A Path Forward
Less than one percent of males are violent killers, however, 99.9% of violent killers are male. If only one percent of males are causing all these costs, is it worth it to society to keep paying the bill? Up to this point the answer has been, “Of course”, the world is a very dangerous place. You must prepare for war to prevent war. Peace through strength. Women are inferior. Some races are superior to other races; God said so. Boys will be boys.
The Economics of Goodness can only go so far with economics. Who has cared about goodness? Not the American settlers, all they cared about were land, water, and gold. What did it matter to them if they saddled the US Government with centuries of unfunded liabilities? It did not. Males might be the violent killers in the group, but the whole group benefits from the land, water, and gold. With all these resources rewarding violence it makes perfect sense why goodness is saved for Sunday sermons only. Killing six days a week, peace and goodness during the day of rest. No economics and goodness in the same conversation. As long as violence pays it will continue.
However, it does not have to continue. As Nelson Mandela said, “We are the masters of our souls.” We choose violence, we teach boys to kill, and we teach girls they are inferior and nothing more than male sexual property. A path forward is to TEACH difference! Every person can learn. The important part of the Economics of Goodness is not the economics, that is the easy part. Adding up the social cost of killing, violence, or discrimination is math with a lot of zeros. Add up the value of the land or resource captured minus the cost of killing. Killing and violence have always been a cost of doing business.
The important part of the Economics of Goodness is the goodness. Valuing, protecting, and caring for another person is goodness for your soul. It is goodness for the soul of the other person and goodness for the spiritual health of the group. It is our relationships to each other that matter the most. Solitary confinement is the group’s harshest form of punishment for an individual with bad behavior because we are social creatures. Peace is a choice. Goodness is a choice. Good behavior produces productivity; bad behavior consumes productivity.