Worldview in pop culture #4: Batman
part 2
A city in ruin. An angry hoard of the
oppressed routing out and destroying the rich upper class, making
them wonder how they could live so high and leave so little for the
rest One man standing above them, rallying them to himself. The end
of Batman? You'll have to watch the movie.
In Christopher Nolan's epic conclusion
to his Batman trilogy, Batman is pitted against Bane in a motion
picture that has received praise for being nothing short of amazing.
I must make a disclaimer here, because I actually haven't seen the
movie yet. You may ask how I can comment on a movie I haven't seen.
Well, I comment not so much on the movie, but the worldview there
within. From the reviews I have read and the trailers I have seen,
this movie contains some strong themes that have sparked equally
strong debates. Namely that of Capitalism and Communism.
When Karl Marx called on the workers of
the world to unite, he told them that they had “...nothing to loose
but [their] chains.” Bane seem to give the oppressed of Gotham a
similar charge. Unfortunately for Russian, Marx wasn't exactly right.
The workers also found that they lost their freedom trying to gain
it. Many of them lost their very lives. Most conservative estimates
place the toll of deaths at the hands of Communist regimes in the
hundreds of thousand, if not millions, in the 20th
century. It seems, on the outside, that the socialist or communist
way of doing things wouldn't lead to such horrific death tolls. In
principle at least, (but no further), Marxist Communism has a few
interesting points. After all, the sharing of wealth and labor should
work out, right. Wrong. Communism cannot satisfy the needs of the
common man because of three reasons.
#1: The nature of man.
Communism wrongly assumes that the
heart of man is good and can be trusted. Communism is founded upon
atheism, and totally rejects the fallen nature of man. Thus,
Communism holds that there is really nothing wrong with man that
can't be fixed by the state. The idea behind intellectual Communism
is that eventually, the state will not be needed. It can bring about
utopia by getting everyone to agree on peace and love. However, in
practice, communistic regimes never relinquish their power, and they
brutally murder anyone who disagrees. The problem with this
assumption is also found in the fact that when half of the people
realize that they are not receiving the rewards for their work, and
half of the people realize they can receive the rewards without
working, none of the people will actually want to work. This
willingness to work is essential to ideological Communism.
#2: Economics.
Socialism, the economic force of
Communism, is a failed system. This is best illustrated by the fable
about the communist who was bragging to an American by showing him a
massive storehouse that appeared to be filed with massive tubes,
ranging all the way to the ceiling, with diameters of about 4 ft.
This was, as I remember, in the 80's. (I could be off by a decade or
so). When the American asked what the tubes were, the Communist
replied proudly, “hula-hoops.” You see, when the government
decides what is to be produced and how it is to be produced, you end
up with a bunch of stuff that the public doesn't want. In order for
the market to work, those who provide goods and services must provide
the kind of goods and services that the public wants, at a price that
the consumers can afford, or fail. It sounds brutal and mean, but it
is the only way to guarantee the survival of a healthy economy and
society, which in the end will actually benefit everyone, not just
the upper class as most Marxists would have you to believe.
#3: Tyranny.
Communism has been shown to always
result in tyranny. This idea is closely related to #1, but with the
added connotation that power corrupts, and absolute power corrupts
absolutely. (That should be in quotations, but I'm not entirely sure
who said it. George Washington is usually credited.) Every time a
Communist nation has been attempted, the result has been the loss of
thousands of lives at the hands of their corrupt leaders (Don't
believe me? Search “Gulag Archipelago”). If you think that Hitler
killed a lot of people, research Stalin. Or worse yet, Mao. Instead
of placing the power in the equally divided hands of the people,
Communism places it directly in the hands of too few men.
Alright, so this one wasn't exactly
about Batman. It was more about Communism. I happen to think that
Capitalism, while flawed, is a much better economics system, and that
a representative republic is a superior government philosophy. Why?
Posts to follow.
~Steven Hamilton
In defense of Capitalism:
I promised it, and here it is. If you
haven't read my most recent post, Batman part 2, then I suggest it. I
discuss the problems with Communism, and I promised to explain why
Capitalism is superior. Here I will seek to justify tot only the
Capitalistic economic idea but the American representative republic
system of government. As this is a lengthy topic, I will endeavor to
keep my comments brief.
To begin, it is important to remember
what Churchill said about democracy: “Democracy is the worst form
of government. Except for all the others.” This statement reveals
the underlying truth behind all governmental systems made by humans.
Because humans are fallen creatures, we are imperfect, corrupt, and
evil at our core. It naturally follows that everything we come up
with will be flawed some how. That being said, humans are capable of
creating very good things, in spite of their fallen-ness. The
American system is one of those things. Why? I explain:
#1: The American system of government
acknowledges the truth of God and of human nature.
Many people will tel you that the
founding fathers of America were all devout Christians, and that our
system of government is based on the Bible. Neither of these things
are exactly true, but the fathers certainly applied a series of ideas
that are compatible with the Biblical worldview. The idea of higher
law, for instance, is the idea that the citizens of the country, as
well as the rulers of the country, are accountable to the same law.
No one is above the law, not even the President. He is accountable to
the Representative bodies as well as the courts. This implies that
there is absolute truth, absolute right and wrong, and that humans
are accountable to a higher power.
#2: Capitalism is a superior economics
system to socialism.
I pointed out the problems with
socialism in the previous post. While capitalism seems to many to be
a system of greed and corruption, it is not. The people who are a
part of the market may be greedy and corrupt, but greed and
corruption do not actually give you a leg up in capitalism. When the
market drives what is produced, suppliers are forced to give the
customer what they want at a price they can afford, or they will
fail. It sounds harsh, but it is the only way to ensure that the
products needed by society will be produced. It also forces
businesses to at least act civilized when dealing with customers. If
the customer doesn't like how they are treated, they may not come
back. Many people argue that capitalism does nothing to even the
playing field so that everyone can have what they need. The truth is
that no other system is as level as capitalism. Everyone starts at
the same point. Their rewards are not always equal, because producers
receive rewards only equal to the amount of work they do, and the
extent to which they please customers. Capitalism actually fosters
good service and levels the playing field in ways that socialism
cannot.
#3: The American system actively
protects against totalitarianism.
America is one of the few places on
earth where the ruler of the country is replaced at a set interval of
years, and the transition from one administration to another does not
spark violence. Every so often, all of our representatives (with the
exception of the supreme court) are replaced. This causes
representatives to be more conscious of the desires of their
constituency, making America's government all the more for, of, and
by the people.
It is important to keep in mind that
the American system is by no means perfect, or even close. But it is,
for sure, better than “all the other ones.”
~Steven Hamilton
Upon further review: a simple photo.
I think I will let this one speak for
itself. If you didn't read it, please do. It's not a simple and funny
meme that takes no brain power to understand. It is a slightly scary,
if not interesting, quote.
The question remains, then, “is he
right?” Are democrats, at large, dumber than republicans? Will they
really believe anything that politicians tell them? Are we as
collective citizens of the U.S. buying into psychologies fed to us in
order to advance political agendas, rather than the truth? I hope
this picture will inspire you to think about what truly matters.
Think about who you are voting for, whether they are republican,
democrat, or something else. As residents of this great country where
freedom and liberty reign, we have a responsibility to ensure that
our representatives have our best interest at heart, not just the
advancement of a party.
~Steven Hamilton
P.S. Notice what he said
about truth being relative. He seems to think that if you can make
someone believe something, it is true. Do you agree? Where do you
stand on truth? Look for my thoughts on relativism to come.
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