I woke up early this morning excited to watch Benjamin Carson’s talk at the National Prayer Breakfast. So many people have emailed me the link and said it reminded them of concepts shared by Oliver DeMille and me in the soon-to-be-released book LeaderShift. There is a law of life, similar to the one in science, that every action has an equal and opposite reaction. Today, America is drifting further and further towards a socialist nanny state; thankfully, however, a reaction is rising amongst leaders from all fields of life who are concerned about the direction of our society and are willing to do something about it. I sincerely believe that character-based leadership is needed more today in America than at any point since the founding of our nation.

Ben Carson, in this speech, made a stand for truth on education, history, and leadership. Not surprisingly, many of the concepts discussed in Dr. Carson’s speech are outlined in LeaderShift to help solve our national malaise. In other words, concerned Americans are not alone. Nonetheless, we need many more leaders to stand up and launch the LeaderShift! When faced with great challenges, the citizen’s choices reduce to two main paths: either shrink into silence and oppression or rise into leadership and liberty. What choice will the reader make? I believe we are entering great times for courageous leaders to live.

Sincerely,

Orrin Woodward

One of the best books on the origin and growth of the nation-state is called The State by Franz Oppenheimer. Written in 1908, his thesis of the State’s origin is more relevant today than the day it was first conceived. Without checks, the State will consume the citizens’ freedoms in its ever increasing desire for power. Sadly, few realize this all-important fact of government and thus believe that by democratically electing the rulers, all is well. Nothing could be further from the truth. Remember, Hitler was elected democratically, but it didn’t stop him from usurping the power of the State. Franz Oppenheimer identifies the way the State is formed, its reason for existence, and the various ways it centralizes power.

In our soon-to-be-released book LeaderShift, Oliver DeMille and I have pinpointed methods to check the growing power of the State, allowing ordered-freedom to prosper again within society. Is anyone else tired of the same old rhetoric being discussed over and over again for decades? Real change demands that we shift the conversation away from the growing problems and towards viable solutions that check the centralizing tendencies of all governments. The LIFE business has a goal of educating Western Civilization on the greatest books and thoughts throughout history. Furthermore, we attached a compensation plan to the education to reward the influencers who help us in the much-needed mission.

In any case, since 1908, when Oppenheimer wrote his book, the issues have been clearly identified. Isn’t this enough time to start offering some solutions to the State’s challenges? Oliver and I think so, and this is why we wrote LeaderShift. In fact, The State was instrumental in helping me develop the Five Laws of Decline that are covered from a political perspective in our new book. Here is a summary of Franz Oppenhemier’s book from the Mises Institute.

Sincerely,

Orrin Woodward

This is the 1908 book that started it all in the 20th century, the book that kicked off a century of anti-state, pro-property writing. This was the prototype for Nock’s writing, for Chodorov’s work, and even the theoretical edifice that later became Rothbardianism.

Indeed, Franz Oppenheimer wrote what remains one of the most bracing and stimulating volumes in the history of political philosophy. The author sought to overthrow centuries of fallacious thinking on the subject of the state’s origin, nature, and purpose, put its it place a view of the state that constitutes a foundational attack on the structure of modern society.

He utterly demolishes the social-contract view of the state as it had been advanced by most thinkers since the Enlightenment. He seeks to replace that view with a realistic assessment of the state, one that can only make anyone with statist leanings squirm: he sees the state as composed of a victorious group of bandits who rule over the defeated group with the purpose of domination and exploitation. It achieves its status through a form of conquest, secures its power through relentless aggression, and sees its main function is to secure its status and power.

Consider that when this book was written such views were a scandal, especially in Germany. Oppenheimer, who was a medical doctor who became a professor of sociology, suffered terribly for his libertarian views. Then this book appeared, which stunned even his most vociferous critics with its analytical rigor, historical sweep, and steely resolve. The book has since appeared in more than a dozen languages. In a world that cared about ideas, this would be required reading in political philosophy.

From an economic point view, his analysis holds up even where his language about capitalism and socialism can be somewhat confused. In fact, it was Rothbard’s own work that took Oppenheimer’s theory and fit it into a free-market framework. But to fully understand the state theory behind modern Austro-libertarian thinking, this work is indispensable.

Of this still under-appreciated classic, Murray Rothbard writes:

“The great German sociologist Franz Oppenheimer (1864-1943), who wrote this magnificent little book called The State, put the case brilliantly.”

In essence, he said, there are only two ways for men to acquire wealth. The first method is by producing a good or a service and voluntarily exchanging that good for the product of somebody else. This is the method of exchange, the method of the free market; it’s creative and expands production; it is not a zero-sum game because production expands and both parties to the exchange benefit. Oppenheimer called this method the “economic means” for the acquisition of wealth.

The second method is seizing another person’s property without his consent, i.e., by robbery, exploitation, looting. When you seize someone’s prop­erty without his consent, then you are benefiting at his expense, at the expense of the producer; here is truly a zero-sum “game”–not much of a “game,” by the way, from the point of view of the victim. Instead of expanding production, this method of robbery clearly hobbles and restricts production. So in addition to being immoral while peaceful exchange is moral, the method of robbery hobbles production because it is parasitic upon the effort of the producers.

With brilliant astuteness, Oppenheimer called this method of obtaining wealth “the political means.” And then he went on to define the state, or government, as “the organization of the political means,” i.e., the regularization, legiti­mation, and permanent establishment of the political means for the acquisition of wealth.

In other words, the state is organized theft, organized robbery, organized exploitation. And this essential nature of the state is high­lighted by the fact that the state ever rests upon the crucial instrument of taxation.

This book is classic, with an introduction by George H. Smith. It is on the must-read list of every libertarian in every generation.

LeaderShift by Orrin Woodward & Oliver DeMille

Earlier today, while writing on my corporate HR Toolbox blog, I read an extended quote from Gustav Cassel. His thoughts on the drift towards totalitarianism that every country experiences with the initiation of economic controls aligned perfectly with the Five Laws of Decline (FLD), which I first disclosed in my book RESOLVED: 13 Resolutions for LIFE. Indeed, every single human society has ultimately failed due to the unchecked effects of the FLD. The question of the century is: Will America follow in their footsteps by not addressing the debilitating effects of the FLD at work?  LeaderShift, soon to be released by Hachette’s Business Plus division, is a business fable co-written with Oliver DeMille that teaches how to check the Five Laws of Decline by limiting government power and centralization. Any concerned citizen ought to study and learn how to check the FLD since they have been responsible for the decline in all human civilizations. This is what the LIFE business is: a community of concerned citizens. Here are several dictums of government from LeaderShift followed by Cassel’s extended quote.

Sincerely,

Orrin Woodward

1. Government power must be checked by other powers, i.e., federal powers are checked by states, which are checked by localities.

2. Government taxation must be limited, or limited government is illusory.

3. Local leadership should solve local issues since local leaders are “boots on the ground” and have the most knowledge of the challenges and potential solutions.

4. Political leaders must learn how to balance budgets, or they are not leaders at all.

The most powerful brief statement of this interaction with which I am acquainted occurs in a lecture delivered by the eminent Swedish economist, the late Gustav Cassel. This was published in a pamphlet with the descriptive but rather cumbersome title: From Protectionism Through Planned Economy to Dictatorship.[1] I take the liberty of quoting an extensive passage from it:

The leadership of the state in economic affairs which advocates of Planned Economy want to establish is, as we have seen, necessarily connected with a bewildering mass of governmental interferences of a steadily cumulative nature. The arbitrariness, the mistakes and the inevitable contradictions of such policy will, as daily experience shows, only strengthen the demand for a more rational coordination of the different measures and, therefore, for unified leadership. For this reason Planned Economy will always tend to develop into Dictatorship.…

The existence of some sort of parliament is no guarantee against planned economy being developed into dictatorship. On the contrary, experience has shown that representative bodies are unable to fulfill all the multitudinous functions connected with economic leadership without becoming more and more involved in the struggle between competing interests, with the consequence of a moral decay ending in party — if not individual — corruption. Examples of such a degrading development are indeed in many countries accumulating at such a speed as must fill every honorable citizen with the gravest apprehensions as to the future of the representative system. But apart from that, this system cannot possibly be preserved, if parliaments are constantly over-worked by having to consider an infinite mass of the most intricate questions relating to private economy. The parliamentary system can be saved only by wise and deliberate restriction of the functions of parliaments.…

Economic dictatorship is much more dangerous than people believe. Once authoritative control has been established it will not always be possible to limit it to the economic domain. If we allow economic freedom and self-reliance to be destroyed, the powers standing for Liberty will have lost so much in strength that they will not be able to offer any effective resistance against a progressive extension of such destruction to constitutional and public life generally. And if this resistance is gradually given up—perhaps without people ever realizing what is actually going on—such fundamental values as personal liberty, freedom of thought and speech and independence of science are exposed to imminent danger. What stands to be lost is nothing less than the whole of that civilization that we have inherited from generations which once fought hard to lay its foundations and even gave their life for it.

LeaderShift: Orrin Woodward & Oliver DeMille

LeaderShift by Orrin Woodward & Oliver DeMille

As the concepts developed, I imagined discussing the Five Laws of Decline with the Founding Fathers and determining how they would have designed the Constitution had they understood the inherent dangers within the laws. Accordingly, I wrote out a proposed government to check the FLD and separate government into clearly delineated local, state, and federal issues. In my opinion, the number one failure of the founder was not to place a specific limit on taxation and deficits. If government is not limited in their ability to tax then it simply isn’t a limited government. Likewise, if politicians are not held responsible for a budget, then they are not responsible at all. Moreover, relying on “the people” to maintain intricate knowledge of all the issues simply isn’t feasible and is statements like this are pollyanna at best and hypocrisy at worst.

The local government would be responsible for all local issues and receive a set percentage of local taxpayers income, the state would receive a percent of the the state taxpayer incomes, and the federal would receive a percent from every citizen in the country. With no deductions or special deals, just a straight flat tax to fund government and the rest is kept by the hardworking Americans who earned it. Imagine localities having town meetings where local leaders meet and discuss local issues. This principle is called “expect and inspect.” Leaders must expect the best from their people, but unless they inspect the results, they will be let down. This, in a nutshell, is one of the biggest issues in our government today. We have expected too much from our politicians, but centralized everything to Washington and few citizens have the time or understanding to inspect properly.

However, local issues and local town meetings would change this greatly. It’s time to get local leaders active in local issues again. The town meetings were the American way during our formative period. In reality, no person alive is capable of running a country and a budget the size of America. The Federal government ought to be responsible for the defense of our country from internal and external foes and adjudication of disputes between states, corporations, etc. The States can ensure Federal government doesn’t extend beyond its responsibilities and address state issues with localities while the localities handle all the remaining issues at the local level. With each level checking the level above it, which ensures the expecting and inspecting process is in working order, we can hold politicians responsible for the results. Indeed, since this is what each household must do (stay within a budget, pay it bills, and fulfill its duties), why can’t our politicians handle these leadership task? In other words, does anyone else find it peculiar that we have a lower bar for our political leaders than we do our family leaders when, in truth, we ought to hold the political leaders to a higher standard?

With these concepts in hand, I sat down with Oliver DeMille, my good friend and one of the best students of the American Founders in America today. Oliver, in short, is a polymathic genius and we spent a full day in discussion on this proposal and how to communicate it to the world. After comprehending the FLD and the proposal, Oliver improved upon it and started writing a fable that captured the key principles in an entertaining way. I was blown away by the storyline and drama contained in this short (under 150 pages) book and after several revisions we knew LeaderShift was something special. Excitedly, I sent it on to Rick Wolff, the General Editor for Business Plus, and he loved it as well. Rick, one of the best editors in the industry, has turbo-charged this book through the publishing process. In fact, from meeting with Oliver to the release date is less than one year – a practically unheard of feat in publishing profession! Moreover, Business Plus is one of the most respected names (with over 50 bestsellers) in the field, publishing books by Hank Paulson, Jack Welch, Coach K, and many more. Oliver and I are honored to be included in this elite group.

Shortly before his death, historian Thomas Macaulay wrote to a friend in America, “Your republic will be fearfully plundered and laid waste by barbarians in the twentieth century as the Roman Empire was in the fifth, with this difference: that the Huns and Vandals will have been engendered within your own country by your own institutions.” This can and must be halted in 2013 through a LeaderShift! Arnold Toynbee, the great historian, studied every historical civilization. He believed that in the final hours before every civilization’s collapse, that leaders would emerge with proposals, that, if heeded, could halt the decline and bring much needed revitalization. It is my humble opinion that LeaderShift is such a proposal and can turnaround our country if enough people are willing to lead at the local level! America’s turnaround can be a beacon of hope and light for the remnants of liberty remaining within Western Civilization.

On April 16th, LeaderShift will be available on Amazon, Barnes & Nobles and bookstores across North America. I have never been more excited for the start of a new year than I am for 2013. I believe a turning point in the history of freedom is upon us and I plan on playing my part. Will you do the same? Oliver and I will be traveling around North America on a book signing tour on the release of the book so stay tuned for dates and locations near you. Here is an interview discussing the book and acclamations from early reviewers.

Sincerely,

Orrin Woodward

Acclaim for LeaderShift
“Woodward and DeMille have outdone themselves. This book might just be the lever that the smartest people in America use to shift America back on course. Spread the word—the revolution is coming.” — Daniel R. Castro, award-winning author of  Critical Choices that Change Lives

“Orrin Woodward and Oliver DeMille offer a third way out. The old ‘left-right’ arguments died with the Cold War. The spending that brought the Soviet Union to its knees is now about to sink the West. This book is a brilliant wake-up call.” — Doug Wead, former adviser to two American presidents, New York Times bestselling author

“This book rises high above partisanship with real suggestions that are deep, thought-provoking, and incredibly original. The Five Laws of Decline introduced in this book will make a significant contribution to the national discourse.” — Chris Brady, New York Times bestselling coauthor of Launching a Leadership Revolution

“This is probably one of the most important and powerful books written for the times we are in—as well as coming times. Orrin and Oliver have woven a story so compelling and so rich that it forces you to turn the next page. The underlying message with the Five Laws is so brilliantly crafted that (and I do not use this word often) this book is genius.” — Doug Firebaugh, co-founder of Home Business Radio Network

“Whether a Republican, Democrat, Independent, or Libertarian, if you are saddened by our country’s declining abundance, real hope has arrived. It happens to be in the form of a story that just might be, to our time, what Thomas Paine’s Common Sense was to his.” — Bob Burg, coauthor of The Go-Giver

“Woodward and DeMille combine their knowledge of history, philosophy, science, systems thinking, economics, and government to explain the challenges facing America from the Five Laws of Decline. This non-political book explains how to fix the government gridlock and end the political ‘smoke and mirrors’ so prominent in our society today.” — Tim Marks, bestselling author of Voyage of a Viking

“How many of us feel an inborn desire and even a sense of calling to lead in the cause to spread freedom and prosperity and yet cannot shake a sense of overwhelm, that perhaps it is too late, or the problem is too big, the solution too impossible.  LeaderShift reveals that it can be done, that it should be done. And it is clear that Orrin and Oliver  are among those who believe it shall be done.” — Jim Hillyer, MP, Canadian House of Commons

I love reading history and examining the principles learned from it to the principles I have learned over twenty years of entrepreneurship. The parallels are amazing! In fact, it’s not an exaggeration to say that the LIFE Business was developed by incorporating the proven principles from history. The Five Laws of Decline (FLD) are real and at work within thousands of organization right now. The key is to check them before they rot out the productive capacities of the company or community. In my book RESOLVED: 13 Resolutions for LIFE, I share more detail on the FLD. Anyway, here is a segment on Bastiat’s Law for your reading pleasure. 🙂

Sincerely,

Orrin Woodward

Delian League & Bastiat’s Law

Golden Age of Athens

Bastiat’s Law predicts that most people, given an opportunity, will choose the easier path of plunder over the more difficult path of productivity. The allies, jolted by Athenian abuses, were confronted with the new realities of the Delian League when the city of Naxos disputed Athenian control. With Aristides out of the picture, the complaints against Athenian arrogance and mismanagement had increasingly grown among the allies. Naxos, however, was the first to act upon these complaints by withdrawing from the league, terminating its tribute, and removing its ship from the league control in 470 BC. Athens, rather than allowing the independent city to exit peacefully, instead sent Cimon to blockade, siege, and force the submission of the once proud city. Thus, the league’s true colors were exposed, no longer an alliance of equals, but tyranny of Athens over weaker cities to provide revenue for the burgeoning Athenian Empire. Bastiat’s Law predicted that Athens, with unlimited power, would plunder the allies productive resources and Thucydides corroborates it, “This was the first allied State which was reduced to subjection contrary to the league constitution.” Strangely enough, Athens, who had previously sacrificed for Greek freedoms, now, for empire’s sake, sacrificed Greek freedoms for increased power and plunder.

Bastiat’s Law distorted the Athenian leaders thinking. Whereas before they fought to maintain the freedoms of the greater Hellas against the Persian oppressors, given the taste of tributes and unchecked power, they now became the oppressors of Greek freedoms, hypocritically denying to other Greeks what they valued so highly themselves. Author Evelyn Abbot describes the increasing compulsion of Athens over its “allies”:

The Athenians were extreme in their exactions, and caused great irritation by using compulsion upon men who had never been accustomed to endure any hardship. And by this time they were not so popular in the command as they had been. They were not content with their old position as an equal among equals, and they found it easy to reduce those who revolted. For this the allies were themselves to blame. Owing to their aversion to service, which took them from home, the greater part preferred  paying money to providing ships, and thus they not only supplied the Athenians with money to increase their fleet, but when they revolted, they were as deficient in skill as in resources.

Indeed, by providing monetary tributes to Athens, the allies enslaved themselves in two ways. First, Athens enjoyed the extra income to fund ships and men, increasing its power. Second, the allies lost the martial skills necessary to defend themselves. As a result they surrendered control of their fate to Athenian goodwill. The Delian league had transformed into the Athenian empire, held together by force if necessary. Still, Athens justified its power politics when, shortly after the fall of Naxos, the battle of Eurymedon in 466 B.C resulted in Cimon’s forces routing Persia. Eurymedon effectively ended Persian resistance to the Delian league in a decisive victory in which 200 enemy ships were destroyed in a combined sea and land battle.

At any rate, after the battle of Eurymedon, Athens owned the Aegean, like the sea had become an Athenian lake, in which they controlled trade with little external interference. And, even though Athens viewed their success at Naxos and Eurymedon as confirmation of their imperial policies, the allies viewed it  differently. Since Athens now enjoyed unlimited power to plunder allies, it resorted to threats, intimidation, and blockades against resisting “allies” when needed. For example, take the Thasians who rebelled from the league in 465 BC. After a bitter two year siege, Cimon’s ships forced Thasos to surrender. Athens demanded a heavy tribute to compensate for them for the cost of the siege and helpless Thasos submitted to the tyrannous terms. Ironically, the terms of settlement were significantly worse than the Persian had offered to Thasos a generation before. Athens, once the greatest defender of Greek freedoms, was now its greatest oppressor. For, in reality, Athenian freedoms and commerce thrived on the subjection of fellow Greeks. Athens violation of the sovereignty of other Greek city-states earned Athens the contemptible title, “enslaver of Hellas.”  In hindsight, it was this contradiction between liberty and empire that ended Athens Golden Age and ultimately destroyed Greek society.

I am still working away on my study of the Five Laws of Decline in history. In this short piece, the Spartan General Pausanias is bit by the bug for power, wealth, and status. Abraham Lincoln probably said it best when he stated (and I paraphrase), “Many people can handle failure. If you truly want to know a person’s character, then give him success.”  When a person experiences success, then one can identify if it went to his head, or on the contrary, if he recognizes it as a blessing to be thankful for. The LIFE business can help people become successful in their teams, but each person must build his own character. I have watched leaders like Claude Hamilton, George Guzzardo, and many more experience public success; however, their public achievements were founded upon private achievements as discussed in my All-Time Top 100 Leadership Book RESOLVED: 13 Resolutions for LIFE. In other words, build your private victories so you will be ready for the public ones.

Sincerely,

Orrin Woodward

Seeds of the Five Laws of Decline
During the Persian War, when Sparta and Athens were still allies and on friendly terms, Pausanias, the Spartan general over the confederated Greek army, defeated the Persians at Plataea. In the process, he captured the tent of the Persian commander Mardonius. Although the battle terminated the Persian threat by routing the enemy, interestingly, it also initiated the FLD by whetting the appetite for wealth among the Greeks. Historian Evelyn Abbot explains the Greek’s surprise when they comprehended the level of wealth and luxury enjoyed by the invaders:

This was no other than the tent of Xerxes which at his departure the King had left for the use of his successor in the command. It was, of course, constructed with royal magnificence, resplendent with gold, and the richest embroidery; a sight such as had never before come under the eyes of the astonished Greeks. When Pausanias saw it, he bade the attendants prepare a meal as they were accustomed to prepare it for Mardonius, and at the same time gave orders to his Helots to cook a common Spartan supper. Then he summoned the captains of the Greeks to see the difference, “How foolish,” he exclaimed, “were the men who while they enjoyed the one sought to rob the Greeks of the other!” The sight of this magnificence seems to have sunk deeply into the mind and memory of Pausanias. Forgetting the infinite difference between freedom and slavery, he contrasted the bare and dreary life of a Spartan with the softness and splendor of a Persian satrap. His successes in the last two years had raised him to the foremost rank in Greece, and he had felt no scruple in claiming for himself the honors which had been won by the devotion of others. Was he to abandon his “great place” and return to Sparta, to be the subject of an infant king?

These seeds which took root within Pausanias’s mind, sprouted several years later when, with mainland Greece safe, the Greek confederation aimed to remove Persian influence from Greater Hellas. Accordingly, Spartan Pausanias, even though Athens had more ships and experienced leaders, was assigned Commander of the allied Greek navy. After another impressive victory at Byzantium over the beleaguered Persian fleet, the united Greeks were on the verge of accomplishing their goal. Curiously, however, Pausanias stopped the offensive strategy, and rumors began circulating out of Asia that he was in negotiations with the Persian King. In truth, they weren’t rumors. Pausanias had schemed with the Great King to marry one of his daughters and serve as a satrap in the Persian Empire. Not surprisingly, the allied Greek forces were not amused, and Pausanias, after having lost the confidence of his men, was recalled to Sparta to face charges of treason. The members of the Greek alliance transferred their loyalties to the Athenian contingent led by Aristides and Cimon.

Roman Ruins

I am working on a personal assignment to learn what made the Greco-Roman civilizations succeed for periods, though each, in truth, failed with time. In addition, I am searching for what the Anglo-Saxons copied from the Greco-Romans. Through learning what worked and what didn’t, perhaps we can improve the weakest portions of the foundation and strengthen society today.  This is one of the reasons I love the LIFE business so much, namely, having the time to develop models to improve people’s lives. The LIFE business is a system, just as society is. Therefore, by studying what works in one context, I learn what may work in another. When I add in the Plan, Do, Check, and Adjust (PDCA) steps, I can determine if the hypothesis is workable or not. Here are two paragraphs of a much longer analysis that the readers will see soon.

Sincerely,

Orrin Woodward

The Six Duties of Society are the key functions that society must consistently perform to prosper. By contrast, the Five Laws of Decline are inherent within mankind and must be checked, or society will eventually fall through plundering its former prosperity. Both will be identified and explained through the study of Greco-Roman and Anglo-Saxon history. Because the Greco-Roman culture laid the foundation for Western society and the Anglo-Saxon cultures built upon it, they have many similarities. However, despite their valuable contributions to modern times, both the Greek and Roman societal foundations ultimately failed. Therefore, since today’s West is built upon this Greco-Roman foundation, isn’t it also probable that the modern West is built upon the fragile, as well as the secure, portions of the foundation? Perhaps through retracing the roots of Anglo-Saxon society, the foundation can be reinforced at its weakest parts through understanding the failure modes of the Greco-Roman past. In effect, leaders must learn from the past so they don’t ignorantly repeat it. In general, leaders have two essential tasks when dealing with systems and society. First, they must ensure the SDS are functioning properly; otherwise, society will neither prosper nor last. Second, they must design society to work with human nature, not against it. Society, in a word, must reward proper behaviors and punish improper ones in clearly defined ways. Since the FLD are natural laws of human behavior, inherent within every person to varying degrees, leaders who build society without comprehending the FLD are designing for disaster. Moreover, every successful civilization that failed did so through enabling the FLD. Originally, the society satisfied the SDS; however, at some point the FLD were ignited, cracking society’s foundation, and societal collapse predictably followed. In fact, it’s not an exaggeration to say that every single historical rise-and-fall example displays similar laws of decline activity—evidently because, although many things have change over time, human nature isn’t one of them.

The FLD are to the SDS what gravity is to airplanes: a constant impetus downward. However, there is good news. Just as a plane can overcome gravity temporarily, the SDS can overcome the FLD as well. Nonetheless, the plane must come down, as will every society, when the FLD are ignored. I don’t share the SDS and the FLD pessimistically; rather, the goal is to sober up an American society inebriated with personal “peace and affluence” while the FLD rot out the foundations. An understanding of the FLD will help leaders predict outcomes of various policies upon the SDS, similar to a cientist predicting the trajectory of a ball tossed in the air through comprehending gravitational constants. Interestingly, applying the laws of human nature to societal events isn’t new. Insurance companies, for instance, routinely predict human nature when assessing insurance rates for drivers. True, not all 18 year olds are poorer drivers than 35 year olds with several children; however, since the average 18 year old is a worse driver than the average 35 year old, the insurance rates are adjusted accordingly, thus proving the old adage: man as an individual is unpredictable, but man in mass is extremely predictable. Accordingly, the FLD cannot predict how any specific person will respond to certain policies; nevertheless, it’s remarkably effective at predicting how society in mass will respond. In fact, if politicians comprehended and applied the Six Duties of Society along with the Five Laws of Decline, they would rapidly improve society by creating rewards for behavior promoting the SDS and developing checks upon any behavior promoting the FLD.