Be Thankful that the Pilgrims Recognized the Failure of Communism
We all learned in grade school that those first couple of winters in America were really tough on the Pilgrims, but few remember why exactly that was. As explained here, when the Pilgrims first arrived "everything they produced was put into a common pool; the harvest
was rationed according to need." Naturally, this led to resentment in that there was no reward for hard work and no penalty for laziness.
Seeing that the incentives were all wrong in a world with no private property, the Pilgrims, at the behest of my great (x11)-grandfather, William Bradford, instituted a system of government where private property rights were respected. The Pilgrims never went hungry again.
Seeing that the incentives were all wrong in a world with no private property, the Pilgrims, at the behest of my great (x11)-grandfather, William Bradford, instituted a system of government where private property rights were respected. The Pilgrims never went hungry again.
I always found the fact that the religious and freedom seeker pilgrims embraced a communal or as you say, communistic, social form and then so quickly allowed greed to change the system. In fact, they went to the other extreme and refused charity even for the neediest. Children who were orphans were placed in homes and expected to work as servants and not members of the family. On the other hand, the strictly business Jamestown settlers made “not work, no food” the operational mode from the very beginning. On the other hand, this area was the first to adopt charity as a social requirement of the “haves”.
I have always loved New England and the early history of the area especially. Have you travel any in the area? My husband is from Athol, Mass. So we have spent much time in NE. Halloween in Salem was fun; the Concord Cemetery is huge and allows one to walk among the graves of old literary friends; sea food is not anywhere as good in any other part of the country. Brenda Bowers
Dear Lord, is there egg on my face! I made my comment before reading your profile. Please forgive the inanity of my asking “Have you traveled…..?” BB
Don't worry about it, Brenda! Obviously, when I went to Harvard and Yale I was in New England. Phillips Andover, my high school, is also in New England (Mass). While at Princeton I played on the football team and we would, in addition to traveling to Harvard (Mass.) and Yale (Conn.), travel to Dartmouth (New Hampshire) and Brown (Rhode Island). I love New England, too, but I was born and raised (until high school, that is) in the South.
Mr. Walker, My husband and I were full time rvers and traveled all over North America for eleven years, so you have no need to tell me what states Princeton, Dartmouth, Harvard, Yale and Brown are in. I didn't know about Phillips Andover High School however. I was born and raised in West Virginia. I received my B.A. from a very small college named West Liberty State (W.Va.) and M.A. from West Virginia University (W.Va. obviously). Stopped 9 hours short of Ph.D. because I refused to select a committee from among the All White Male Chauvinist Fraternity that was the only choice in the early 1970’s. Then I retired early enough to still have children and began my family. The “learning” has been from life experiences rather than books and lectures since. Cam ‘off the road’ and chose to retire in Greensboro October 2004. Aside from the outrageous political scene here in Greensboro/Guilford Ct. we love the city and the state. However the local politicians give me topics for my blog, and I do so love Poking at Pols. Brenda Bowers
Oh, and my net worth is about ….welll…, perhaps your pocket change.
I, too, like to RV. I have a 787 Dreamliner.