Why Jews Should Not Be Liberals Page 9
The Jewish system of welfare differed radically from the modern system because of basic Jewish concepts of the role of wealth, economic justice, the dignity of the individual, and the moral responsibility of the individual. Welfare was considered to be an act of imitatic dei-imitation of God's ways. It appears that throughout Jewish tradition there is the respect for the individual and the need to help him get back on his economic feet as quickly as possible.
If we accept Dr. Tamari's analysis, and there seems to be no reason not to do so, where does that leave today's liberal with his championing of our coercive welfare system, which after sixty years and five trillion dollars, still leaves almost as many people below the poverty level as there were at the beginning. If we were following Jewish tradition, the welfare given would have been only of a temporary nature, the emphasis would have been to teach those on welfare a trade or a skill to enable them to earn their own living, and there would have been direct, personal help given voluntarily to those in need. Instead, the liberals created a monstrous bureaucracy that only recently is being whittled down to a more localized creature with the goal of actually removing people from the welfare rolls instead of finding ways and means of keeping them and their descendants wards of the system. I don't hear any big apologies from the liberals for having foisted this miserable, demeaning system on the American public for so many years. Nor do I hear most of our prominent Jews rendering any type of apology.
The link between Judaism and capitalism is well described by Ellis Rivkin in his hook, The Shaping of Jewish History. Rivkin wrote that it was the onset of capitalism beginning in the late seventeenth century that began to bring freedom to European Jews. Where Jews had been forbidden to live for centuries, as in Holland, England, and France, they were permitted to resettle. In Germany it took until the end of the nineteenth century for capitalism to free the Jews. Where Jews participated in the creation of a capitalistic society as in America, they enjoyed a high degree of equality from the outset. Where capitalism failed to gain a secure foothold, as in Spain, Portugal, and Eastern Europe, Jews were either expelled or persecuted.
Capitalism and capitalism alone emancipated the Jews, Rivkin writes. The reason for this is that developing capitalism generates individual freedom, which is necessary for the entrepreneur to be free to seek a profit. Paul Johnson writes, "Jews made contribution to the creation of modern capitalism disproportionate to their numbers." Their motto was if there is a better way to do it, then let us find it.
The history of Jews in the modern world makes explicit the connection between individual freedom and developing capitalism. And yet, there seems to persist the notion that somehow capitalism breeds too much greed and selfishness, and we Jews must be the guardians against such evil spirits. It is okay for us Jews to become wealthy and to accrue power and influence through the workings of our marvelous free market, but we've got to protect society and the poor and the children from the evil inclinations that must reside in those "other rich and powerful" folk. Apparently only wealthy Jews (and liberal Democrats) possess that kindness of spirit that entitles them to possess the wealth they accumulate. So we Jews must continue to support the liberal cause because that is the only doctrine that seems to be consistent with our Jewish calling of Tsedekah, and which can control the evil impulses of those other rich guys.
We Jews are supposed to have high intellects, the result of the survival of the fittest throughout our 4,000-year history. We excel in business and the arts and all of the other modern skills, and still we cannot seem to get it through our heads that it is the free market, capitalism, and political freedom that constitute the foundation for our great, good fortune in these United States. When will we wake up to the fact that today's liberalism, if left unchecked, works to diminish that political freedom, to chip away at the workings of the free market, and will eventually bind us up with thousands of rules and regulations which inhibit our freedom to live our lives as we choose?
One rabbi wrote me that the free market had to be regulated and controlled because the Talmud set specific guidelines for prices. A seller could not sell for more than one-sixth or less than one-sixth of the fair market value of a commodity. In a way this is a non-statement. By modern definition, fair market price means the value of any good or service that a willing seller will sell for and a willing buyer will pay. So if the fair market price is used to consummate a transaction, then by definition, the one-sixth rule would not apply.
But to carry on the argument of the one-sixth or 16%, this could mean that a company could not make a net profit of more than 16%, after taxes of course. In reviewing the profit margins of the 1,000 top companies in America, there were just twenty companies that exceeded that margin. The only regulation the market requires is that of preventing fraud and deception wherever possible, and policing the rules that ensure open entry into any industry or occupation. In the final analysis, the best protection is the market itself. If companies persist in cheating their customers, they simply do not last. As long as competition is fostered and there are no artificial barriers from government or elsewhere to prevent new entrants into an industry, then we must rely on the market to police itself.
Competition, 1992 Nobel Prize winner for economics Gary Becker writes, is the "tonic for meeting human needs." Becker writes that competition fosters the variety that meets the needs of a free society. "Competition is the foundation of the good life and the most precious parts of human existence; educational, civil, religious and cultural as well as economic." Thus was Becker quoted in the Heritage Foundation autumn 1999 quarterly report.
Werner Sombart, author of The Jews and Modern Capitalism, written in 1913, theorized that the Jews were really the first capitalists. This is disputed by Rivkin who claims that it was the traders of Venice in the 1500s, non-Jews, who were the first. Regardless of who was first, Sombart made some interesting points. He wrote that Jews championed the cause of individual liberty in economic activities against the then dominant views of the majority who seemed to avoid competition. It seems that Christian traders maintained prices, while the Jews broke into their markets by under-selling them. Does this sound familiar'? (Another example of Jews separating themselves from the dominant majority, and to the benefit of all.) Although Jews in Europe were at best, "semicitizens," they made their mark in business particularly in the moneylending business (forbidden to Christians) that Sombart claims is the root idea of capitalism. Without credit and lending, nothing would get accomplished.
Sombart wrote that the Jewish religion was a contract between God and His chosen people and that the getting of money was a means to do God's work. A non-Jew, Sombart praised the Jewish traits of self-control, love of order and work, moderation, chastity, and sobriety. He claimed that the restriction of sexual activity released energies to economic activities. (Perhaps "prudish" conservatives are not so backward.) Jews believed in free trade without restrictions and welcomed anyone who wanted to compete. One would think that Sombart's book, although somewhat overly favorable to Jews in certain phases, would still be one that should be studied by today's young Jews to give them a better perspective on their economic history.
When we weave together the historical bias of Judaism for the free market, the fact that capitalism is closely linked to Judaism and has liberated Jews from the ghetto in Europe, that Jews were instrumental in at least the expansion of capitalism, and when we know through our history here in America, that to truly benefit those less fortunate, it is only the growth of the free market here that has accomplished this, there would appear to be an air-tight case for Jews to be the most active champions of that same free market. And to accomplish this, the political philosophy that makes the best case for its support of the free market, and for the limiting of the power of a central government, has to be conservatism.
When one strikes to the core of modern liberalism, one will usually find a secret distaste for the apparent chaos of the free market, and a notso-secret desire to legally contro
l it by enforcing the wondrous intellectual powers of those same liberals. Liberals are great for championing the rights of the individual when it comes to abortion or the right not to pray in public schools, but when it comes to the right of individuals to retain their hard-earned monies to spend as they choose, suddenly the liberal turns deaf. Is that what Judaism really says? Rabbi Lapin writes that of the 613 commandments in the Torah, a great number relate to property and money. "No area of law is given as much attention in the Torah as the area dealing with free market transactions between free and independent citizens." These laws presuppose private property, and the right of the property owner to dispose of that property as he chooses. This puts the lie to the liberal position that only certain individual rights are sacrosanct.
How often does one read statements by Jewish leaders that praise the efforts of Bill Gates or Intel's Andrew Grove (a Jewish Hungarian refugee) for their success in helping to create the wonder of the twentieth century, the computer industry? These two men have done more to grow the American economy and provide jobs for thousands, than have all of the war on poverty programs of the past forty years. Yet the people who receive the Jewish merit badges are usually the politicians-Democrats mostly-who talk and talk and talk, and pass more and more useless laws that provide employment mainly for the attorneys of the world. How can we return to the political climate that existed with Jews prior to the FDR phenomena? It will never happen if Jews remain political liberals!
Where Jews should be making their contribution to our market economy is by exhibiting the highest morality in their dealings with others in the business world. Our capitalistic system depends on honesty, integrity, and the carrying out of one's promises. It is when fraud and deceit enter the picture that the worst excesses occur, and when people begin to doubt the value of our system. If Jews who are already so prominent in the business world would stress the positive aspects of the free market and set great examples of honesty in their business dealings, they could do more to help the economy grow and provide jobs than any government program existing. In the process, they would also demonstrate some of the basic morality of our Jewish religion.
The notes to Exodus of the Soncino Pentateuch state that Judaism "continues to proclaim that there is an everlasting distinction between right and wrong.. .and that weak and erring man needs an authoritative code in matters of right and wrong." The portion of the Decalogue and its commandment that thou shall not steal, constitutes one of the sturdiest pillars that supports today's successful American free market economy.
It is not enough merely to do what is legally correct, we Jews should go beyond that and do what is morally right in our dealings with our fellows, so said a Hasidic rabbi recently. Shubert Spero writes that basic to the legal system is the concept of justice, which is a moral principle. Justice, fairness, and equity are universal moral principles. As Spero states, "In Jewish view from the very beginning men were considered moral agents and responsible for their behavior."
When we read about a Jew who has cheated in business, and there have been several recent examples, it hurts. There is something that is inborn in most of us that wants to do what is right, and we are particularly sensitive about the actions of our fellow Jews, especially the prominent ones whose actions catch the headlines. On the other hand, the positive stories seldom receive sufficient attention. Most heartwarming was the story of the Jewish manufacturer, Aaron Feuerstein, an Orthodox Jew. In 1995, Mr. Feuerstein's company, Maiden Mills in Lawrence, Massachusetts, suffered a devastating fire in its main factory. Mr. Feuerstein not only maintained his entire staff of workers on salary for several months until he could resume production, he also gave out his traditional Christmas bonuses to his employees. His workers could hardly believe he would do this, but he believed that it was the people working for him that had made his family business a success and that he was only doing what he thought was right.
In early 2003, Malden Mills was forced to declare bankruptcy due to declining sales and increased foreign competition. Mr. Feuerstein, however, has plans to personally revive the company soon with his own funds. When asked whether he regretted paying out all of that money several years ago when his factory burned down, thereby depleting his company's reserves, he said no-he had acted not for the moment but rather for a larger goal.
Today, I like to think that deep down in their innermost gut, many American Jews really do believe that big government is not the answer to our social and economic problems. In fact they may now suspect that big (liberal) government may be a large contributing source of our problems. Many American Jews recognize that the noble sounding programs of the 1960s-the war on poverty, the war on illiteracy, the war on unemployment of the less fortunate, etc.-have not accomplished their avowed purposes. Jews frequently find themselves opposing these programs in cases of quotas and affirmative action. One could almost conclude that many Jews are "closet conservatives." Perhaps what is needed to bring them out of this "closet" is a fable that may illustrate the basic point about the capitalistic, free market system, and the wondrous benefits that flow from it. And this brings us to what I will call "The Mahi--Mox Story."
Once upon a time there was a young Jewish lad growing up in Chicago. It was a tradition for this lad and his family to shop at their local deli on Saturday nights to buy the fixings for Sunday breakfast. Naturally these fixings consisted of lox, cream cheese, and bagels. All through his youth, our "hero-to-be" feasted on these delicacies, never giving a thought to their cost.
When he became of age, seeking his fortune he moved to Los Angeles, studied hard, and became a CPA. While raising his own family, he naturally carried on the Saturday night tradition of buying lox, cream cheese, and bagels for Sunday's breakfast, which in California language became "brunch."
Of course, the prices of these precious ingredients rose with the increase in the general price level, but it seemed that the price of lox had its own special multiplier. Our "hero-to-be" became accustomed to paying at first $6.00 per pound, then $9.00, then $12.00, but when the price hit $16.00 per pound, this really caught his attention. Since he was still just a low level CPA, he seriously considered eliminating lox from their Sunday brunch. When he asked the local deli owner, Mr. Kaplan, for an explanation for the continuing price increases, the only thing Mr. Kaplan could answer was that it was simply "supply and demand."
Before giving in to his miserly and conservative instincts and eliminating Lox, the creative juices of our "hero-to-be" began to percolate. After all, CPAs are not just bean counters. What if someone could invent a cheaper, more plentiful substitute for lox?
Not only would this creation be welcomed by the millions of lox lovers around the world, but the inventor could possibly make a great deal of "gelt," otherwise known as real money.
So our young CPA began to experiment with various recipes in the privacy of his kitchen between preparing tax returns for his clients. After months of trial and error, he discovered that the plentiful mahi-mahi had many of the same characteristics as the salmon, of which lox is the smoked variety. Further, through intensive reading of the Dead Sea Scrolls, he discovered an ancient smoking and seasoning process that magically transformed the taste and looks of the mahi-mahi into an almost perfect replica of the precious lox. (Perhaps, he reasoned, this is how the early Jews could afford their Sunday brunches.) Best of all, he could produce this wondrous substitute at a fraction of the cost of lox. He decided to call his new product "Mahi-Mox."
At this point in our story let us pause for a moment. After all of his work, our "hero-to-be" still had not created any new jobs, nor had he created any new wealth, nor had he provided any help to the less fortunate. There remained many problems to be solved. What he had accomplished was to imagine that there might be a market for a low-cost substitute for Lox that he could produce profitably, and that he alone, through hard work and research, had developed this product. Unable to afford any focus groups to test his idea, he had to rely on his own Godgiven instin
cts to pursue his dream. And perhaps most important to remember, our "hero-to-be" lived in a society under a system which granted him the freedom to pursue his imagination and his dream, in spite of various restrictive government rules and regulations.
The rest of the story is somewhat predictable. He takes out a second mortgage on his home, rents a small seasoning factory, contracts to buy mahi-mahi from San Pedro fisherman who have a plentiful supply, hires at first his unwilling kids and wife to do the dirty work while he continues on his CPA job, prepares some samples and takes them to some local delis, sells them their first orders on a money-back guarantee, shows them they can sell "Mahi-Mox" at one-half the price of lox and still make twice as much profit, does some local advertising, and before one can say "Mahi-Mox" ten times, his product's sales take off.
One year later he quits his CPA job, expands into a modem 50,000 square foot plant with 150 employees, including all of his local relatives and friends, plus some recent importees from across the border to do the hard work, because our new welfare programs had not yet fully kicked in. As he banks his first million, our "hero" reflects that in just one year he had provided the market with a new product that sold by the ton, and amazingly the makers of lox did not seem to have been hurt at all. With a lower cost alternative to lox, the total market expanded so dramatically that those who could afford it continued to buy the original lox, the status product, while many new buyers loved the pure taste of the "Mahi-Mox" at its bargain price.