Dear Daughter,

Three weeks ago you invented Socialism.  Really.  You had it all planned out.  I didn't have the heart to tell you that the origins of your idea date back close to 200 years in Western Europe.  But I imagine the intelligencia of that age sitting around coffeehouses discussing the ills of the Western world and trying to find a peaceful alternative.  Not unlike, I imagine, what you and the brothers do when you are discussing how to set up peace and order in Kid Town.  (Kid Town is the squatters settlement spreading across my basement.  I had to apply for a travel visa to cross their territory in order to get to the laundry.  Was kind of hoping that would get caught up in bureucratic red tape for a couple of months.  But no, since what they wanted out of the deal was access to the Wii up on the grown-up level of the house it got pushed through with the speed of a presidential pardon.)  

Similar to those first French, English, and German Philosophers, you have come up with some practical ways to implement your ideals.   All of which are very commendable.  My advice to you those weeks ago was to think of where your plan might run into problems and how other people might find ways to manipulate the system for their own benefit.

So now you have come to me with a possible problem: distribution of wealth.  You would like your brothers to have equal purchasing power to you, but their income is far more limited because they do not babysit and their savings are depleted because they feed their demons when they start jonesing for new legos.  Your solution: loan sharking.  Yup.  This is what you came up with.  You will loan them money for what they want to buy which they would be expected to repay by a certain date plus extra.  (So what you seem to be working on now is a hybrid of Socialism and Capitalism.  You should check out Canada and Sweden.)  And when they can't repay you?  You will repossess the legos.  When I asked you about how will you ensure that they have the means to repay you, you sat quietly for a bit.  "I suppose that would be important."  Yes, dear, it is important.  And when you figure out the answer I will send you to Washington to help them all figure it out too.

In the meantime, here is my old copy of B.F. Skinner's Walden Two.  What is incredible to think about is that this was written just a few years after World War 2.  The world was just beginning recovery from the most horrendous crises and so the thought of a peaceful future must have felt like a promise of love.  What I think you will especially like about the book is the application of scientific principles to human behavior in an effort to solve our problems.  I can't wait to see what you think of it...and what it makes you think of next!