Proud to be an American!

Thinking about Ben Franklin’s autobiography as a whole, I can only seem to concentrate on one concept. I know it’s rather elementary, but I believe the importance of this book is simply one being able to realize what a fascinating and extremely important individual Franklin was. He was an inventor, a publisher, a scientist, a statesman, and of course of prolific and humorous writer. How did he have time to accomplish all of this? We often look back into history and attempt to distinguish who the greatest men were, and I believe Franklin is certainly in the discussion for the most influential American to ever life. Yes, much has happened with regards to social movements, changes in government, the economy, and all other facets of life since his death, but there is a reason he is commonly labeled as “The First American.”

Franklin was the first man to truly live the American dream. His life story is a true rags to riches example of how one can come from nothing to achieving so much in a land of freedom and opportunity. Within the autobiography, we see Franklin’s views on the importance of writing, of the importance of human development, of receiving a proper education (and advocating for the education of women as well), respecting various religions (and deterring religious strife), bettering oneself by becoming a more virtuous and moral person. The fact that one person accomplished all of this and was seen as an authority on such a wide range of subjects is truly amazing. In addition, he founded the University of Pennsylvania, was awarded multiple honorary college degrees without every attending a single class, started countless public projects to better society (e.g. building hospitals, cleaning up city streets), and even was an important part of the Seven Years War.

Listing Franklin’s accomplishments makes one realize what a brilliant man Franklin was, and how we take for granted all that Franklin gave this country. Not only did he defend the colonies via attempted legislation in England prior to the revolution, but he also played an essential role during the revolution and the eventual drafting of the Constitution. Reading this book made me proud to be an American, something I’m sure Franklin would appreciate.

Rattle-Snakes for Felons 11/3

In both Invectives Against the Americans and Rattle-Snakes for Felons, Franklin denounces the growing separation between the concepts of English and British nationalism. As the British government was gradually imposing its will upon the American colonies more and more, it became ever more apparent that the rational behind their actions was illogical. To Franklin, who always valued the utility of actions and their potential benefit to an individual or community, the increasing transgressions against the American colonies served as an impetus for his satirical writings.

The central concept of utility is presented immediately in Rattle-Snakes for Felons as the British justification for the practice of relocating convicted felons to the United States. Franklin scoffs at the pretext that relocating convicts from Great Britain to the colonies contributed to "the Improvement and Well Peopling of the Colonies", sarcastically mocking the attitude of those in England as 'parental' and caring about the welfare of her 'Children' in America. It was the exact opposite of what they were doing; sending the worst members of one society to another with the only benefit in settling more land going to Britain, while Americans would have to suffer their presence. The attitude of the British was that the benefit such relocation and populating of the colonies afforded society as a whole outweighed the detriment to the small segment of the population that colonists represented- "let not private Interests obstruct publick Utility". The difference in the two spheres of what constitutes a society, and the value placed on that of England's empire as a whole above that of America by itself enraged Franklin.

Franklin explores the dismissive attitude with which British writers considered American malcontents in Invectives Against the Americans from a British perspective. This technique allows Franklin to illustrate the illogical nature of the British derision of American beliefs and complaints without appearing to be biased. Franklin shows how the public criticism of Americans serves only to alienate them more from the mother country of England and will not achieve the intent of rectifying their actions. At the same time he is able to subtly critique the British perspective and rationally support the American desire for property rights and representation in England, before finally stoking the egos of the British to sway them.

The Delusion of Franklin-era Capitalism in 2011.

I recently had a political-philosophical conversation with a friend who informed me that he was simply too meritocratic to believe in any system other than Capitalism. While I acknowledged that Capitalism might (emphasis on might) be the best system anyone has yet come up with, to label it “meritocratic” at this point in our history seems like a bit of a misnomer. Sure, someone from a difficult background who works particularly hard may “pull themselves up by their bootstraps.” But for every unique case like this, there are many more cases of socially advantaged people who work very little and do well and socially disadvantaged people who never stood a chance. Before someone labels me a Marxist, I am not advocating the end of the system, just suggesting that we see our current Capitalist apparatus for what it really is, flaws and all.

Pieces like Ben Franklin’s “Advice to a Young Tradesman, Written by an Old One” seem to serve as something like Creation Mythology for a nation that still desperately clings to the idealized notion of meritocratic Capitalism. In this piece, a successful old man gives a young man advice on how to succeed in the business world. The nuggets of wisdom sound a lot like what your grandfather might tell you about succeeding in life: “Time is money…credit is money…pay punctually…appear a careful as well as an honest Man.” The old man ultimately advises that the “Way to Wealth…depends chiefly on two Words, Industry and Frugality.” The reader is to believe that if you do these virtuous things and live a prudent life, you will find financial success. This may have been true in Colonial America where everyone was new to this hemisphere, and access to opportunity was essentially equal. However, a lot’s changed in the last 250 years.

Markets grow more complex, income inequality rises, and how well you do in the Capitalist system becomes increasingly about where you were born and to whom, as opposed to whether or not you stayed long hours at your corner shop. However, we as a nation can’t seem to get the picturesque economic image that Ben Franklin paints out of our collective consciousness. It is much easier to believe that such a meritocratic system, so ripe with American values, exists, as opposed to examining the mess we call our financial system in earnest.