it is not a pleasant activity. It is also a great way to lose friends and make enemies.
In summary, fantasies create happiness but they separate you from your common sense. Normally a human can rock along just fine with no common sense at all but on this occasion it is going to be completely necessary. It is a good time for every person to roll back fantasies as much as possible until the political storm and economic collapse run their courses.
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