The Laws of Vested Interest

Professor Meredith Thring

I feel that no Council for Posterity (see above) can do much good unless enough people are terrified about the future to 'have a change of heart'; and so are prepared to sacrifice quite a lot of short term advantages to the long term. Examples of such sacrifices are to reduce energy consumption in the rich countries to about one tenth of its present value; and for people to give up careers in 'defence' and to apply their brains to helping the poor countries to reach a state of education and security such that they voluntarily reduce family sizes.

Unfortunately, the aims of governments are:

- To stay in power and help their friends.
- To apply their classical dogma, as if it were absolute truth.
- To help their own group in the short term, regardless of other groups or the long term.

The economic laws under which we live are equally unfortunate:

- The Law of Irresponsibility. Whatever is right for our grandchildren is always uneconomic and almost always impolitic.

'The Law of Irreversible Luxury. Once a group of people have become accustomed to an unnecessary luxury, it cannot be withdrawn except by violence, eg by war or by revolution'

- The Law of Irreversible Luxury. Once a group of people has become accustomed to an unnecessary luxury, it cannot be withdrawn except by violence, eg by war or by revolution. Remorse is not sufficient, unless it leads to a complete change of heart.
- The Law of Vested Interest. When a large scale activity has developed giving a good livelihood to a group of people, they will use all kinds of propaganda to prove it is in the public interest and morally right. Examples: the slave trade; tobacco; tranquillisers; nuclear power.
- The Law of Conquest. If you lose a war against a gentlemanly opponent, you are better off in the long run than he is, because he does not allow you to waste your resources on excessive armaments.

Professor Meredith Thring, Bell Farm, The Street, Brundish, Suffolk IP13 8BL (tel 037 9384 296).

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