This page has been archived and commenting is disabled.
Chris Rock: Bring The Pain Of Economic Ignorance
Submitted by James E Miller via Mises Canada,
Late in his life, Murray Rothbard had a law that stated: “people tend to specialize in what they are worst at.” While the aphorism is definitely true about some specialists, more often than not the reverse is accurate. Artists have terrible opinions on politics. Managers of nonprofit organizations are fiscally irresponsible. Politicians don’t understand the profit incentive. Academics haven’t a clue about pricing or marketing.
American comedian Chris Rock is another violator Rothbard’s law. His flair for offensive but incisive comedy is well known. But his knowledge in other fields is lacking, and in some cases utterly misinformed. In a recent interview with Frank Rich of New York Magazine, the stand-up joke spitter has it all wrong when it comes to economics. No surprise there; the entertainment industry, despite raking in billions every year, is the brain trust of economic ignorance.
Mr. Rock’s main target of animus are those just like him: rich, well-off individuals. He tells Rich, “If poor people knew how rich rich people are, there would be riots in the streets.” Evidence for this assertion? Rock cites the “Virginia Airlines first-class lounge,” which offers expert mixologists (fancy for “bartender”) and free food. Apparently alcohol and sustenance priced into a plane ticket equate to robber barons pampered in luxury before jetsetting across the globe.
The idea that poor or working-class folks are itching on the sidelines, waiting to riot over what little crumbs are tossed to them from rapacious capitalists is an idea based in fantasy. Rarely does the proletariat secretly wish to overthrow their alleged oppressors. Instead, the middle and lower class yearn to enter the higher echelons of the income brackets. They are too busy working to bother with the ontology of class conflict and the end of history. The distraction acts as a blessing. Violent revolutions by the underclass often result in terrible things: the guillotine, the Bolsheviks, military coups, and senseless violence.
That Rock thinks his fellow Americans who make under six-figure salaries are brimming with hatred for the rich tells more about his out-of-touchness with the average guy than his closeness. This speaks to the larger issue of his own epistemology and the pompous way in which he undermines the views of voters. When asked why Americans “seem to want a Bush or a Clinton” in the White House, Rock replies that it’s “hard for me to figure out people voting against their own self-interests.”
Talk about fatal conceit. Rock may fancy himself a step above average intelligence and a keen observer of human affairs – which his comedy, at times, seems to corroborate – but his obvious disdain for those who vote conservative is supercillious to the highest degree. How does he know what the best interest is for everyone? How does he understand the motives behind every vote cast?
Chris Rock may be able to crack a joke but he isn’t a mind reader. He suffers from the same kind of vain arrogance so common in Hollywood celebrities. He doesn’t know what’s in the heart of the working guy who goes to the ballot box. The limelight provides attention; not intelligence.
A large part of the interview is focused on Rock’s children, and his difficulty balancing work life with family life. This a noble struggle, and one that many celebrities face. Yet later in the interview, Rock says that it’s “unfair that you can inherit money that you didn’t work for.” He also likens inheritance to racial intolerance passed down through generations – which, to be fair, can result in people being treated unfairly.
The idea that inheritance is some kind of metaphysical evil is thoroughly Marxist. The third plank of the Communist Manifesto is to abolish all rights of inheritance. Of course, if such a dictate were to be implemented, that would spell the end of capital accumulation and rising standards. It would bring about the ruination of Western civilization. While inheritance may seem unfair, it’s a crucial part of elevating time preferences and saving for the future.
Advanced production that breeds material abundance can only be accomplished through deferring consumption. That means putting away money for the future, including the next generation. Capital is the lifeblood of any economy. Without saving and investment, there is no consumption. As Garet Garrett wrote in his magnificent essay “The Revolution Was,” “If you put a ten-dollar bill under the rug instead of spending it, that is capital formation. It represents ten dollars’ worth of something that might have been immediately consumed, but wasn’t.” The millionaires and billionaires who decry passing your life’s work onto your children are damning their offspring to a life of material disadvantage.
In the hedonistic environment of the Hollywood Hills, it makes sense to spend now and ignore the future. It’s doubtful, however, that movie stars and directors actually spend all their income while they are alive. I imagine many of them sock away their savings for their children – including Chris Rock. So really, is there anything more conceited than a self-loathing millionaire?
What Chris Rock lacks in economic knowledge, he makes up for in pointed commentary about the deleterious effects of political correctness among young adults. Rock refuses to play college campuses because of the “special snowflake” mentality that so many students have adopted. He also condemns the practice of shaming comedians for offensive jokes to the point of career ruination. As a social observer, Rock comes off as fairly conservative. That makes it all the more disappointing he tut-tuts the virtue of prudence and self-preservation.
Surprisingly, Rock demonstrates an understanding of the market process and how the drive for profit has the happy consequence of squashing prejudices. Frank Rich calls comedy a “ruthless marketplace,” to which Rock replies, “It makes people hire people that they would never hire otherwise.” That’s certainly true. Markets demand social cooperation. They also allocate resources in an effective manner. If only Mr. Rock would take the lessons of the marketplace and apply it elsewhere. Perhaps then he could make more sense of the dismal science, and purge the leftist notions about income equality and inheritance that fog his judgment. Until then, I guess we can enjoy the laughs.
»
- 30122 reads
- Printer-friendly version
- Send to friend
- advertisements -
rich people arent the problem
.
problem is Richard Pryor made people hungry for seriously funny black comedy
Negronomics?
"I'll tell you who Jude Law is. He's one of our finest actors."
On the other hand - I don't remember The Bernank or any of that ilk saying one thing that was fucking funny...at all.
I don't know, his comments in 2007 about the subprime mortgage crisis not affecting the greater economy were a real laugh riot.
Oh no, not Marxism! Run for the hills!
Marxism is a construct of the Khazars to be used to Divide and Conquer.
People refuse to acknowledge there is an ethnic group which, like the NAZI party, seeks Control and a Master Race.
on the subject of marxism...
came across this the othe day and find it quite interesting
he was all for saving!!!!!!
“The less you eat, drink and buy books; the less you go to the theatre, the dance hall, the public house; the less you think, love, theorise, sing, paint, fence, etc., the more you save – the greater becomes your treasure which neither moths nor rust will devour – your capital. The less you are, the less you express your own life, the more you have, i.e., the greater is your alienated life, the greater is the store of your estranged being.” — Karl Marx - Economic and Philosophical Manuscripts 1844He is saying the more you save the more alienated you are from mankind.
Basically, like most communists, he wants you to give your hard earned income to someone else. I suspect he would gladly take it if he were alive today.
Chris Rock is from Georgetown, SC
He has a good comedy routine, but he is immature and not a good influence.
I think he sucks. His hatred for white people drips off him in huge puddles. Eddie Murphy did the same thing after The Beverly Hills Cop movies and austricized, mocked, and insulted his white audience and his career went steadily downhill from there.
I wonder if he's on the downlow too?
Who cares what Chris rock thinks about the economy, he is just a comedian, he is entitled to his slant on how life is just like anybody else. Pointless article.
What do we see in America today?
Racial division.
Miscegenation.
Borders open to Cultural Invasion.
Supported by the TOTUS, organized by the Zionists.
Zionism is NAZIism.
These Termites are the actual NAZIs. They intend to exterminate every race but their own.
Ukraine thru Central Asia was their domain. They will go to War to get it back.
Do different colored people have different colored souls? I think that part of the whole "man's inhumanity to man", thing is because when people look at the others around them see the fleshy outside and not the soul.
Or maybe it is a disregard for the flesh that allows them to act as they do ... believing that the flesh will some day die anyway, but the soul survives, regardless.
But, I tend to think that most of them are not that advanced in their thinking.
The People nor the government of NAZI Germany had NO fucking intention of wiping out other races you common core educated propagandizing jack ass I am so sick and tired of the un-educated holo-hoax genocide spewing shit I keep reading on posts not only here but all over the web. Read some books talk to some real people and research before you go on with the mouth breathing ussa bullshit. We German people are getting tired of your communist propaganda. Oh and one more thing the fucking jooze who run your tired life thank you for your ignorance and carrying on their lies.
Fuck multiculturism and multiracism it is a destruction of ALL RACES and is pushed by the israelis on every country but their own oh and israel is not a country it's an occupied land an illegally obtained occupied land ... Get a real education and follow the money as you assholes keep spouting.
OK, this is interesting on a philosophical basis.
Whatever happened to the ZH anti-racist creed:
Notice On Racism Submitted by Zero Hedge on 05/10/2013 13:24 -0500 Racism, to include any religious affiliation, will not be tolerated in ANY FORM on this site, including the disparagment of people in the comments section. To report any form of discrimination, please right click on the comment number, copy the link to the comment, and send the comment link to abuse [at] zerohedge.com. Any user found to be discriminating against ANY race, religion, or affiliation, will be banned immediately, and have their comments removed from the system. You have been warned.
I have noticed innumerable comments regarding Jooos, Zionists, towel-heads and niggers ets etc over the past month or so.
Is it "Open Season", or what? Do we really need to invite back the Travis777 type?
Just sayin'
Maybe ZH is under new management since then. Oh, Zionism is more typically referred to as a political philosophy, kind of like communism or fascism ... which should probably be fair game regardless.
zionism is not a political philosophy it's a deranged religious doctrine the word zionism is yet another of the colorful politically correct bullshit terms they're jews for fucks sake people do some reading and some research.
Why I waste my time I know not other than to vent steam and maybe open some eyes ...seems all for naught as most of the posts here show there are very few who have any set of concrete standards
+1
Coming from someone who regularly gets down voted for defending minorities of all stripes (also known in the scientific community as reality), enjoy it.
My guess is that "wealth" is a test, pretty much like everything else. It is certainly not a reward for being better than others... more likely the opportunity to show that you can be worthy and not give into the temptations of corruption.
Poor people are not faced with the same opportunities for corruption... certainly subject to other tests though. But I do not believe that makes one, rich or poor, more advanced than the other.
He is a celebrity. What do you expect? Most of them act on human emotions.
Status Anxiety.
The basic priciple is that we never feel jealous regarding people we don't feel equal to. No-one is depressed because Bill gates has billions, but if our neighbor has a better car or perhaps wins some money, weget jealous because we see them as either equal or further down the chain than we are.
We don't have this in Europe so much because we have a "class system" derived from aristocratic rule. No-one is jealous of the Queen, but we get envious if a benefit claimant get's more in welfare than we get through working.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=t1MqJPHxy6g
A worthy watch, which may come as a shock to our American cousins.
What a stupid article. Economics is not a science. Which economic school has the correct "economic knowledge, exactly?" The Mises institute thought police are full of crap.
Dang. Tried to upvote you but somehow hit downvote. Didn't mean to. Sorry! Need coffee.
I think economics is very simple, like basic arithmetic, but central bankers pretend economics is rocket science, because such pretending allows them to patronize citizens, and then to hide their thefts behind that patronizing. Mises sides with simplicity, so I appreciate Mises. But this article by Miller? I don't think Ron Paul or Jim Grant would write this way, and I don't think it is effective.
Ron Paul is sane, unlike the Mises institute. Economics is ideology, basically. It's politics. It has ideologues instead of scientists and most of them can't predict anything in the long term. Jim Cramer is supposedly "economically literate", for f***'s sake... But these ideologues still have the balls to patronize someone when they make a valid point about nepotism or poverty or social anger. And they were just as glib before the crisis, telling everyone how the economy was on the right path...
Chris Rockefeller said WHAAT?.
This article is ridiculous and offends the 80% of ZHers that are indeed in favor of guillitones. It also makes the author seem like an out of touch rich guy who still thinks that the "middle class" constitutes some meaningful majority in the US. What a brimful of essentializations and inaccuracies couched in an unnecessarily vituperous take down of Chris Rock. Chris Rock goes on with life, but the author comes out embarrassingly scathed.
Rock is relecting what his audience thinks.
Eh.. He's a comedian? Why are you meticulously analyzing his remarks?
Terrible article.
anybody seen bill cosby lately?
you never know what goes on behind closed doors. until you do. and then, it can be pretty amazing in it's uglyness.
like how much for just one rib pain?
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KNQRqAoT-2c
and I care about what Chris Rock thinks about anything why again?
Christ Rock is basically saying the same thing Nick Hanauer and Max Keiser are saying - that people hate banker scum, and that pitchforks are coming. I agree.
Chris Rock is a moron and a communist at that - which makes him a racist by proxy
Chris Rock is a talented tenth who hates white people so much he can't even consider his neighbor is a succesful dentist for any reason other than being white. He also believes people shouldn't be allowed to inherit wealth, I would assume this applies to non-black people. It shouldn't be too hard to figure out where that leads. It's a safe bet the majority of the untalented 90th are influenced by him and believe like him. This does not bode well.
Another way to say what Chris Rock believes is "Burn this bitch down"
"No white trailer trash would exchange place with me...and (unlike most of other blacks) I am rich."
Chris Rock.
One of the most profound quotes regarding true race relationship
Believe it or not Chris Rock use to be a groupie for this guy!...
Can you believe that?...
Chris Rock?
Who cares!
PAGING LTER, PAGING LTER, Rand eater here is the perfect platform for you to preach your ideas of limiting and eliminating inheritance. C'mon now don't be shy tell all these 1-2 year newbies who and what you really are, a Vegas marxist and Harry Reid bootlicker, now is the time...
This is a very sh*t article. Turning on Chris Rock over some comedy rich quote?
The attempt to demonize him is forced and actually quite awkward to read.
You're right GF
They should have ended the article with this quote. Them Zionist boyz in Hollywood love their "swartza" when they are obedient!
Chris Rock is the "whitest black man" in Hollywood as Barack Obama is the whitest black man in Washington D.C. !...
Wealthy black comedian doesn't understand economics? This is certainly newsworthy.
The author of this tripe is an utter and complete fool. Mr. Rock's expressed sentiments are closer to the truth than the moron author wants to admit, as he is likely quite wealthy. I, personally, can't wait to find out what rich bankster tastes like. I am thinking the meat will taste bitter, but be very, very satisfying.
The kids who couldn't find South America on the map in 8th grade are the ones who went to Hollywood to join the circus.