Ok, so it seems everyone is talking about Capitalism and Greed these days. Actually, i think it's just my sister and Greg Boyd, but that's almost everyone anyway.
Here's the problem. Capitalism is what makes all the economic world go 'round but at the same time it feeds on human greed. what to do? what to do?
I'm not sure of course what the right answer might be, but I was thinking, maybe we could keep the whole capitalist engine running if the stuff we were buying (that we don't need) was being bought to give to people who did need it. Of course human nature being what it is, the engine wouldn't run nearly so well if people were only buying what they needed and people are just not as motivated by philanthropy as by greed so consumer spending would still go down and everything would come to a screeching halt.
Maybe the answer is more in the state of our hearts and how much life we get from our stuff or from the act of getting stuff. Do we feel down and so we go and buy something to feel better? Do we ask ourselves anything beyond do I want it and can I fit it on my credit card?
Maybe the tendency toward greed that is the problem with capitalism is our 'cross to bear' the way other systems have their own problems. And we should at the very least not get all arrogant about what a great system we have and think everyone else should do it too.
This is one of the questions I've always had about "made in the USA" campaigns. If we only buy stuff made by americans, what happens to all the developing world workers who loose their jobs when the demand disappears for their products. They may be making less money than americans would make but if it's a good job in their country, why work against that?
It's all a big fat I DON'T KNOW
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I think that we should buy a big patch of land and all go live on it together and grow our own food and make our own clothes and pretend that the "real world" doesn't exist. Hmmm.. maybe I live too close to M. Night Shyamalan...
actually, you might be onto something there. or let's take that idea and apply it to golf courses - do we really need so many golf courses. here they are - nice neighborhoods, good growing capabilities... let's just move onto the golf courses. thanks to george carlin for that idea
My old boss (whose husband LOVES to golf) has a bumper sticker that says, "Golf Courses: What a Waste of Perfectly Good Farmland." It makes him bitter every day that he has to pull in behind her car in the driveway.
I've been pretty anti Wal-Mart for it's capitalistics for quite a while now, but I heard something on public radio the other day that made me stop and think. Wal-Mart has a LOT of power when it comes to the companies that fill their shelves. They put a lot of pressure on those companies to do what Wal-Mart wants them to do to lower costs and etc. One thing that Wal-Mart is doing now, is asking their suppliers to be more "green." Can't say that's a bad thing. Because if Wal-Mart "asks," it's gonna happen. They might not be totally altruistic in their motives, I'm sure they will save money when a truckload carries more product and less packaging. Is that important? I don't know. I still avoid Wal-Mart and sneer at my friends that go. I know it's more complex than that, but for now, i will just admit I have to think about it again.
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