409: You Will Own Nothing and You Will Like It: Carol Roth

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As you may know, I have three daughters aged 14,11 and 8. The oldest, Camilla, is now in high school.

For those of you who have been listening for me for a while, yes, that was the little girl who did an introduction for episode 100. We are all getting older by the minute.

Anyway, recalling that it was at around her age that I began to think about the world in a greater context than simply ice hockey and food, I have begun trying to have more meaningful conversations with her.

Recently, I decided to talk about the political science definitions of conservative and liberal to help her start understanding the basics of political theory.

I told her that conservative ideology values the individual and advocates for small government. I quoted Ronald Reagan who once said, “The nine most dangerous words in the English language are ‘I’m from the government and I’m here to help’.”

Liberal ideology, on the other hand, puts greater value on the collective whole of a people over the individual. In such a belief system, the emphasis on equality trumps individual achievement and focuses on the redistribution of wealth via government services to serve everyone.

While you know that I have a bent toward conservative ideology, I did not try to persuade her one way or another. I was just trying to teach her the difference.

My goal for her was to simply think about her own opinions and share them with me. But she wouldn’t. She got very uncomfortable. And, when I pushed her on why, she admitted that it had to do with the fact that her mother and I don’t agree on some of this stuff.

The funny thing is that while her mother and I certainly do disagree on some political issues, we never fought about it and it was never an emotional issue. But these days, it seems that political disagreement means that you can’t be friends or family anymore. Disagreement has been replaced by disagreeable.

That’s a shame because these discussions are incredibly valuable for people to discover their own true values rather than to simply cling to tribal political party instincts. Sure I’m a conservative, but I have plenty of disagreements with the current “conservative” Republican Party. For example, the party has shifted away from fiscal responsibility, free trade, and civil liberties—all of which are tenets of true conservative ideology.

Having more open discussions about politics without emotion would be good for everyone. It would also help people to understand what is happening on the global stage.

While America has been the Mecca for the individual since its inception, it is starting to move in the direction of a more liberal global arena that values personal achievement and success less than the whole. The growing popularity of political figures such as Bernie Sanders in the last election cycle supports that.

My guest on the Wealth Formula Podcast is a best-selling author who has been sounding the alarm on the coming of this new world order where you will have everything you need but nothing will be yours.

Is she being an alarmist or is this a real concern? Decide for yourself on this week’s episode of Wealth Formula Podcast.

Show Notes:

00:08:52:20 Movements that are trying to stop personal wealth creation

00:12:18:02 Players in the financial world war

00:14:56:08 Private ownership = wealth creation

00:17:16:01 How is Wall Street working against us?

00:24:13:18 Thoughts on the wealth tax