Stringer Bell, Chicago School of Economics

Adam Smith called smugglers heroes - men who sought to offer the price of their goods without any added expenses for whatever regulating body tried to get involved. Less costly from the supplier, less expensive for the buyer, and therefore more goods to be bought and sold at a fair price for all parties included. With no middlemen (who don't add any value) creating useless additional costs, the smuggler offers the truest and fairest price of a good or service.

All throughout the hit show the Wire, Stringer remains the most business smart, calculating man in the series. A’s on his microeconomic courses, likens himself to a CEO, discusses markets and strategy with his professors, has to explain shit all the time to his subordinates. Even after his death, McNulty finds a copy of A Inquiry into the Nature and Causes of the Wealth of Nations. But the coolest part, is his true adherence to principles of the Chicago school. Straight up, no bullshit, neoclassical, conservative, Chicago school econ. (The conventional definition of conservative, not Milton's. Friedman, accurately, always called himself a liberal.) While he’s had no remorse in eliminating business threats through violent means (hostile takeovers,) after his empirical analysis, he does generally shift toward a total Laissez–Faire, market-forces-only operation during the co-op period with Proposition Joe. He tries to use those increased profits to look into some legitimate business deals under the direction of the senator Clay Davis, but sheeeeeeeeeeeeeit, he becomes frustrated with the highly regulated, bureaucratic process of these legit ventures. Lo and behold, he gets hoodwinked by a corrupt politician. (Every conservative economist's nightmare.)

On the streets, interestingly enough, the blood-thirsty, bellicose, power-hungry Avon Barksdale is actually the liberal, in favor of larger government, increased regulations (by his own weapons and ferocity) that fuck up natural market forces. Avon's interference with the market equilibrium destroys value, when there’d actually be larger real societal gains (more drugs and money for all) if he left it alone.

But still, ya know, drugs are bad.

Guy Ritchie Called, He Wants His Soul Back

Guy Ritchie: "Hey Ryan, it's Guy."

Ryan: "Fuck you. What do you want, guy?"

Guy Ritchie: "Did you just call me 'guy?' Like, lowercase?"

Ryan: "Yeah I did, buddy."

Guy Ritchie: "I'm not your buddy, friend."

Ryan: "I'm not your friend, jackass, and I'm hanging up now."

Guy Ritchie: "Wait. I'm sorry."

Ryan: "For what? Marrying Madonna? Revolver? Swept Away? All the ways in which you've squandered your artistic gifts since 2001?"

Guy Ritchie: "Right. All of those."

Ryan: "Cause you know she's fucking A-Rod right now, right?"

Guy Ritchie: "Right. Yeah I know. But, I wanted to say..."

Ryan: "Like she had talent when she sang 'Crazy for You' in Vision Quest. But that four minutes shit with Justin Timberlake? Seriously dude, are you just like on a huge bender and have permanent beer goggles..."

[audible stifled beer tears]

Guy Ritchie: "Yes. Look man, I'm sorry, but I'm here to make amends."

Ryan: "Go on."

Guy Ritchie: "Well I wrote and directed a movie and it's pretty great. I realized I need to get some real pussy again, so I decided to create some real art."

Ryan: "Word. Good to hear. Statham? Some women?"

Guy Ritchie: "Nope. Fuck Statham, he's old news. And yeah, the women are gorgeous - the chick from MI-2 and Crash, and the latest Bond girl. But the main characters are pretty badass."
[finally excited]

Ryan: "Who motherfucker?!"

Guy Ritchie: "Ludacris, Carmine Falcone from Batman, and that skinny dude who looks like a chick in Sweeney Todd."

Ryan: "Fuck y.."

Guy Ritchie: "Oh yeah, also ARI GOLD, KING LEONIDAS, and STRINGER MOTHERFUCKIN' BELL."


FUCK MOTHERFUCKING ROCKNROLLA FUCK AWESOME MOTHERFUCKER- FINALLY-GOT-HIS-SHIT-TOGETHER!

"I don't want to be a product of my environment. I want my environment to be a product of me." Jack Nicholson, The Departed

One of the best opening movie quotes to one of my favorite movies. This quote stirs up reminders of people who were not products of their environment, but rose well above society's feeble expectations to achieve great things. There are countless examples in history, between Mark Twain, Andrew Carnegie, Ted Turner, and though his leadership as President was questionable; Jimmy Carter. Here we have four people whose ambition and determination superceded any obstacle that stood to hold them back. Samuel Clemens was born into a very poor family in Missippi and had very little formal education. How is it that he was able to become one of the most respected writers of all time and as Hemingway called him "the father of American literature"? How is it that his witticisms and observations were so profound, unique, and intelligent that there is a perennial humor award in his honor?

Twain, while obviously very intelligent, knew that in order to achieve his goals he had to work dilligently, specialize and focus. When he wanted to be a river boat captain (a profession that led him to his penname) he studied chart after chart on the Mississippi River so that he would know every shallow point, every threatening rock. This effort and focus ensured his success as a river boat pilot. It is unsettling to hear about people being unable to rise above their means or that society inherently holds people down. It is said that when Twain was young, all he wanted to do was be a river boat pilot. Unlike most, this dream never wavered and was ultimately achieved. As for Twain becoming a literary giant, his formula was simple, "Write what you know about." Funny, he never seemed to discuss croutons, probably for the best. In any case, Twain is the archetype of the self made man. Rather than look at the world as cruel and unsupportive of individual success, he used the tools that were available to learn and read and soak up as much as he possibly could. Twain spent countless hours pouring over volumes of every literary topic imaginable in the New York Public Library.

"You wasted one hundred and fifty grand on an education you could have got for a dollar fifty in late charges at the public library"

This Good Will Hunting quote embodies the path Twain took. He didn't have the means to go to a place like Oxford, Harvard, or Yale, and while he was eventually awarded honorary degrees from these institutions, he took advantage of the best asset available to him; public libraries. Public libraries are such powerful tools that it is alarming how few people actually take the time to go there and make use of it. Twain summed it perfectly, a sort of motto for autodidacts, "I've never let my schooling interfere with my education."

Many consider Ayn Rand's The Fountainhead to be one of the best, most profound books in the past century, and I would concur. However, while many see redeeming qualities in the tragic hero that is Roark, I think the most important paragraph is when Gail Wynand concludes that the main difference between succesful and unsuccessful people is "books". Successful people are well read. Unsuccessful people are not. While this formula does not apply to every situation or circumstance, there is much more to be gained from turning the the TV off, picking up a book than from watching re-runs of Scrubs. Something incredibly simple, but still an elusive process for most. As I said earlier, Jimmy Carter isn't exactly my favorite President. But Carter grew up on a farm in Georgia, and clearly had ambition to burn. His appetite for reading was unprecedented and he claims to have read every book in the public library in his hometown. He went from being the son of a farmer to a President, albeit a poor one, to a Nobel Peace Prize Winner. Not bad at all.

"It is another of the miraculous things about mankind that there is no pain or passion that does not radiate to the ends of the Earth. Let a man in a garret but burn enough intensity and he will set fire to the world."
Antoine de Saint-Exupery, Wind, Sand, and Stars


In other words, I have no sympathy for people who resign to their circumstances without giving an honest, hard-nosed try to break out. When you hear children speak about wanting to be movie stars, doctors, or astronauts, it's inspiring to see that much hope, though it is so often dismissed for naievete. But what happens that makes people suddenly drop those dreams or slowly learn to settle for something that is nowhere near what they had hoped to become? You can pour over Coelho's The Alchemist and get that inspiring chip back, but without serious effort, and an intense focus on exactly what you want, it just isn't going to happen. The inevitable argument is that most people do not have enough time to pursue what they really want because they are so busy working two jobs to support themselves. Perseverance and focus will not bend to the hurdles and obstructions such as work schedule. I've been told stories of people who took jobs in garages and still found time to study and graduate with a degree in electrical engineering, who lived in fear of oil drips that would ruin their books.

The bottom line is, no autonomous person will be a victim of the world until they choose to be swallowed by mediocrity. Whether you have to tackle a few shelves at the local library, audit some night courses, or simply shut off the blackberry for a while, it is easy to see that most limits and setbacks are self-imposed and can be surpassed.

Further Reading:

4 hour work week

War of Art

The Fountainhead

Suicide Bombers and Pussy

Generation Kill is an incredibly awesome mini-series - not that you'd expect anything less from David Simon, Ed Burns and co. The writing, acting, and most importantly, story are nearly perfect. And by the end of it, the Godfather will either place or show in my ultimate badass heirarchy: Stringer Bell, Batman, Forrest Griffin.

Besides badassery, another of my favored values is of course, unapologetic sarcasm. This rant is fucking brilliant. The dialog is between Cpl. Josh Ray Person (Ziggy Sabotka on the Wire) and the reporter from the Rolling Stone.

"Oh, there's layers of retardation that most people don't even know about. You should quote me on that. Look at this shit. How come we can't ever invade a cool country...like chicks in bikinis, you know? How come countries like that don't ever need Marines? I'll tell you why. It's lack of pussy that fucks countries up. Lack of pussy is the root fucking cause of all global instability. If more hajjis were getting quality pussy, there'd be no reason for us to come over here and fuck them up like this. 'Cause a nut-busted hajji is a happy hajji."

"It's an interesting theory though."

"Yeah, you should quote me on it. Matter of fact, you should definitely quote me on it. This whole fucking thing, it comes down to pussy. Look, if you took the Republican guard, comped their asses in Vegas for a weekend, no more fucking war."

"So this war isn't about oil or WMDs?"

"No. In the opinion of this Marine, it's about pussy."

"And it's not about Saddam?"

"Saddam's just part of the problem. Look if Saddam invested more in the pussy infrastructure of Iraq than he did on his fucking gay-ass army, than this country would be no more fucked up than say, Mexico."

Awesome. And as we well know, stuff is funny cause it's true. Check out #4 in this article written by the evolutionary psychologists Alan S. Miller Ph.D. & Satoshi Kanazawa Ph.D.

Ten Politically Incorrect Truths About Human Nature

"So polygyny increases competitive pressure on men, especially young men of low status. It therefore increases the likelihood that young men resort to violent means to gain access to mates. By doing so, they have little to lose and much to gain compared with men who already have wives. Across all societies, polygyny makes men violent, increasing crimes such as murder and rape, even after controlling for such obvious factors as economic development, economic inequality, population density, the level of democracy, and political factors in the region."

Christ, even a FRENCH writer pointed this out way back when in like 1930. From Antoine de Saint-Exupery's Wind, Sand and Stars (great book, Outside magazines #1 adventure, Nat'l Geographic's # 3.)

"In Paris," [the Moors] said, "you walk through a crowd of a thousand people. You stare at them. And nobody carries a rifle!"

"You take one Moor from each tribe," they went on. "You take him to the circus. And nevermore will tribes of Er-Reguibat make war on the French."

Pre-sexual revolution, but the point remains the same. Deny people that which is natural, healthy and good (and the freedom and opportunity to pursue these things) and you get violent and destructive backlash.

Further reading:
Why Beautiful People Have More Daughters
Generation Kill
Tons of shit I haven't read yet and admittedly don't know enough about this topic, but it's worth learning.