The Freeman 1972 - The Ludwig von Mises Institute

1972 SIX IDEAS TO KEEP US HUMAN 645afflictions has beset primitive peoplesin times past, but a civilizationdoes not founder for any ofthese reasons. A civilization goesunder when its people, for onereason or another, lose contactwith the big keynote ideas of theirculture.Ideas Make Us HumanWherein lies the great differencebetween the human speciesand every other? We have muchin common with other forms oflife, especially with the warmbloodedvertebrates. In structurewe bear some resemblance to themanlike apes, but the critical differencein the domain of ideas faroutweighs any resemblances. If achimpanzee has any thoughts atall about what it means to be anape, they are rudimentary; he's apretty good animal without eventhinking about it. But no man isfully human unless he maintains alively contact with a set of ideasas to what it means to be a person.This is where our disease hasset in, in the realm of ideas. Theperilous days we are livingthrough are not the result of adrying up of the food supply,which is more abundant than ever.There's been no marked change inthe physique of modern man, anddisease·· is not a menace. Nor arewe beset by predators. The malaisefrom which we suffer has impairedthe ideas which instruct us whatit means to be men and women,and we function poorly in consequence.The people of our racebuilt the Parthenon, constructedthe great systems of philosophy,painted the ceiling of the SistineChapel, wrote the plays of Shakespeareand the music of Bach;and we can't figure out how toteach our kids tolerance and mutualrespect without busing themall over town! Something is definitelywrong with us, and it won'tbe right with us until we come toterms with six big ideas .. I'll mentionthem briefly now and dealwith them at greater length lateron. They are the right convictionsabout free will, reason, selfresponsibility,beauty, goodness,and the sacred. We have "blownit" at everyone of these points,and that's more than enough toaccount for the sorry spectaclemodern man has made of himself.It also points the way to recovery.Let's, first of all, hear a portion ofthe indictment leveled at us bycontemporaries.Downgrading ManThe human race is getting abad press these days, and we loveit. Norman Cousins told us a whileback that "Modern Man is Obsolete,"and we confer a couple ofdistinguished editorships on himin a frenzy of approval. Robert