The Objective Standard Blog

Author: Paul Hsieh

Monday, January 30, 2012

The Grey: A Great Reminder of Crucial Truths

Posted by Paul Hsieh at 2:26 pm

The GreyCould you survive deep in the Alaskan wilderness and make your way out with only the resources from a crashed airplane?

That’s the stark challenge faced by the seven protagonists of the movie The Grey, starring Liam Neeson. An airplane carrying Alaskan oil field workers crashes during a storm, and they must battle harsh winter conditions and a pack of aggressive wolves while attempting to find their way back to civilization. In addition to spectacular cinematography and spellbinding action scenes, the movie demonstrates surprising philosophical depth in delivering its theme: “What does it really mean to fight for one’s life?”

The movie also dramatizes three related principles that are easy to forget during everyday life but that are made vividly clear in the context of the movie:

1) Man’s basic means of survival is his reasoning mind.

The wolves in The Grey survive using their claws, fangs, and instincts in accordance with their basic nature. Humans, however, cannot survive in this fashion. We lack the fur to keep us warm in subzero temperatures, claws and fangs to kill prey (or to protect ourselves against predators), and instincts to dictate our actions. To survive, we must use our minds, rearrange nature, and create the goods we need. Reason is our basic means of doing so.

2) Nature, to be commanded, must be obeyed.

Do you need to start a fire? Then you must identify the nature of the material at hand and proceed accordingly. Do you need to cross a violently rushing river? Then you must devise a method that holds the weight of a full-grown man; you must respect and apply the laws of physics. Wishful thinking, bluster, or drunkenness won’t make reality bend to your desires or make your problems go away. The only way to solve your problems or accomplish your goals is to face reality head-on, heed the facts, and act accordingly.

3) Modern man is extremely dependent on the benefits of technology.

Technology is an incredible enhancement to our lives. I would rather be typing a movie review on my MacBook Air in the comfort of my living room than shivering in a dark cave wondering whether I’ll be eaten by wolves tonight.

But it’s easy to take for granted the benefits of industrial civilization until we are reminded (in fiction or in real life) what life is like without those benefits. In Ayn Rand’s novel Atlas Shrugged, Hank Rearden hosts a fancy party during a storm. During the party, Francisco D’Anconia tells him:

“[Y]ou are able to have summer flowers and half-naked women in your house on a night like this, in demonstration of your victory over that storm. And if it weren’t for you, most of those who are here would be left helpless at the mercy of that wind in the middle of some such plain.”

The Grey reminded me how grateful I am for the many entrepreneurs, engineers, and businessmen who have created our modern industrial civilization. Without them, we wouldn’t enjoy the iPads, cell phones, automobiles, central heating, and electricity we so easily take for granted. Instead, we’d be like the protagonists of The Grey, struggling mightily against raw, untamed nature, hoping to survive another day.

For this reason, although The Grey is not a political movie, it also helped me better appreciate Ari Armstrong’s recent blog post, “Great Producers Deserve Our Gratitude, Not Obama’s Tax Hikes.”

In the hubbub of everyday life, it’s easy to forget some basic truths about man, nature, and the fundamental role of reason in our lives. A gripping tale of novel and dire circumstances, The Grey reminds us of what we must never forget if we want to live.

Posted in: Business and Economics, Individual Rights and Law, Philosophy, Science and Technology, The Arts

Tuesday, December 15, 2009

‘Doing Nothing’ Is An Option

Posted by Paul Hsieh at 3:30 am

Remember when President Obama insisted that health care "reform" had to be done his way, and that doing nothing was "not an option"?

Well, the American people disagree.

In "Do Nothing, Majority Says" (Wall Street Journal, December 10, 2009), James Taranto notes a recent Fox News poll showing:

While 41 percent of Americans want Congress to pass major health care reform legislation this year, a 54 percent majority says they would rather Congress "do nothing on health care for now," up from 48 percent who felt that way in July.

Taranto also adds:

…[A] CNN poll found that an even bigger majority—61%—oppose the Senate’s version of the ObamaCare bill.

One of the core principles every first-year medical student learns is "Primum non nocere", which is Latin for "First, do no harm". In other words, it’s better to do nothing than to take a positive action that will make the situation worse—a principle that should apply to politics as well as to medicine.

Our current health care system has many problems. But the proposed ObamaCare "reforms" would make things worse, not better. In this case, doing nothing is an option, at least until genuine free-market reforms are on the table.

The American people understand this. Will our politicians?

Reposted from We Stand FIRM

Posted in: Business and Economics, Health Care, Individual Rights and Law

Thursday, November 12, 2009

Lin Gilbert’s Rationing Story

Posted by Paul Hsieh at 2:02 pm

Canadian Lin Gilbert tells of the wait she endured for over two years for her MRI and spine surgery, and the toll it took on her life:

In Canada, health care is never truly a "right". She was repeatedly told that she hadn’t suffered for long enough to receive the surgery she needed, and that older patients were ahead of her on the waiting list.

Do Americans really want this kind of medical system?

(Via Instapundit.)

Reposted from We Stand FIRM

Posted in: Health Care, Individual Rights and Law

Friday, November 6, 2009

The Best Option For The Public

Posted by Paul Hsieh at 4:42 pm

In the November 4, 2009 Boston Globe, Jeff Jacoby outlines the best option for the public. (Hint — it’s not the "public option".)

From his article, "An option for public: less government, more choice":

A government-run health insurer would radically tilt the health-insurance playing field. It would amount to a new entitlement program, able to undercut the price of private insurance by squeezing hospitals and doctors, reimbursing them at below-market rates. "Just like Medicaid and Medicare," which also underpay medical providers, the public option would force hospitals and doctors to charge private insurers more. Insurers would be compelled to raise their premiums, eventually losing millions of customers to the government plan.

Obama insists that any public option would have to be self-supporting, properly balancing its premiums and risk and not expecting the government to cover its losses. Sound familiar? The same assurances were made about Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac.

Instead, he recommends the following free-market reforms:

* Tear down the barriers to buying insurance across state lines
* Repeal mandatory benefits that make health insurance needlessly expensive
* De-link health insurance from employment

(Read the full text of "An option for public: less government, more choice".)

These are all excellent ideas. Let’s hope our politicians are listening!

Reposted from We Stand FIRM

Posted in: Health Care, Individual Rights and Law