A thought in the night.

Its rather late, but something I was reading in a local Chicago magainzine struck me, and got me thinking about this line of thought, which I may expound on later. But every time I see intellectual or somebody that takes on intellectual airs talk about a complex situation that effects generally the less educated classes or lower socio-economic classes, I can't help but to think about Dostoevsky's Grand Inquisitor and the concept that its easy to be a good person when you are strong.

People are concerned about themselves first, then their kin, friends, whatever perceived community they are part off, and then finally the larger concept of the nation. When economic change hits people, say for instance off-shore manufacturing, its seen as economists as good as it helps generally the poorer country who gets the factory but America as well as by lowering prices, millions are Americans can now afford a product cheaper, and in the process spawns new jobs, but for the 30 year old factory worker, its a bitter fruit as they have to now do something else then what they spent their life presumably mastering.

Its easy for a College Professor in Econ to say this is good, but its harder say for a student of that Professor to tell his father who lost his job because of that the same thing. Being removed from situation makes the purely rational easier in some ways, but it also hurts in that removes the human equation as well, and since humans are social irrational creatures, this is important.

Anyway, its tired ramblings of a bored mind.