The Virtue of Prosperity

The Virtue of Prosperity
by Dinesh D'Souza

The theme of this book is about finding values in Techno Affluence. This
book excites you about our future. The first chapter is dedicated to the
excitement surrounding the potential for wealth borne in technology. From
there we jump into the dichotomy of the Party of Neah and the Party of Yeah.
Neah's are fundamentalists who do not believe the Internet exist and the
.com Stock Market will crash. The Party of Yeah is optimistic. They feel
that new ideas and information are a new form of capital. Imagine these
parties superseding 'Left & Right'. The idea that creativity is an act of
faith puts a techno spin on religion. The Party of Yeah asserts that they
seek to accomplish what Priests, Intellectuals, and Bureaucrats failed at:
solve the problem of scarcity. After putting Techno in the same realm as
religion and politics, D'Souza makes some claims on techno economics that
will surely raise the hair on George Sorro's neck. While D'Souza refers to
many expert authors across the span of the argument on where the virtue lay,
you gain some compassion as to why you may have mixed feelings yourself.
The book closes with a sense of balance that allows a person to be excited
about our future and at the same time maintain a sense of cardinal headings
from lessons learned over the course of mankind.

In the midst of this social conflict we are to observe the over-class
displaying their internal conflict along the same lines. Witnessing rich
folks flaunting their wealth in torn blue jeans and Porsche and NOT leaving
their fortunes to their heirs but giving the majority of their money to
charity. This sets us up for D'Souza's message. To help heal the social
division caused by the new techno-capitalism and to help reconcile what
place technology and wealth should occupy in our pursuit of the good life.

With regard to opportunity, D'Souza describes this new economy as one with a
naturally higher degree of equal opportunity. You read about the wisdom in
our Founding Fathers, proclaiming a voice for equal rights, not equal
outcomes. Furthermore, D'Souza was a middle class immigrant from India who
went to Dartmouth. His Dartmouth education was funded largely by the
private sector, an Ivy League tradition. His book is yet another way of
paying back on that loan. He does however give tribute to the social
connection of Ivy League schools and its merit towards the exposure to
venture capital. In summary I liked this quote by Sabeer Bhatia when
commenting about being a person of color; "I quickly realized that being
foreign born was no barrier, it was only a barrier in my mind."

After being primed, D'Souza delves into the crux of the matter by exploring
all angles of the question. Can you make people better by means of
technological progress? Are the Amish correct in benchmarking technology
against the focus on moral footing in land, family, community? OR can we
have it both ways? It is suggested that free market capitalism is only
one of a three-legged stool. The other two are a democratic polity, and a
Judeo-Christian social ethic.

D'Souza does a very good job drawing on quotations of famous economists,
entrepreneurs, the Bible, and philosophers to rationalize the idea that
capitalism and wealth is good. He draws from people like Adam Smith, Ayn
Rand, and George Guilder, Lockee, Bacon, Adams; summarizes each respective
argument and distills a basic theme that "If the rich are getting richer and
the poor are better off, then this win win scenario has achieved success. I
found it interesting the differences in economic tone between the Old and
New Testaments and the point that Jews only embrace the Old Testament. Then
on drawing a Techno-spin consider that two commandments; thou shall not
steal and thou shall not covent thy neighbors goods contemplate property
and capital.


In contemplation of our gnome future, championed by the Part of Yeah, one
must question our moral foundation by drawing contrast on Aldous Huxley's
vision of a master race back in 1932. Or in the tradition of science, what
if I patent the perfect human clone? What if I purchase a perfect set of
genes for my new child only to find them out dated in five years and no
upgrade available. Will your DNA be part of your resume? Will insurance
companies now have the information to decline you based DNA profile? But
one must also balance this with the virtues of medical break through on
disease. We have a lot of work to do to throttle the scientific minds yet
implement the fruits of their labor. Reality check: biotechnology and
science has brought us to a new horizon. The likes of Richard Dawkins;
rationalizes gnome and carbon software production of humans and thought.
They are pursuing a cure to aging in mind and body. In essence they are
defining an existence that is endless and purposeless: a working definition
of Hell?

The book clearly provoked existing thought within me. It also helped
crystallize some of my own ideas by clearing up some mis-conceptions. I
draw a corollary to reading Supreme Court arguments and opinions. The
arguments from every side are spirited, well thought out, well referenced,
and in many cases convincing on all sides. You discover that you are not
alone in your contemplation or concern on where our scientific minds are
taking us. The enthusiasm behind all argument will vex you, as well as
entertain you. The tid-bits provided here can only tease you into
reading the book. In the end you will most likely find yourself
referencing, the book in your casual conversation on where the future lay
and how to define virtue of prosperity.

Included with this review is also other books appropriately referred to by
D'Souza

1. A Theory of Justice by John Rawls
2. The Cultural Contradictions of Capitalism by Daniel Bell
3. The Spirit of Democratic Capitalism by Michael Novak
4. Natural Capitalism by Hawken, Lovins, Lovins
5. The Extended Phenotype by Richard Dawkins