Is Capitalism Dead?
abracad, · Categories: in the news, spiritual politicsThere's no doubting the success of the capitalist free market approach in delivering material growth. Indeed the 1991 collapse of the Soviet Union, unable to keep pace in the cold war, signaled its victory over communism, its main rival for much if the 20th century.
Yet capitalism is not utopia. Its greatest achievements are overshadowed by vast inequality. The greed is good philosophy espoused by Michael Douglas's character in the movie Wall Street is responsible for much human misery, including among its own advocates who bypass the very purpose of living.
But does the current financial crisis, and the need for collective (government mandated, taxpayer funded) action to resolve it, mark the end of the era of capitalist supremacy? The very basis of capitalism is that the invisible hand of the market knows best. The collapse of the banks, brought about by the greed of a significant minority of individuals, suggests this is not so.
The failure of the financial system proves once and for all that the suits and ties are not the intellectual elite they and their compensation pretend. It also reveals the essential, saving role of collective rather than competitive action.
I'll leave the politicos to argue whether John & Jane Doe should pick up the tab for the debacle. That they have implies that the invisible hand ought never again be trusted to work unchecked and unaided.
Slowly, unevenly, but completely inevitably humankind is on a journey of Spiritual evolution. Disastrous though the credit crunch may appear for some, its aftermath presents enormous growth potential, the opportunity to make a leap into a new era in which the reality of underlying oneness takes a more prominent role.
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Filed in: in the news, spiritual politics
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