FOOD FOR THOUGHT:

Elon Musk and the Power of Words . . .

Praxis Circle has already published Part I and Part II of our series "Renaming Capitalism" and will publish Part III later this month. The timing has turned out to be fortuitous given the throes our American society is experiencing through the rearing of socialism's ugly head. If Western society and worldview is going to prevail, we must be precise in our use of words; as Orwell said, "There is no swifter route to corruption of thought than through the corruption of language." The reverse is equally true and rethinking our use of the word "capitalism" is critical at this moment in time.

In Part II, PC Contributor Deirdre McCloskey discusses the word "capitalism" and makes an excellent point: that capitalism does not create wealth through "sheer accumulation," but through "intelligent accumulation." A fascinating current illustration of this is Elon Musk's purchase of Twitter.

Musk is well-known through his ownership of Tesla, The Boring Corp, SpaceX, Neuralink, and OpenAI. He is currently the wealthiest man in the world. Why on earth would he want to poke the hornet's nest that is Twitter? It hasn't been faring well on Wall Street and has become a source of general consternation over its censorship practices.

As it turns out, Musk is a strong free speech advocate. Interestingly, he has also claimed to be a socialist . . . another instance of define what you mean by that word?


We at PC would argue that Musk's worldview is not socialist, but actually a very Western, capitalist one and that his strong support for the free marketplace of ideas/speech proves it.
Dr. Deirdre McCloskey, Distinguished Professor of Economics, History, English, and Communication at the University of Illinois and Praxis Circle Contributor
A free marketplace will almost always direct resources to the most productive. Even more importantly, we would call him a believer in "creastruction" whether he realizes it or not. In his tweet, he clearly calls for working for the greater good, and by acquiring Twitter, he's "intelligently accumulating" a damaged asset in order to further the greater good of free speech worldwide. This is creastruction in action.

Musk is in a good position to redirect the national conversation towards a more productive path. Here's a preview quotation from Part III of "Renaming Capitalism" that can apply to Musk's purchase of Twitter (the current de facto "public square"):

"Every human being brings a worldview into the public square, even and especially those who claim no religion or worldview. Leftists are seeking to force religion out of public discourse, and we are now experiencing how this will bring an end to positive human freedom. Positive freedom is the freedom to do the right thing, not the right to do whatever we want."


"Doing well is the result of doing good. That's what capitalism is all about. "

Ralph Waldo Emerson


What We're Reading:

In further discussion of Elon Musk, the "man of the moment" (see above), Brad Littlejohn, Ph.D., University of Edinburgh, writes in WORLD Opinions an article titled

Littlejohn explains that although
"Musk, even more than most of our era’s somewhat megalomaniacal tech titans, has made it clear it is not money that drives him but a vision of what constitutes human flourishing," Musk's ownership of Twitter could end up not being an unqualified good. By exercising complete control over the company, he could take it in directions that are unforeseeable and maybe undesirable.

We can all hope that Musk maintains his belief in free speech, however, and that Twitter can fulfill its potential as the public square where all worldviews can be discussed!
What Else We're Reading:

From American Reformer comes an article titled "America's Christian Founding," reviewing Mark David Hall's book Did America Have a Christian Founding? The article's author is again Brad Littlejohn (see column to the left), who is also a Fellow of the Ethics and Public Policy Center (EPPC) and President of the Davenant Institute. Although we've not yet read the book, the review itself is very persuasive and has prompted us to order a copy.

Littlejohn's article encapsulates the book's main idea: Yes, despite what we hear now in the public square, America did have a Christian founding which we have most surely strayed from. This fact did not and does not require the establishment of a state religion - e.g., all citizens must be Christians - but it does strongly suggest that it is Christian ideals upon which America's success is resting and they are necessary for our future success. To say this aloud is crucial today for Western worldview to thrive.
What's Coming Up:
May 11: At 4 PM, American Enterprise Institute (AEI) holds a live online and in-person discussion with Bill Haslam, former Governor of Tennessee, on his book Faithful Presence: The Promise and Peril of Faith in the Public Square. Register
here.

May 24: Also held by The Trinity Forum is a live conversation titled "Curbing the Culture Wars: An Evening Conversation with Yuval Levin and Brandon Vaidyanathan." Register here.