Europe Syndrome in America?

Last month Charles Murray gave a speech to the American Enterprise Institute titled:
        “Europe Syndrome”

It’s a good speech, and I would have liked to hear him deliver it in person.

Many of you might remember Randy Pausch – the Carnegie Mellon professor who developed terminal cancer. He gave his last speech “Really Achieving Your Childhood Dreams” to a packed hall filled with students and friends, and before dying he expanded it into a best-selling book “The Last Lecture.”

Charles Murray’s speech was equally compelling to me, but discusses the “meaning of life” concept from a different perspective.

Randy Pausch talked to students starting out in life, and encouraged them to fulfill their dreams. Mr. Murray – who is considerably older – addresses a question that many people fail to consider early enough in life (though they should – and deeply re-consider it throughout their lives.) That question is:
“How can I have a ‘good life’?”

He asks this only partly in the biblical sense – that, when the time comes to meet your maker, can you feel satisfaction with your life ? Did you do some worthwhile things? Did you make a difference?
These are very heavy questions indeed – and ones that few twenty-somethings or even forty-somethings ever consider.

This is in no way a religious speech – in fact, quite the opposite, because Mr. Murray delves all the way back to our founding fathers desire for “life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness” to ask the question – what kind of government actions/programs/laws/rules will most likely promote the possibility of happiness?

He contrasts the social model now prevalent in Europe with the original American model. Why did so many flee Europe for the “American Dream”, and why do so many still today desperately strive for America even today?

The critical question is – will government policies be able to restore America to that place Ronald Reagan often called “the shining city upon a hill.”

It is well worth the read. It will likely take twenty minutes the first time through, and you’ may find yourself revisiting it once you’ve had time to mull it over and consider its fundamental American roots.

Explore posts in the same categories: Economics, History, News, Socialism

Tags: American enterprise Institute, Charles Murray, Economics, entitlements, Europe Syndrome, Randy Pausch, Ronald Reagan, Socialism, The Last Lecture

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