Thanks to reader Leland for passing along these interesting thoughts from Ayn Rand’s epic “Atlas Shrugged”. What destroys a society? When does that day come? I have and will always have high hopes for America, but we are prisoners in an economy ruled by the bankers for the bankers.
It’s great that the economy and the stock market appear to be “back”, but only a fool would assume that there will not be another banking crisis since nothing has changed since 2007. This truly was a “crisis wasted”. Ayn Rand’s words spoken 50 years ago are eerily prescient of what we have just gone thru over the last 18 months and where we will likely go if this economy is continually ruled by those who take much, but give little:
“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.”
Mr. Roche is the Founder and Chief Investment Officer of Discipline Funds.Discipline Funds is a low fee financial advisory firm with a focus on helping people be more disciplined with their finances.
He is also the author of Pragmatic Capitalism: What Every Investor Needs to Understand About Money and Finance, Understanding the Modern Monetary System and Understanding Modern Portfolio Construction.
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