Also, she was a loathsome person.

Rand, not the girlfriend

Horrible prose. Stupid plots. Truely detestable protagonists. 10 point font.

We broke up two weeks later.

The result is that people who, in the past, might feel compelled to contribute to charities now prefer to believe the unfortunate are just trying to access their tax money. In a society that values the private accumulation of wealth as a social virtue, those who seek help from others are destined to be treated as freeloaders, lazy, somehow immoral. The idea is, that those who are poor or destitute, have no one to blame but themselves and have no claim on public resources. The obvious corollary, of course, is that those who are wealthy are, by definition, worthy and productive, and entitled to the honors (and subsidies) of society. These abstract concepts are easily translated to public policy; for example, income derived from investments is taxed at a lower rate than earnings derived from wages.

I suggest you read the works of Ayn Rand, a contemporary philosopher, much admired today, who tends to favor these arguments. The Virtue of Selfishness, in some circles today, it has become a cult.

The 20th century gave us fascism and communism. The 19th, imperialism and colonialism. War, tyranny, religious fanaticism, bigotry, slavery, conquest and genocide have always been with us. Yes, there has been progress, but the forces of reaction have fought a long and brutal holding action, and they show no signs of letting up any time soon. In my own lifetime, in the freest country in the world, I have seen Jim Crow, segregation and full-fledged government-supported racism. Even the righteous efforts of some political groups to combat discrimination have been bitterly opposed–by large segments of the citizenry.

You can’t even blame Capitalism. For all its faults, at least it provides a mechanism, however imperfect, for the common man to participate in his own economic life.

We are a hybrid species, a social animal also programmed for individual ambition and dominance, a band of cowardly monkeys ruled by a boss ape and violence. Yes, there is progress, but it ain’t easy, and it moves in fits and starts, with no guarantees of final success.

I’m old enough to remember “the good old days”. Take my word for it, they never happened.