Closed System

My friend, the Asian Imports Attorney, once said that the system of human rights is a closed system. Meaning, I can’t ratchet up my liberties without ratcheting down someone else’s. An interesting concept, I think it applies not just to human rights but to many aspects of life.

As an ugly American I have been raised to think that I have to right to acquire comfort in life by working hard. We teach this concept to our children and it is the hallmark of a functional society that it produces what we call “productive members” of that society; people who have jobs, pay taxes vote and report for jury duty. In an open system as long as you follow the rules you can consume as much liberty as you choose and have nothing but a positive effect on the world. Life, Liberty and Pursuit of Happiness.

Nothing wrong with that. But what if we look at things differently. What if there wasn't an infinite supply of goodwill, comfort and happiness in the world. If it is a "closed system" then nothing is added or taken away, nothing is created or destroyed. Things are merely moved around. What if in order for me to be rich someone else has to be poor. What if in order for me to be right you have to be wrong. For me to be beautiful you must be ugly, for me to be comfortable you have to be tortured, for me to be happy you have to be hopeless, for me to feel safe and secure you have to be scared shitless.

I recently received an email containing this quote, “…the government cannot give anything to anyone -- that they have not first taken away from someone else.” This is, of course, true and not isolated to governmental affairs. Think about it the other way round also. It is impossible for the US to increase the standard of living of the countries around us unless we are willing to lower our standard of living. We just need to figure out if that is worth doing.


Now think locally. Can I increase the importance of a child or a neighbor or a coworker without decreasing my own self-importance?

Now if I examine myself and my culture and compare my existence to the existence of most I find that if this closed system theory is not true then it eerily describes what is true.