2016 Voter's Guide: The Pilgrim Experiment

     One important reason to study history is to avoid the mistakes of our predecessors.  History becomes vicarious experience so that we can learn what is good and bad without suffering the consequences associated with learning by experience.  The pilgrims left us such an example. 
     In his journal of the Plymouth Plantation, William Bradford wrote that the pilgrims original design for the economy of their colony was a common store.  Each person would contribute to the colony and out of the common store, pilgrims would receive an equal share.  It was our earliest attempt at socialism.
     The colony had reached a point of continual want.  They had no more supplies and no expectation of more to come.  The leadership council, under William Bradford, began to consider how they might raise a better crop "so that they might not continue to endure the misery of want."  The solution they came to was to provide each person with land to provide for the needs of his own household.  Self-interest would provide additional incentive to work the field to provide for increase, not only for your family but the whole community.
     Before their decision, Bradford relates, there was a lot of complaining.  Women complained they could not be expected to work in the fields.  Single men complained that they did the lion's share of the work but only received one share in return. Men did not want their wives doing the laundry of single men.  Everybody did what was necessary but nothing more.
     After the decision, Bradford records the following:  "This was very successful.  It made all hands very industrious, so that much more corn was planted than otherwise would have been by any means the Governor or any other could devise, and saved him a great deal of trouble, and gave far better satisfaction.  The women now went willingly into the field, and took their little ones with them to plant corn, while before they would allege weakness and inability; and to have compelled them would have been thought great tyranny and oppression."  Everyone, prodded by self-interest, did more, profited more, and was more content.
     When the common treasure was divided among the pilgrims, everyone saw it as their duty to police the size of their piece of the economic pie.  They were not going to do more work for the same size share.  It was judged as unfair.
      When self-interest provided motivation, each worked to increase the size of their piece of the pie and it resulted in a much bigger pie.  The needs of the community were not met by equal apportionment of resources but equal opportunity to work for profit.  This fall, vote for the person who clears the way for equal opportunity rather than equal outcomes.