Any Rand has her share of both fans and detractors.
Whatever the feelings about her, there is on area where she was spot on about. Her calls about infrastructure nailed it. We are now watching the deterioration of things on a massive scale. This is only going to get worse over the next decade.
In this article we will discuss two variables that led to this. The first is political ideology being favored over competence. This is followed up by the push for higher education.
Combined this are going to make life very difficult going forward.
Before getting into this point, I will start that I once dealt with a guy who owned an underground utility company. This goes back to right after the Great Financial Crisis. He stated that, at that time, the United States needed to invest around $3 trillion to update underground utilities and infrastructure.
Keep this in mind as we move forward.
Whenever a society rewards political obedience and ideological conformity over competence, problems. It doesn't matter what the political leanings are, the end result is always the same.
Ideas that could have an impact are ignored. Instead, the ideology, whatever that might be, is favored. This is what Rand wrote about. When you have incompetent people placed in positions based upon something other than the ability to get the job done, society will breakdown. This is obvious in the political class which, unfortunately, extends far beyond just the politicians.
In the end, the result is destruction. This is how empires fall. Rarely are they conquered from the outside. Instead, it is the incompetence of a population that makes it so.
Rewards are for obedience and not ability. Results are not what is valued. It is a direction we were heading for a while.
Conformity over competence.
Education is obviously important for a society to advance. There is a point, however, were the system becomes a total sham.
The upper level educational system is basically modern day slavery. Kids are pushed to take on huge amounts of debts with a promise of much brighter future. Administrators and tenured professors find cushy jobs with huge salaries.
Society values the degree. The idea is then pushed that everyone needs to get one. The pressure mounts for kids to follow this path.
Unfortunately, most of the degrees that are being pushed by these schools are worthless. Kids get a huge level of debt with few prospects at employment. The student loans weigh on these people for decades, since bankruptcy does not get rid of the debt.
Of course, schools just keep raising the prices, making the problem even worse.
The problem is what happens when all these students not doing when pursuing the degrees in nonsense? They are not learning how to fix cars, install and service air conditioners, and pave a driveway. Skills such as electrical, plumbing, and other necessary skills that a society needs diminish.
But at least we have a lot of art and ancient Irish poetry majors.
Ayn Rand's work, Atlas Shrugged, is a story. This is non-fiction but it is showing some signs of reality mimicking art.
The Baby Boomers are retiring. At the same time, GenX is getting older, a problem in the physical jobs. Where does this leave society going forward?
The United States likes to churn out attorneys, many who end up in politics yet the local automobile dealership is operating with half the mechanics it needs. People are not acquiring the skills to handle the most basic jobs that keep society together.
Rand wrote about the idea that the talent would simply leave. Here is where reality does differ. With society today, we are seeing the skills simply not being acquired. As the talent dies off (or retires), it is not being replaced.
Society decided there is no nobility in working with one's hands. It also has proclaimed those who do are "less than".
Ultimately, society said "we don't need you". Yet, nothing is further from the truth.
As the basic infrastructure in developed nations starts to fall apart, society might wake up.
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