Our future is our kids

It’s hard to imagine how much things have changed.

In 1790, the first US census counted 3,929,214 of us, and 90% of the workforce were farmers. By 2010, the total US population had burgeoned to nearly 310 million while the farm-related population had declined to less than two percent.

These statistics bear witness to the enormous growth of urban and suburban populations. As of the 2010 census, 80% of us live in urban areas. The balance, 20%, is predominantly non-farm rural and very few actual farmers.

We have shifted away from the land, leaving our roots, both literally and figuratively.

What are the consequences of this historic shift? Overall, we have become far more reliant on each other. The pioneer family was completely self sufficient and today’s famer nearly so. But we urban dwellers need power and water and food delivered every day. We rely on our social constructs to keep us warm, feed us, and protect us. When these systems fail (witness Hurricane Katrina in New Orleans), the impact is massive and deadly. We have become collectivist out of necessity.

And we elect politicians that reflect these needs. This gives us such as Massachusetts Attorney General Martha Coakley’s famous proclamation, “We really discourage people from self help.” The collective has drained us of individual initiative and responsibility.

Here is an example. In Augusta, South Carolina, this summer, a working mom was arrested and served 17 days in jail, her child temporarily taken into state custody. Debra Harrell, a 46-year old African American was the manager of a McDonald’s restaurant. She lost her freedom and her child for the crime of allowing the 9-year-old child to play alone in a city park. While you may agree or not with the outcome, the state usurped her role of parent and Ms. Harrell’s rights as a mother were abrogated.

All this seems to fly in the face of common sense. The most dangerous thing you could possibly do is to put your child in a motor vehicle or allow her to go swimming. Kidnapping from a public park is a statistical blip. But common sense is the first casualty as “one size fits all” collective dictates replace individual prerogatives.

The urbanization of America is certain to accelerate with the continued diminution of individual rights, responsibility, and capabilities. We will become a nation of codependent, neotenized softies (see “WALL-E,” the 2008 movie for a vision of that future).

But some are fighting back. Gever Tulley, in a popular TEDTalk, describes his passion for teaching kids to be creative, confident, self-reliant, and capable. In his talk, Tulley tells of  “The Five Dangerous Things You Should Let Your Children Do” and why.

He starts by describing the crazy extent to which child safety regulation has progressed, the end result being that anything sharper than a golf ball is prohibited for child play. Tulley thinks this will not end well, asserting that “When we round every corner and eliminate every sharp object, every pokey bit in the world, then the first time that kids come in contact with anything sharp or not made out of round plastic, they'll hurt themselves with it." (For those of you allegorically challenged, this is allegory).

Here are five things that Tulley recommends (among many more activities at his school camps for kids, the Tinkering School).

1. Play with fire. Children will learn much about this elemental force which changed the course of human history, and they will learn to respect and control it.

2. Own a pocket knife. The knife is a universal tool, “it's a spatula, it's a pry bar, it's a screwdriver and it's a blade.” It also gives the child an understanding of how a dangerous implement may be used safely by following simple rules.

3. Throw a spear. A primitive activity that engages the brain and muscles, “throwing is a combination of analytical and physical skill, so it's very good for that kind of whole-body training.”

4. Deconstruct appliances. This is a wonderful way to understand basic engineering and mechanics. Instead of throwing away that old vacuum cleaner, let the kids tear it apart first and try to figure out how it works.

5. Drive a car. That’s right, plop them into your lap and allow them to steer. This is wonderfully empowering and confidence building.(Best done in a deserted parking lot).

While these may seem extreme to the average urban dweller, they are everyday life for the typical farm kid. And that’s exactly the point – to give urban kids the same opportunities of growth and empowerment.

The future can be bright indeed, if we can base our voluntary collectivism on a foundation of strong, self-reliant and capable individuals. Our future is our kids.

The tragedy of the commons

Cows in an overgrazed commons.

Central Falls, Rhode Island, is bankrupt.  The city, at 1.29 square miles, was once famous as the most densely populated city in America. Bordered on the east by the Blackstone River, Central Falls was at the heart of early America’s Industrial Revolution. But water-powered foundries and textile mills quickly became a thing of that past, leaving Central Falls’ skilled workforce high and dry.

In more recent years, Central Falls’ politicians continued to spend money as if they still had a tax base. They made generous pension promises to the city unions who elected them, creating liabilities that couldn’t possibly be met. So now they are broke and retiree benefits have been slashed in half. There are no winners.

How did this happen?  The most likely cause is a phenomenon called “the tragedy of the commons,” a theory describing human behavior when dealing with shared resources.  Ecologist Garrett Hardin wrote an influential article on the topic in 1968, describing the behavior of a group of herders who all shared the same parcel of land.  Since no one herder owned the land, each was motivated to maximize personal return, resulting in overgrazing to the detriment of all.

This effect can be seen wherever private ownership is absent.  Fishing fleets deplete ocean fisheries.  Graffiti artists deface public property.  Vandals destroy anything that is not theirs.  Politicians make promises they cannot fulfill (it's not their money).

The good news is that humans are very resourceful, recognizing the problem and developing creative solutions.  Taking the long view, farmers often organized and regulated the use of common grazing lands.  The federal government allocates fishing rights and radio frequency spectra. And enlightened politicians recognize that heavy taxation and reckless spending impair the economy that supplies them with tax revenues.

Here is what you can do.  Be aware that the economy, whether local, national, or global, is a commons. We all rise or fall on the tide of jobs, capital, and opportunity thereby produced. The economy is enhanced by the animal spirits of individual entrepreneurs and investors and is depleted by the ravages of short-sighted politicians.

Make your choices wisely.  Take the long view.  Educate yourself. Remember that there is never something for nothing.

The people of Central Falls, often portrayed as victims, repeatedly elected their betrayers.  Be smarter than that.