The Ant and the Grasshopper - Revisited
An old Aesop* fable tells of the hard-working, industrious ant who labored all summer and fall, growing food and making the necessities of life so that he could survive and live comfortably through the coming winter. The grasshopper was a fun-loving, carefree soul who played and rested while nature's summer provided for his needs without labor. He laughed at the ant for working so hard when it was unnecessary. The ant admonished and warned the grasshopper that he had better provide for himself when winter came, but the grasshopper wouldn't be concerned about the future, especially when he was enjoying himself so much today.
Eventually, the summer passed and as autumn progressed, food became scarce and the grasshopper began to hunger and shiver in the cold. When winter approached, he rapped on the ant's home and begged for food. The ant reminded the grasshopper of his warning. He could not provide for all the grasshopper's needs without depriving himself and his family, but he gave what he could of food and clothing, hoping the grasshopper had learned his lesson.
In modern times, however, the ant would not be allowed to keep what he had earned. Instead, the story would go something like this.
The insects' government would send out armed cockroaches to the ant's abode and they would take half of what he had earned so that they could distribute it to those they thought deserved it more.
After all, they would say, is it fair that the ant should have so much while the poor, starving grasshopper has no shelter and so little food and clothing? Why must he beg for charity? He has a right to live, doesn't he? If it means stealing from others, so be it.
The grasshopper is provided with food, clothing and shelter at the ant's expense. When next summer comes, what is the lesson the grasshopper has learned? That it is still unnecessary to provide for the coming winter. The cockroaches will simply take what he needs from that stupid ant who insists on working so hard.
But what is the lesson the ant learns? Will he work as hard next summer? Will he scale down the amount of food and necessities he will need for the winter, so that there won't be as much for the government cockroaches to steal? Will he hide some of the food that he worked so hard to produce? Will he take what he produces and run to some place without cockroaches?
Of course, in reality, the majority of what they confiscate by threat of force is consumed by the cockroaches and the other government leeches and parasites. (A parasite is one who lives off others while producing nothing that could support its own life.) What remains is then distributed to those who are claimed to "justify" the parasites' existence as distributors of wealth.
In the modern world, what counts is not how much wealth you create but how much need you have. As the infamous patron saint of the parasites once said, "From each according to his ability, to each according to his need."
The swarms of parasites grow, attracted to government service, where survival and an enslaved population of hosts are guaranteed. And if they should succeed in reducing the number in need, they redefine need and look for more "needy." They even import them from other places. With more needy, they are assured of a long life of "public service," such service consisting of stealing from and living off the efforts of others and passing a fraction of the loot to the needy, greedy and lazy, who keep voting their public servants back in.
Francis Stepper
*The Aesop fables were a collection of illustrative, very short stories intended to teach children morality and simple philosophy. It was expected that parents read the stories aloud, to explain them and answer any questions the children might have.