Spencer Heath Archive

Item 2668

Penned letter from Mrs. Cassie E. Orr, 2409 Hawthorne Lane, Flossmoor, Illinois, August 2, 1957, enclosing two typed pages with extensive penciled annotations in Spencer MacCallum’s hand (unclear whether they represent his or Heath’s thought). Annotations not reproduced here, but can be seen with the originals. This letter was never answered due to press of time before MacCallum left for Seattle to study anthropology at the University of Washington.

 

 

 

Mr. Heath —

 

Enclosing some “homework” for my fellow seminar participants. Hope you will comment on same —

 

 Haven’t finished your book yet — but will shortly and you will hear from me in regard to same. Been so busy catching up on my mail — correspondence, reading, activities, etc — all for God and Country — that my more intellectual pursuits — as your book — have been neglected. Have read Sumner, Spencer, Read, and pamphlets etc — but thought I needed more background before yours. (signed) Mrs. Cassie Orr

 

_______________________________________________

 

 

2409 Hawthorne Lane

Flossmoor, Illinois

August 2, 1957

Dear Fellow participant:

In the interest of the “free market” theory and of mankind would you give the following a bit of thoughtful consideration? Upon completion of the “activity” would you relay your conclusions and thoughts to me?

 Intervention is the cause of the mal-functioning or undesirable results of the free market and thus the destroyer of the free market. Thus, if we could rid ourselves of intervention and/or the desire for same, we could reasonably expect that man’s economic problems would largely cure themselves when and if society understands and desires a free market.

 Intervention is most often blamed on politicians and/or communists; the former because they are crooked and the latter because they support an interventionist ideology. Now we could go out and shoot all the politicians and interventionists for good measure but somehow that doesn’t seem in keeping with our libertarian principles! Perhaps if we discovered what causes crooked politicians and who supports the communist (interventionist) programs we could arrive at a more desirable solution. (and why)

 You may already disagree with me and you may disagree with what follows. Nevertheless, I think there is considerable factual substantiation of my contentions. But back to what causes crooked politicians and who finances the interventionist programs?

 Largely those free enterprisers who have accumulated vast material wealth and who, in hopes of accumulating more, pay for political favors and then, to make up for their political immorality, give, without thorough investigation, to educational, religious, and other worthy sounding groups or causes. This is sin punishing itself. Who but those who have gained most from the free enterprise system (and thus have most to lose) will suffer most when the system is destroyed? Those free enterprisers who have accumulated considerable capital and material wealth and have learned to rely on it.

 Yes, the Communists said they’d make the capitalist pay for their own destruction and they’re succeeding because the capitalists are so busy accumulating capital they have little or no time to thoughtfully consider the value of accumulating an understanding of God – the only way men can achieve life, liberty, and happiness; make use of those unalienable rights with which their Creator endowed them. Yes, the rights to life, liberty, and happiness are spiritual rights because they originated in God. Which means that all men have the right and ability to achieve equally the understanding that is life eternal, liberty from matter (including material capital), and eternal happiness.

 Yes, even religion has become the opiate of the people for it preaches the social gospel – that gospel which encourages men to rely on matter instead of God by advocating and supporting social legislation etc; which enslaves the individual to the State and encourages him to believe that security depends on matter, and that he is not as capable of providing for his individual needs as are the few who legislate and administer the State.

Yes, the Communists seem to have been right so far. The only difficulty they cannot overcome is the establishment of the heaven men seek where there is harmony, life eternal, and complete freedom. The best they can hope to accomplish is the establishment eventually of a hell in which men exist without liberty OR happiness.

I do not mean to infer that a man of wealth is immoral.  Rather do I contend that he is often blinded from perceiving Truth (as opposed to truth) because he is so absorbed in competing for the material things of life. In many ways the more one accumulates of the material, the greater are one’s material responsibilities, and thus the less time is there to pursue or consider the spiritual things of life, of living. The man who is absorbed, whether by seeming necessity (accumulated responsibilities) or by individual desire (choice), in competing for matter (capital) does not take time to consider all his actions in the light of their importance according to God’s standards. Rather does he consider them in the light of what other businessmen do, and thus excuses himself from doing what is basically immoral or wrong — whether it be in the form of a bribe to a politician or in the form of an unintended donation to the interventionist cause.     

 If the business man investigated how his gifts were used as thoroughly as would he an investment in his or another’s business, the interventionist cause would have to look elsewhere for support (financial). Actually the free enterpriser’s lack of thoroughness on the one hand will eventually cancel out his thoroughness on the other. “The chain is as strong as its weakest link.” Furthermore, the same lack of thoroughness will cancel out his contribution to society (the contribution which his accumulation of capital makes to society per the free economist) because not only the man of wealth, but society itself, will be ultimately enslaved by the intervention he causes or makes seemingly necessary.

  I do not mean to infer that some other known theory is better than that of the free market. Quite the contrary! Only in the free market can God hold His rightful place – head man. The other theories expounded deny God His “head man” job by putting men at the head of the economy and, to me, are therefore incapable of achieving any real measure of permanent solution to man’s economic problems – the foundation of them all.

 Only in the free market can God, Mind (the all-knowing) operate accord­ing to God’s plan – the only right plan. For Mind (God) expresses itself individually – the only way possible; Mind cannot be expressed collectively either on the human level or the spiritual. Thus, the free market theory is the only one which can conceivably work. The problem, as I see it, is how do we (society) overcome the tendencies which develop in the free market where men are encouraged to, or entangled, in the pursuit of matter (capital) without going back to the remedy of the ages, intervention.

 I have sent some of my suggestions for a solution to FEE. I will be interested to hear yours. Men can apply only what they understand. I believe society wants what is the perfect free market if someone could only help them understand it. For men wish for life, liberty and happiness, but as yet have only dreamed of it, or had a fleeting glimpse. This desire of society can be observed in its contemplation of “heaven” AFTER death. (A sign perhaps of their resignation of enslavement to matter HERE). I believe Heaven is HERE AND NOW if we could but understand it.

Hoping to hear from you – and kind regards,

                       

(signed) Cassie E. Orr