Friday, September 1, 2017

Capitalism Has Made More People Rich Than Any Other System in the History of the World

It was nice having to listen to "Entrepreneurship and Consecration" this week. There were a couple quotes I had to write down. The first was, "God gives man the challenge of raw materials, not the ease of finished things." This quote reminds me that God trusts man to be able to create and innovate. He isn't going to give us ease and lawn chairs with cold drinks in our hands. In being an entrepreneur, it is our job to find something of value in the raw materials we've been given. If we can build upon something that is already created to make it better, we've added value to the world.
The next idea that stuck was that an entrepreneur can't be a person who only does what they're told to do. We need people who can solve problems. I feel like the schooling system as it stands now is a system to teach people to follow directions and work for someone else. One of the reasons I home school my children is so I can teach them how to be problem solvers. It's a mindset that needs to be broken in our schools, in my opinion.
When, "Earth hasn’t provided the answer, perhaps we should try heaven." Relating closely with the first quote I mentioned, when man has tried as hard as they could to fix the problems that face them and still hit a wall, it's time to ask God. It seems those are the best times to receive inspiration-when we're down to our last push.
Regarding the other readings, I found the reading on micro lending to be the most interesting. I had heard of micro lending years ago. The only reason I never got involved was because I need to increase the size of my golden goose before I can pass out her eggs, so to speak. I love the idea and to hear it again in this class is not only heartwarming, but a welcome reminder of what good we can do in this world for others around the world. It is truly a great way to “teach a man to fish.”

Additional questions:
Based on what you read in the first two pages (pages 3 and 4), why are virtue and integrity so vital to an economy?
The first pages of the reading has somewhat of a pessimistic feel to it. The reasons virtue and integrity are so important is that businesses use the savings of ‘everyday people’ to invest. When the leaders of the businesses lie, cheat, or steal in the name of capitalism, or because “it wasn’t against the rules,” they are stealing from people in general and everyone else suffers. It affects society as a whole.
According to Charles Handy, what is the “real justification” for the existence of businesses?

“It is to make a profit so that the business can do something more or better” (emphasis added).

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