Right on the Money: Doug Casey on Economics, Investing, and the Ways of the Real World with Louis James

Chapter 20

Doug Casey on Ethics (Part Two)

June 30, 2010

Louis: So, Doug, you’ve told us your ethical principles can be summed up in two statements:

1. Do all that you say you’re going to do.

2. Don’t aggress against other people or their property.

I have seen you apply this in life. These are great rules that lead to peaceful interactions between people. The first covers how you interact with others and ultimately would govern everything from business to marriage. The second covers how you should not interact with others, and would ultimately govern—prevent—what we might regard as criminal behavior.

It’s admirable to simplify—I know you like to make an analogy to the way physicists try to simplify all the forces in the universe down into one unified field theory—but do these two principles really cover everything?

Doug: Well, perhaps not entirely. But it is said ignorance of the law is no excuse for breaking it. In today’s world, that’s total nonsense, because there are literally hundreds of thousands of arbitrary laws, with new ones passed daily. So I like these two laws because they’re simple, intuitive, and based on ethical principles. But as we discussed last time, I really think there’s just one great law, and it’s even more important: Do as thou wilt, but be prepared to accept the consequences. An observance of that principle would necessarily result in a much more thoughtful and ethical population.

In any event, I only said my principles work, not that they are perfect. ...