While casually reading the 2016 GOP Platform, I came across this unsettling statement:
“Prosperity is the product of self-discipline, enterprise, saving and investment by individuals, but it is not an end in itself” (1).
Uh oh. Hold up. Prosperity “is not an end in itself.”
An “end” or “end in itself” is the result, the ultimate goal.
That phrase instantly invokes 18th-century philosopher Immanuel Kant. An “end in itself” provides a compelling reason for every rational agent to act in a certain way.
Using Kant’s logic, if prosperity is not an end in itself, then the act of seeking prosperity does not have moral worth.
The GOP has unwittingly shaken the foundation of existentialist belief by declaring that prosperity is not an end, but leaving us with no answers as to what is an end.
If nothing is an end, Kant tells us, there is no reason to do anything.
But instead of judging their words against a moral standard they are probably unfamiliar with, let’s look at what kinds of actions the GOP finds morally defensible:
Let me get this straight: their moral imperatives include a “pro-growth tax code” and being “good stewards” of the environment. Don’t these imperatives seem designed to reach an “end” of prosperity?
What other wisdom have they to impart to those seeking prosperity?
Of course they think “walking away from it” is a good strategy. Because nothing matters and “negotiation” is simply distraction from the meaninglessness of it all.
You have to be on acid to understand their campaign.
And now… Acid Jesus embracing the futility of life with open arms:
He wouldn’t want us to worry that there are no ends.
…