God and the Devil in Policies and Hacks

Individuals who advocate welfarism and redistribution are angry at god.

Individuals who chase get rich quick schemes are enamored by the devil.

I don’t say that lightly.

In the first instance, you could substitute for “god” something like the substrate of reality, the inescapable fact of logic, the existence of choice and free-will, scarcity, cause and effect, the truth, or trade-offs.  Failure to make peace with this results in a never ending and bitter quest to shake a fist at reality, envy those who seem not to share this anger, and curse at the mountain.  It requires constant reassurances to yourself and others that you are right and righteous, even while attempting to deny the enduring reality of cause and effect by which that might be judged.  It is a losing game.

In the second instance, you could substitute for “the devil” something like deception, falsehood, blissful ignorance, flattery, or the lie.  Rather than anger at reality, this is denial; an optimists primary method of evading it (vs. the pessimists outlined above).  It’s a perpetual effort to avoid the inescapable fact that progress, growth, and good cannot be separated from work, challenge, and struggle.  It is a losing game.