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The most frightening and insidious quality of the problem is its stark simplicity. Some people have more than their share of the resources given to us by nature. That is the problem, the whole problem, encapsulated into one sentence, to which the hypothesis concerning progress corresponds. Of course, there are tertiary features of this problem that matching aspects of our science will address but for now take a moment and contemplate the simplicity of this problem and its place as the root from which all threats to our survival stem. Here in the acceptance of such simplicity there is elegance to be found. Many years ago, when people were willing to momentarily consider that the Earth might be revolving around the sun it became easier to calculate the strange movement of the planets. And thus, the leap in thinking led to the discovery of the truth and to the simplification of their worldview. So it will be with the current state of human corruption. The topical manifestations of oppression and exploitation will be better understood once webegin viewing them as stemming from the common root of inequity.
So in taking a moment to appreciate the simplicity of this problem I am granting myself a reprieve from the complications of a worldview that accepts the necessity of class distinctions and economic inequity as inevitable features of our social construct. Is it possible that it could be so simple, that the only barrier to progress is our inability to share equally the bounty that nature supplies us? Sometimes the solutions to our problems are most frightening in that they are simple. In that simplicity is the terror of confrontation with the truth and the existential unknowing, the common experience of entities existing in space. Simple living requires the kind of courage that can only be acquired as a result of developing a sophisticated understanding of the relationships, principles and forces that govern such entities. The science that follows is a beginning in that direction and will allow one to develop in such a way that he/she may face the simplicity of the problem with greater courage, with an understanding that aids them in their confrontation with fear. Our society is polarizing so drastically that our survival as a species is in question. For the salvation and preservation of rational society it seems prudent that we seek to understand the purpose of this thing, society. Is it possible that simple answers are also to be found there?
Society, as far as I can tell, is an artificial construct. It is a non-material fabrication, a network of ideas that exist within the minds of its adherents, being placed there, both in the human mind and heart, before recorded time, for the sole purpose of protection. We found, as the planet’s first rational creatures, that our ability to share resources and care for our weakest members gave us the best defense against the ravages of nature. In fact, as society developed, we discovered that we were able to remove ourselves totally from the harsh reality of natural selection providing we worked toward equal protection of our fellows. What a profoundthing! We received, as a result of our ability to cooperate, an exemption from the evolutionary process contingent upon our efforts toward divine love and understanding. The common good was more than the common good; it was an exponentially powerful idea that radiated unending potential out of the heart of mankind. Quite simply, every member is entitled to equal protection and an equal share of the resources. This prerequisite acts as the foundation for the various forms of civilization. Society is ornamental to this principle the corruption of which signals the death of our primary purpose and therefore the death of our civilization.
That social structures find their sustenance mostly in the distribution of nutritional and spiritual/psychological support is a simple idea. The relationship between these two ideas, structure and purpose, is another example of the simple elegance of a properly identified problem. The ease with which ideas unfold into one another is evidence that we have found something essential to our understanding of human civilization. Restated, our major problem is the existence of material inequity. Since society has as its purpose the protection of that equality we can deduce logically that society is failing. If food, clothing, and shelter are not being distributed equally even though ample supplies exist then we must develop societal bonds that will enable us to secure access to what isrightly ours. Simple problem, simple solution.
If, because of the absence of equality, we deduce that society or civilization is also absent then what exists in its place? What binds humanity together in such a way that those working toward egalitarianism face resistance? What are we seeing as organization and cooperation and to what end are those means moving? If civilization is organized as such that its members are starving in the presence of abundance and many are imprisoned by force while many more are dying in conflict or due to curable diseases then we must assume that civilization is no longer serving the common good. What then is being served? What has happened to the social contract that protects the weak from the temptations of the strong? Has it been broken, corrupted or perverted merely to maintain the temporary satisfactions of a select minority? Because the structure of society was fabricated to protect us from nature we can assume that nature can find ways to adapt in order to infiltrate the structure, in order to bring us back into the order of natural selection. It seems that that has taken place, nature has found its way into the structure, that objective cold force that favors strength to compassion has infected the sacred body of civilization. There is a snake slithering in the garden.
And so we are dealing with nothing new. We are being challenged as rational and loving creatures to find a way to survive in spite of nature’s tendency toward destruction. It is the human condition. We, as a species, are seeking survival and I, as one of the members, am proposing that the solution is simple. To move from the dichotomy of wealth and poverty toward an equal distribution of resources demands that we embrace the idea that the accumulation of wealth is the building block of doom. It is crucial to this text that we see accumulation as the final reduction of the search for cause in relation to those things that threaten our survival. In other words, there is a law regarding accumulation of wealth and its affects upon society. When individuals in society begin to horde wealth, food, or power they are working against the common good. So states the law.
Before girding yourself up with the attitude that my argument is simplistic or naïve take a moment and consider the nature of accumulation. What is it to acquire more than one needs? Ask yourself if so large a problem, with so many complications could stem from one source? Is nature not constructed in such a way that complexity builds upon simple patterns or laws? Our search for the building blocks of matter, the inner structure of atoms, is no different than the quest for the structural components of injustice, poverty and violence.
What is at the root of accumulation? Why would a man or woman work toward amassing excess resources? Take a moment to think about it. Remove yourself from the page and let those comfortable beliefs slip away temporarily so that you may look at this soberly, with an objective heart. Then, ask yourself, why would a human being save more than is needed for his/her own survival. Imagine yourself putting away hordes of cash, plantains or power. How would that feel? How would your body feel? How would your heart feel? What would your mind experience? Would you feel good? What would drive you tocontinue? What would be satisfied? How would your mountain of wealth change your relationship to other people, to things, to the world, to your beliefs? What is, truly, behind the wealthy man or woman’s over-protective profiteering ways?
Fear, that is the answer, the motivation behind accumulation.
Fear, Fear, Fear, Fear, everywhere in the minds of those that work toward our destruction is terror.
Fear of what!?
Well, fear of starvation, murder, and crime. Fear of the weather, disease, and intimacy. Fear even of equality, integrity and truth. Fear of pain, suffering and sadness. All of these fears drive a human being to amass more than is required for their own sustenance and security. So blinded by terror they forget that the very tree on which they are gorging themselves was fertilized with the altruism and sacrifice of men and women working toward abundance and equality and that those human beings faced the same fears and terror but they did so courageously with faith in the common good. Wealth is a monetary form of obesity. It is a disgusting and repugnant over-indulgence of a fear-stricken man or woman.
In order to over-indulge in resources, money or power the wealthy man or woman must engage in tactics that are less than moral. Only in this way can a human being take away from his/her fellows. Theft, exploitation, sinister negotiations and manipulative business deals are all at work in what some call the Modern Business World. The business that is not being addressed is the business of distribution of assets, the business of the common good and the business of inspired leadership. The cowardice found in the marketplace is staggering. Somewhere these men and women lost faith in the power of unity and began taking what was not theirs and now they defend that stolen wealth with explicit threats of violence or imprisonment.
I wish to take a moment and address the unfortunate exception to this rule. There are those among the wealthy that are not driven by fear alone. These individuals are the products of wealth and they accumulate not out of fear but because of an excitement that is aroused by their execution of power. These individuals have developed a sensual relationship with the exploitation of their fellows. This kind of evil depends upon the existence of other wealthy people who are driven by fear. The survival of both types is symbiotic. Cowardice and evil work hand in hand. Both are complicit in our mutual destruction. The fearful rich enable individuals possessed with evil to practice their wicked dominating ways on innocent human beings.
The problem is frightful because of its totality and its insidious symbolic complexity. I am not denying it. I am simply insisting on the simplicity of the solution. Some men and women have more money and power than they are entitled to by the laws of civil wisdom. The problems that face the hypothesis, that progress is possible in spite of this inequality of strength, are to be found in the mechanisms that are engaged to protect the wealthy from the demands of their victims. These obstacles must be addressed in a rational way if progress is to be realized. There are quite a few impediments to this process but the only obstacle we are now addressing is the tendency for some to complicate the simplicity of the problem and I am making an effort to tie that tendency firmly to the fear to which it belongs. Once this simplicity is accepted and fear is replaced with courage other challenging aspects of the problem, the topical issues, no longer threaten to upset our resolve.
Now that I have argued for the simplicity of the problem I will move forward with further observation of the problem in order to draw attention to its features. Such is the proper protocol for any scientific endeavor. Though the problem is simple, its features, those ways in which the problem expresses itself, are unique to it and familiarity with them will aid us in our understanding of the solution. Also, seeing these features in this new light we will begin to understand the principal dynamics of our societal dysfunction.
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