Comes The Dawn
20. The Charitable Economist
THE CHARITABLE ECONOMIST
With malice toward none; with charity for all.
—ABRAHAM LINCOLN
Of formal schooling, it can be accurately said of poverty-stricken Abe that he had almost none. However, so avid was he for learning that he schooled himself. Lincoln is one of a number of noted persons who lacked schooling, but educated himself; and, self-education is, in a very real sense, the only education there is. Not compulsory “learning,” not the craving for degrees or fame or position but, rather, the avidity for learning is, quite obviously, the key to growth in understanding. How many high-titled “economists” in today’s world could originate such a profound thought as “With malice toward none; with charity for all”? Not many! But to be charitable, I must never accuse them of not knowing what such wisdom is all about!
Is charity a lost virtue? Surface appearances—all we can see—suggest its rarity. Depersonalized philanthropy may be commendable, but it is not charity. During recent decades, and on an enormous scale, millions of people simply write checks to institutions, and these agencies serve as committees to decide who the beneficiaries are to be. By this type of escapism, the relationship between giver and receiver becomes nonexistent, and “The gift without the giver” is no more charity than throwing checks to the four winds. Call it an idle response to “Let organizations assume our godliness,” but never put this in the category of charity.
True charity is exclusively in the realm of the hidden. I cannot see it in you but, even more significant, you cannot see it in yourself. The true kind? Here is my authority:1
Thus, when you do some act of charity, do not announce it with a flourish of trumpets, as the hypocrites do in synagogue and in the streets to win admiration from men. I tell you this: they have their reward already. No; when you do some act of charity, do not let your left hand know what your right is doing; your good deed must be a secret.
There are those who know that when one casts his bread—kindly deeds, charities—upon the waters—fellowmen—that the returns are many fold. Yet, should returns be the motivation, the loaves will not multiply but vanish. True charity is a spiritual attainment, a harmonizing with Infinite Consciousness. The left hand does not, must not, know what the right is doing. This comes close, I believe, to what was in Lincoln’s mind when he wrote, “with charity for all.”
Now then, what did this President of the U.S.A. mean in his Second Inaugural Address (March 4, 1865) by the phrase “With malice toward none?” He repudiated “active ill will; desire to harm others, or do mischief; spite.” At this point, it is appropriate to ask, how did I ever come upon such an unusual accolade as “The charitable economist?” By reading Honest Abe, one who schooled himself. Reflect on these two examples of his wisdom:
My faith in the proposition that each man should do precisely as he pleases with all which is exclusively his own, lies at the foundation of the sense of justice there is in me. I extend the principle to communities of men, as well as to individuals. I extend it, because it is politically wise, as well as naturally just: politically wise, in saving us from broils about matters which do not concern us.2
Property is the fruit of labor. Property is desirable, is a positive good in the world. That some should be rich shows that others may become rich and hence is just encouragement to industry and enterprise. Let not him who is houseless pull down the house of another, but let him work diligently to build one for himself, thus by example assuring that his own shall be safe from violence. . . . I take it that it is best for all to leave each man free to acquire property as fast as he can. Some will get wealthy. I don’t believe in a law to prevent a man from getting rich; it would do more harm than good.3
What a splendid figure of speech: let not him who is houseless pull down the house of another! Were I to pull down your house by reason of being houseless myself, as a means of leveling your plight and mine, that assuredly would be “active ill will, a desire to harm others.” How, pray tell, describe this other than as malice?
However, coercive leveling is a form of malice no matter how achieved. When one personally and openly pulls down another’s house—destroys property—the crime is readily apparent; anyone graced with common sense regards the act as a rank injustice, as malice. But depersonalize the act by getting government—organized coercive force—to commit the identical crime, and shame disappears. Recognized malice is converted into a naive innocence. A sense of absolution replaces all feeling of wrongdoing. Tragic, but true!
Reflect on the millions of people in today’s America who feather their own nests at the expense of others and, pitifully, think nothing of it! The leveling schemes in our hundred thousand governments have never been counted—they are too numerous. The 16,000,000 on food stamps? They are but a drop in the leveling bucket!
On the present scale, these schemes can be financed only by inflation—a dilution of the medium of exchange. Whoever you are, merely observe how your house is being pulled down, your money diminishing in value, the trend accelerating. Who can estimate the number of citizens who have worked and saved and put aside an adequate nest egg for old age or retirement—only to see it eroded by inflation. And, by reasons of this, they too are running to the government trough. All because of naive malice!
Honest Abe, a charitable economist, did not believe in laws that prevent citizens from getting rich; such laws do more harm than good. The U.S.A.’s progressive income tax (plank #2 in the Communist Manifesto) is but one of countless laws that are undeniably doing more harm than good, particularly to the poor. And all of them—no exception—are economic weeds seeded by naive malice!
Malice, an example of human error, cannot be downed until it is found and understood. And when discovered and uncovered, there lies truth: Charity for all.
Becoming a charitable economist is an attainment possible for any alert individual. Give America a fair number and there will be a renewed and Holy ring to:
Our father’s God, to Thee
Author of Liberty.
