There is reason to be optimistic about the future, but a dangerous reliance on entitlement dominates today’s political argument, George Will told a sold-out McCrary Theatre at Elon’s annual Pulitzer Prize Lecture on Thursday.

Speaking to students, faculty and community members in the theatre, Will argued that a majority of Americans are demanding entitlement from a government that they criticize.

“Clearly, the American people talk a great game against Washington, but they don’t believe it,” he said.

Will’s sharp humor and engaging public speaking skills—he spent less than a minute behind the podium and moved casually about the stage for the remainder of his speech—did not detract from the seriousness of his message: the American economy is booming against a backdrop of pessimism and a growing demand for entitlements.

The most prominent argument in today’s political dialogue is the conservative emphasis on freedom as a core value, as opposed to the liberal belief in equality, according to Will.

That belief in equality, Will said, creates a growing dependency on entitlements.

Citing Medicare and Social Security as prime examples of this demand, Will said that the country’s growing dependency on these benefits will lead to a future in which the funds allocated for such programs will be unable to meet the demands of the elderly.

“The majority of Americans begin taking Social Security at the age of 62,” Will said. “Fixing Social Security is conceptually simple: we need to raise the retirement age.”

The current welfare system was established in 1935, when the ideas of retirement and medicine had barely entered American discourse. Today’s increasing life expectancy, coupled with the growing demand for retirement benefits at the age of 62, has created an unbalanced health care system.

Furthermore, Will said that the Democrats’ promotion of the welfare state creates “social problems that are caused by attempts to fix social problems.”

Instead of relying on entitlement, Will urges Americans to embrace the concepts of freedom and choice. He said that the health care system should not be eliminated but should offer a variety of options so that Americans do not continually demand an increase in benefits.

“This entitlement mentality curdles our understanding of the good economic time we’re living in,” he said. “We’re becoming the cry-babies of the Western world. Let’s keep our problems in perspective.”

Will argued that, contrary to criticisms of the ways in which Republicans have handled the economy, America is prospering more than ever. The current “triumph of productivity” has gone up so many jobs that all Americans are able to find employment, even if not in the fields that they most desire.

Will also explained that the market currently rewards intelligence over capital. The income disparity in the United States is heavily reflective of the educational gap: employees with a college education currently earn 70 percent more than those with a high-school diploma.

In his mind, this push for education is not a negative facet of society.

Using colorful, baseball-related metaphors to emphasize his arguments, Will’s lecture demanded a cohesive mix of both optimism and caution for the future.

Will’s written commentary appears in more than 475 U.S. newspapers. He won the Pulitzer Prize in 1977 and his commentary can be heard weekly on ABC’s “This Week.”

Reporter: Maggie Griffiths - 09/26/07