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Not more and better, rather less and sufficient
by Herb Ruhs, MD
| June 10, 2008 |
In Short and to the point, by Leon Fisher, he asks the rhetorical
question, "If this [the exploitation of the many by the few] is not
the case why is the economy of the United States as well as that of
the better part of the rest of the World rapidly going into the
crapper?"
It is a character flaw of mine to
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On the up side, this will all soon collapse and we will be thrown back on our own resources to survive with what is left in the debris left over from this latest psychotic episode of the powerful.
If we can learn from our mistakes we will have the opportunity to build a much better world.
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answer rhetorical
questions. My apologies. That said, and consistent with the rest of
Leon's piece, it is not true that the world's economy is "going into
the crapper," at least from the point of view of the dominant
capitalist centers.
I just finished Naomi Klein's book The Shock Doctrine: The Rise of Disaster Capitalism. I highly
recommend it for folks wanting to understand the roots of our
suffering. From the dominant elite's point of view, as documented in
Klein's book, the economy is going great. Great fortunes are being
made by deliberately destroying the livelihoods of the vast majority
of the world's people.
However, in the final analysis this extreme
concentration of wealth and control is unsustainable. In spite of
their dreams of surviving the catastrophes they are setting in motion
by holding up in
We must consciously and deliberately change the way we think about status and respect.
We must rehab our values.
Not more and better, rather less and sufficient.
Not what I can get for myself, rather what can I get to share with others.
Not power to the best and brightest, rather power to the morally committed community acting democratically with the advice of the wisest.
Not striving to influence others, rather striving to truly understand, and hence, be influenced by others.
Not the need to know secrets and hidden knowledge, rather the need to share transparent and public knowledge.
Not whose opinion is correct, rather an appreciation for the complexity of knowledge and for the variety of opinions that are needed to get a reliable three dimensional view of reality.
Not the exploitation of oppor-
tunity, rather a repugnance toward this behavior.
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fortified redoubts, the reality is that the
managerial elite is dependent on the welfare and productivity of the
mass of people that they exploit. When they destroy us they destroy
themselves.
It seems apparent to me that the extremely rich and privileged are
just suffering from a form of mass psychosis. They are burning down
the house to stay warm and they are feasting on the goose that lays
the golden eggs. On the up side, this will all soon collapse and we
will be thrown back on our own resources to survive with what is left
in the debris left over from this latest psychotic episode of the
powerful. If we can learn from our mistakes we will have the
opportunity to build a much better world.
The super rich will have done themselves in, in the most classic
human fashion -- through unbridled self-indulgence. This is a story
that has repeated itself over and over again through out history and
sometimes with a conscious awareness of what they are doing (Louis
XIV "after me the deluge").
What we see is, to my mind, compulsive
behavior of the most destructive kind. They literally can not help
themselves. The answer, I think, is to attempt to ignore the
personalities involved and look instead at the structure of the
society that produces the opportunity for such twisted people to
bring on general destruction in the pursuit of their compulsive
behavior.
The key feature of this kind of self destructive structure
is progressive centralization of power. To effectively confront this
destructive cycle we must have the courage to see the weaknesses in
ourselves that are tiny models of the weaknesses of those who crave
power and wealth. We must consciously and deliberately change the
way we think about status and respect. We must rehab our values.
Not more and better, rather less and sufficient.
Not what I can get for myself, rather what can I get to share with
others.
Not power to the best and brightest, rather power to
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the morally
committed community acting democratically with the advice of the wisest.
Not striving to influence others, rather striving to truly
understand, and hence, be influenced by others.
Not the need to know secrets and hidden knowledge, rather the need to
share transparent and public knowledge.
Not whose opinion is correct, rather an appreciation for the
complexity of knowledge and for the variety of opinions that are
needed to get a reliable three dimensional view of reality.
Not the exploitation of opportunity, rather a repugnance toward this
behavior.
Sustainable societies (the vast majority of which have been destroyed
by capitalist excess bent on commodifying and homogenizing the world)
in my experience and learning, all subscribe to these sorts of
values. In these societies it is shameful to advance one's self at
the expense of the community.
If we can learn to live these values
we may yet survive as a species. Otherwise we are toast and better
off extinct.
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