|
April 30, 2010
Beaver Nation
While reading a review of the book Making Haste from Babylon: The Mayflower Pilgrims and Their World: A New History I came across this interesting tit bit (British spelling). Then there's the year 1620, when the Mayflower landed at Plymouth. Instead of seeing this as the first great turning point in the nation's colonial history, the date "when America began," Bunker argues that we might consider 1628 as an alternative. That was the year that colonial leaders sailed up the Kennebec River in southern Maine to establish a half-forgotten trading post at a place called Cushnoc, staking their claim as New England's primary dealers in beaver pelts. Only by investing in that highly desirable commodity did the settlers finally prove themselves to be more that mere "dabblers, clinging to their footholds along the coast." Beaver skins -- the single way "the Pilgrims could find the money to pay their debts and finance new supplies from home" -- transformed a tenuous, fragile community into something permanent.Funny thing is that my first mate did a lot of trapping when she was growing up. We were talking about it the other day and #1 daughter was not amused. And #1 daughter is also not amused with the first mate's proficiency in firearms. I'm hoping that once she gets more real wold experience her attitude will change. Popular history is that the Pilgrims went hungry due to bad luck. The official story has the pilgrims boarding the Mayflower, coming to America and establishing the Plymouth colony in the winter of 1620-21. This first winter is hard, and half the colonists die. But the survivors are hard working and tenacious, and they learn new farming techniques from the Indians. The harvest of 1621 is bountiful. The Pilgrims hold a celebration, and give thanks to God. They are grateful for the wonderful new abundant land He has given them.So a society based on communal profits and theft does not work well. Where is the USSR when you need them? But in subsequent years something changes. The harvest of 1623 was different. Suddenly, "instead of famine now God gave them plenty," Bradford wrote, "and the face of things was changed, to the rejoicing of the hearts of many, for which they blessed God." Thereafter, he wrote, "any general want or famine hath not been amongst them since to this day." In fact, in 1624, so much food was produced that the colonists were able to begin exporting corn.So what did work? ... in 1623 Bradford abolished socialism. He gave each household a parcel of land and told them they could keep what they produced, or trade it away as they saw fit. In other words, he replaced socialism with a free market, and that was the end of famines.So how socialist does a country have to become before it stops working? I don't want to find out. Cross Posted at Power and Control posted by Simon on 04.30.10 at 02:25 PM
Comments
Rob, My bet would be that in a short time the celebrity/profs would be starving. For something like this to work you would also need to include old/infirm folks. As I recall, one thing that really brought things to a head in Plymouth was that in the socialist system the young got tired of doing all the work for the benefit of others so they cut back, dropped out and became free riders themselves. Some people just don't like being slaves I guess. RickC · April 30, 2010 03:01 PM Is the moral of this story that half of the population must starve before Congress shows some interest in capitalism again? TomA · April 30, 2010 05:00 PM You might wish to do some reading on the Jamestown settlement in what became Virginia. Jamestown was the first permanent English settlement in North America. Started in 1607 it was originally intended as a non-permanent corporate venture, but soon proved permanent. As much as people like to look to Plymouth, Jamestown was the start of the United States. It gave the Americas its first cash crop (tobacco) and its first representative government (house of Burgesses, founded in 1619.) George Washington was a direct descendant of one of the earliest families of Jamestown (descended from the daughter of Nathaniel Pope.) ThomasD · April 30, 2010 10:52 PM I LIKE Rob's idea. I'm sure the socialists can recruit lots of college students! And many celebrities are old under the botox. It might be the only thing to wake people up. Sarah · May 1, 2010 11:33 AM Post a comment
You may use basic HTML for formatting.
|
|
May 2010
WORLD-WIDE CALENDAR
Search the Site
E-mail
Classics To Go
Archives
May 2010
April 2010 March 2010 February 2010 January 2010 December 2009 November 2009 October 2009 September 2009 August 2009 July 2009 June 2009 May 2009 April 2009 March 2009 February 2009 January 2009 December 2008 November 2008 October 2008 September 2008 August 2008 July 2008 June 2008 May 2008 April 2008 March 2008 February 2008 January 2008 December 2007 November 2007 October 2007 September 2007 August 2007 July 2007 June 2007 May 2007 April 2007 March 2007 February 2007 January 2007 December 2006 November 2006 October 2006 September 2006 August 2006 July 2006 June 2006 May 2006 April 2006 March 2006 February 2006 January 2006 December 2005 November 2005 October 2005 September 2005 August 2005 July 2005 June 2005 May 2005 April 2005 March 2005 February 2005 January 2005 December 2004 November 2004 October 2004 September 2004 August 2004 July 2004 June 2004 May 2004 April 2004 March 2004 February 2004 January 2004 December 2003 November 2003 October 2003 September 2003 August 2003 July 2003 June 2003 May 2003 May 2002 AB 1634 MBAPBSAAGOP Skepticism See more archives here Old (Blogspot) archives
Recent Entries
Your home is your castle, and your computer is in your home. Right?
Hey man, cut me some SLACK! The Shape of Things to Come? GOP Ousts Senator Are we losing our freedom? (And other rhetorical questions....) Elitist roots oppose change Hammering Small Business It's Always About Greed People who want to be left alone are racists! And Jacobins! "Some people ain't made for small-town life"
Links
Site Credits
|
|
I want to find out, and this sounds like something that could be done as an empirical experiment. Wouldn't it make a good reality TV show? Socialists vs Capitalists on two separate islands in close proximity. There's no voting off, just lefties voting on who gets eaten first. And the intrigues would be great to watch: who has betrayed the workers? Who can't expound revolutionary doctrine in a convincing manner? Who will go to the Gulag last? You could have Hollywood celebrities and Marxist university professors on one island and small business owners and tradespeople on the other.
I'd watch it.