The Parable of Miguelon

Miguelón was a Homo heidelbergensis who lived in Atapuerca 300,000 years ago. The poor man broke a tooth, which caused him to have a huge abscess and blood poisoning, which, in time, would result in his death. With the burden of such an infection, his life must have been torture. But, one way or another, he endured the pain. With the mouth damaged, the heidelbergensis could not chew food. Thus, the only explanation for his survival is thanks to his fellow cave members who helped him by chewing his food. Miguelón was covered by Social Security, which already existed 300,000 years ago.

Obama could use the story of Miguelón to get support from Congress for his Social Security reform. But life during the last 300,000 years has become very complicated. The United States now has an entrepreneurial middle class, full of energy and creativity, but which is not ready to pay the Social Security bill for ne’er-do-well Miguelones. Each time that a U.S. president has attempted to reform his country’s Social Security, he has ended up tarred and feathered. The reform appears condemned to slowly and inevitably thin out, while Obama guarantees his progressive credit by charging at brokers and bankers. Social Security reform could undermine the support of the middle class. The crusade against Wall Street, on the other hand, could be worthwhile for his popularity: Miguelón, you’re done for.

Miguelón could think that he might have more luck in Europe. But here, we believe, it would be best to facilitate the poor man with a “dignified death,” with a progressive euthanasia law to liberate him definitively from the abscess. Miguelón, you cannot escape. Progress, the entrepreneurial instinct, the creation of wealth, has allowed man to come a long way, but it does not have a place for Miguelones with incurable abscesses.