by Victor Davis Hanson<\/p>\n
National Review Online<\/em><\/p>\n Beyond the political posturing over state and federal budgets, there looms an age-old philosophical divide over human nature, perhaps defined as the therapeutic versus the tragic view of our existence. The therapeutic view \u2014 thanks to the bounty and affluence brought about by modern technology \u2014 has largely triumphed. The tragic view is deemed the domain of the embittered, the selfish, and the downright mean.<\/p>\n There are several tenets of the modern therapeutic view. In such a utopian mindset, compensation is and should be based on what the employee considers necessary for the good life. The public employees in Wisconsin reject the three classical requisites for perpetually improved compensation: The employer has plentiful capital; the employee\u2019s productivity creates new wealth or improves the efficiency of services; and the employee has market value and will go elsewhere should the employer be foolish enough to lose him.<\/p>\n Again, in the therapeutic mindset, perceived need is what matters, and all else must adjust accordingly. Teachers in Wisconsin rarely argue that their students\u2019 test scores have increased or graduation rates have improved, or that their school districts are flush with cash, or that they themselves can always move to a parochial school or private academy if their talents are not better appreciated. Instead, in almost every contemporary discussion of budgetary discipline, from pensions and benefits to compensation, the argument is based on what one needs, in the teenage fashion of reminding a now unemployed parent that he once promised to buy the graduating senior a car.<\/p>\n When reality does not match dreams, somebody must make it go away. The Democrats have proposed cuts of less than 1 percent in federal discretionary spending. Neither party will touch Medicare, Medicaid, or Social Security. Apparently, both parties have agreed not to raise federal income-tax rates. The recommendations of the national debt-reduction commission do not envision a healthy Social Security system until 2037. Planning to cease running up more debt in the future is apparently seen as too tough a financial medicine, and so the commission\u2019s suggestions have so far been ignored. That is reality. And it must vanish.<\/p>\n Therefore, the first person to suggest cuts in entitlements is portrayed as callous rather than prudent. Fantasy offers some relief: Perhaps an inflationary, expansionary economy can pay off what we owe with more plentiful dollars. Euphemism can disguise the bad, as in the designation of terrorist acts as \u201cman-caused disasters\u201d and the war on terror as \u201coverseas contingency operations.\u201d So too perhaps we can rename these gargantuan deficits \u201cStimulus III,\u201d or the unsustainable borrowing \u201cinvestments in our future.\u201d<\/p>\n Central to the therapeutic view also is a sort of adolescent shrug at consequences. If the delta smelt is deemed the barometer of healthy aquatic life in the Sacramento\u2013San Joaquin River Delta, then a quarter-million acres of land will have be cut off from contracted irrigation supplies in order to divert the water to save the three-inch fish. Few of the biologists who engineered such strategies ever computed the wealth sacrificed by idling thousands of acres, the jobs lost, or the communities nearly destroyed. In the therapeutic view, the appeal is always to cosmic rather than earthly justice. If a tenured biologist\u2019s job security is not predicated on bringing in a crop of carrots, if he can argue, in apocalyptic fashion, that saving the ecology of the planet is more important than a few \u201ccorporate\u201d farms, then the rest of us are less likely to question such purported idealism \u2014 and not at all likely to wonder whether without such periodic existential crises we might need fewer tenured biologists and far fewer research grants.<\/p>\n Another characteristic of the therapeutic view is a sort of compartmentalization, one that allows the world to work one way for others and quite another for oneself \u2014 given that human nature has not quite evolved into the anticipated perfection. And the two contradictions are, of course, connected, the former justifying the latter. If Al Gore campaigns for cap-and-trade or massive ethanol subsidies, then we are less likely to worry that he enjoys traveling by private jet and owning several energy-hungry homes \u2014 just the sort of lifestyle that, if copied by three hundred million others in America, might actually heat up the planet. The more Michael Moore rants about capitalist greed, the easier it is to sue his producer for additional millions in income. The more the Hollywood set praises the socialism of Fidel Castro or Hugo Ch\u00e1vez, the less we should care that the film and television community goes in for higher-than-average conspicuous consumption, energy wastefulness in expansive and multiple homes, a sort of teenage material indulgence, and narcissism in fashion and cosmetic surgery. If a Harvard or Rutgers professor wishes to make some extra cash by offering his consulting services to the murderous Qaddafi family, then he can do so with impunity by describing the contract in altruistic terms.<\/p>\n One purchases exemption from the consequences of one\u2019s ideology by rather inexpensive appeals to humanitarianism. A Michael Bloomberg, Arnold Schwarzenegger, Pima County Sheriff Clarence Dupnik, or NASA chief Charles Bolden can cite commitment to reducing fatty foods in our diet, curbing smoking, stopping the \u201ccycle of violence,\u201d or engaging in Muslim outreach \u2014 and, as a result, we are less likely to wonder why snow is not removed, state budget deficits pile up in the billions, known psychotics are not under surveillance, or rockets crash.<\/p>\n Expressed intentions count as much as actions in the world of therapy. The more Barack Obama can scold about unsustainable annual deficits, with plenty of \u201cLet me be perfectly clear\u201d and \u201cMake no mistake about it\u201d emphases, the easier it becomes to borrow an additional $400 billion this year and to run up the budget deficit to a record $1.6 trillion. You see, he is on record that he \u201ccares\u201d and \u201cgets it\u201d in matters of deficit reduction.<\/p>\n The therapeutic mind is utopian in nature, and so history is linear, not cyclical, in its constant evolution to perfection. Poverty, war, and chaos are not due to inherent human failings, but to \u201cthem\u201d \u2014 usually a selfish subset of the population that has taken resources away from society and hamstrung it by denying all its children their destinies. In 2008 Michelle Obama best exemplified the therapeutic view. \u201cThey\u201d had once raised the bar on her family, they were \u201cdownright mean\u201d and were not cause for \u201cpride\u201d; but once one enjoyed the powers of governance, \u201cthey\u201d were not all that bad, since they could pay for vacations on the Costa del Sol or in Vail, and might subsidize breast pumps for women who had apparently\u00a0been forced to buy expensive formula instead.<\/p>\n When guaranteed entitlements, trillions of dollars in social services, the United Nations, and new modes of social science do not quite result in peace and prosperity, the therapeutic mind never concedes that man is by nature often self-indulgent and selfish; instead, it maintains that the massive government help and mandated collective caring were still not quite enough. One can never prove the therapeutic view wrong, since it sees no limit to what the state should provide the individual. What was not spent, rather than what was, is always the subject of debate. A reduction in a projected budget increase is tantamount to a heartless slashing.<\/p>\n And the tragic counterpart? It is too bleak to consider. Wars are stopped by eternal vigilance, military deterrence, diplomacy backed by force, and alliances. Frightening weapons are countered by either more, or anti-, frightening weapons. The more the individual understands that he is responsible for his own welfare, the more he is likely to accept and master that responsibility. Poverty and war are never eliminated, since human nature is fixed, but their terrible effects can be mitigated through sacrifice, altruism, and heroism in an unending struggle until the nature of man changes.<\/p>\n The final irony? The more we humans embrace the therapeutic, the more we find it both addictive and wanting \u2014 and so the more we search out the tragic vicariously in novels, films, and fantasy games, almost as if our souls wish to be what our bodies cannot.<\/p>\n \u00a92011 Victor Davis Hanson<\/p>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" by Victor Davis Hanson National Review Online Beyond the political posturing over state and federal budgets, there looms an age-old philosophical divide over human nature, perhaps defined as the therapeutic versus the tragic view of our existence.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_is_tweetstorm":false,"jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":false,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","enabled":false}}},"categories":[194,216],"tags":[1025,217,12,1081,440,426,67],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p466Sb-Ts","jetpack_likes_enabled":true,"jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":9947,"url":"https:\/\/victorhanson.com\/wordpress\/deterrence-and-human-nature\/","url_meta":{"origin":3438,"position":0},"title":"Deterrence and Human Nature","author":"victorhanson","date":"March 16, 2017","format":false,"excerpt":"By Victor Davis Hanson\/\/ National Review The dream of a therapeutic utopia without punishment for wrongdoing fails in practice. Deterrence is the strategy of persuading someone in advance not to do something, often by raising the likelihood of punishment. But in the 21st century, we apparently think deterrence is Neanderthal\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "North Korea"","block_context":{"text":"North Korea","link":"https:\/\/victorhanson.com\/wordpress\/ahref=\/index.php\/categories\/angry-reader\/categorylink\/a\/the-world\/north-korea\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":2484,"url":"https:\/\/victorhanson.com\/wordpress\/the-tragic-view-returns\/","url_meta":{"origin":3438,"position":1},"title":"The Tragic View Returns","author":"victorhanson","date":"August 1, 2011","format":false,"excerpt":"by Victor Davis Hanson National Review Online In hard times, as in war, questions arise that were once considered taboo. As we approach $15 trillion run up in aggregate national debt, and confront the reality of a welfare state that is predicated on flawed assumptions about everything from demography to\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Debt and Deficits"","block_context":{"text":"Debt and Deficits","link":"https:\/\/victorhanson.com\/wordpress\/ahref=\/index.php\/categories\/angry-reader\/categorylink\/a\/politics\/debt-and-deficits\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":5939,"url":"https:\/\/victorhanson.com\/wordpress\/terrorism-as-therapy\/","url_meta":{"origin":3438,"position":2},"title":"Terrorism as Therapy","author":"victorhanson","date":"May 13, 2013","format":false,"excerpt":"The Obama administration is intent on downplaying the Islamic roots of contemporary terrorism. by Victor Davis Hanson National Review Online One common theme emerges from the hearings over the Benghazi disaster: The Obama administration is intent on downplaying the Islamic roots of terrorists who harbor an existential hatred of the\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Terrorism"","block_context":{"text":"Terrorism","link":"https:\/\/victorhanson.com\/wordpress\/ahref=\/index.php\/categories\/angry-reader\/categorylink\/a\/war-on-terror\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":4573,"url":"https:\/\/victorhanson.com\/wordpress\/the-therapeutic-choice\/","url_meta":{"origin":3438,"position":3},"title":"The Therapeutic Choice","author":"victorhanson","date":"October 15, 2004","format":false,"excerpt":"A war for our lives, or a nuisance to our lifestyle? by Victor Davis Hanson National Review Online Americans are presented with a choice in this election rare in our history. This is not 1952, when Democrats and Republicans did not differ too much on the need to stay in\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "October 2004"","block_context":{"text":"October 2004","link":"https:\/\/victorhanson.com\/wordpress\/ahref=\/index.php\/categories\/angry-reader\/categorylink\/a\/archives\/2004\/october-2004\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":4671,"url":"https:\/\/victorhanson.com\/wordpress\/the-look-back\/","url_meta":{"origin":3438,"position":4},"title":"The Look Back","author":"victorhanson","date":"June 17, 2004","format":false,"excerpt":"Why are we split over the war since 9\/11? by Victor Davis Hanson Private Papers Two views are emerging about our post-September-11 world. One is angry, but also therapeutic\u2014and most often embraced by the Left. I think it goes roughly like this. Removing the Taliban in our initial rage might\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "June 2004"","block_context":{"text":"June 2004","link":"https:\/\/victorhanson.com\/wordpress\/ahref=\/index.php\/categories\/angry-reader\/categorylink\/a\/archives\/2004\/june-2004\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":5435,"url":"https:\/\/victorhanson.com\/wordpress\/fighting-at-a-disadvantage\/","url_meta":{"origin":3438,"position":5},"title":"Fighting at a Disadvantage","author":"victorhanson","date":"September 18, 2007","format":false,"excerpt":"Bad cultural habits plague the West in the War on Terror by Bruce S. Thornton City Journal Six years after the terrorist attacks of 9\/11, we continue to hunt for those whose blunders let them happen. The latest addition to earlier investigations such as\u00a0The 9\/11 Commission Report\u00a0and television\u2019s\u00a0Path to 9\/11\u00a0is\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Bruce S. Thornton"","block_context":{"text":"Bruce S. 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