Here is another excerpt from the
book. Chapter five and chapter six go together as a pair. As with most of
the other chapters, they bring out important themes and ideas in Reagan's
thinking:
Reagan didn’t say that money makes
people happy. He did remind people that money means freedom. It frees
people from doing something they don’t want to do eight hours a day just
to survive. People of independent wealth are not beholden to anyone for
their livelihood.
Reagan didn’t put it quite this way,
but when he talked about freedom and dignity, one of the things he wanted
to do was give everyone a chance to achieve that kind of independence. At
the least, people should be able to earn their livelihood doing something
they would want to do even if they weren’t paid for it. For many,
possessing enough wealth to be free from having to work at something you
don’t care to do is a dream deferred. The focus on building enough wealth
for retirement indicates that if you can’t be free for most of your life,
at least you can be free at the end of it.
Reagan said on several occasions that
when Gorbachev visited the United States, he’d like to take him up in a
helicopter to show him how well Americans lived. His Soviet guest could
see the single-family homes, two cars in each driveway, a backyard with
space for children to play, and, in some parts of the country, a swimming
pool. Reagan said he wanted to show Gorbachev that when it came to
providing for people’s needs and comfort, the American way was better than
any other.
Whether Gorbachev would have been
impressed is doubtful, but Reagan’s desire reveals his straightforward
approach to these matters. Years after Krushchev said, “We will crush
you,” both sides understood him to mean that the winner of the Cold War
would be decided in large part by the degree of wealth each side was able
to produce. For Reagan, the proof appeared outside the helicopter
window—the United States was richer and Russia should concede the contest.
The United States had to win because its wealth came from the efforts of
individuals who decided for themselves what to produce.
Richard Darman, Reagan’s budget
director, said that to understand Reagan, “you have to realize he is not a
Republican and not a conservative.” To understand him, Darman continued,
you should realize he is a man with a populist temperament and a populist
outlook:
"The populists
were people who were not poor but who were often lower-middle class or
working class. They were people with just enough money to stick their
heads up, look around, and feel certain feelings. They were people who
always thought someone or something was keeping them from getting ahead,
from achieving in some way. They were resentful. It is partly a resentful
movement. But they were also hopeful. They believed in America and the
American dream; they came from people who packed up in Europe or wherever
and took a dangerous journey across the ocean, often alone, in search of a
better life. That is not the action of someone who is demoralized or
driven into helplessness by circumstances. It is a profoundly hopeful act."
