Looking for a friend

We are faced with a mirror that reflects our intent, interests and motivations when we look at the current financial situation in the U.S. and internationally. One point that many people point to (including me) is the role of the institutions and the business culture in promoting an attitude of exploitative entitlement. An example of an investigation into the depths and the breadth of this financial crisis is this radio episode.

What we see is partly a spiritual reckoning that expresses the tendency to seek balance. Mathematicians call it "regression to the mean." In ancient it was called "maat." In the Judeo-Chrisitan tradition it is called the "golden rule," i.e., do unto others as you would have them do unto you or want for your brother what you want for yourself. This tendency that is expressed by the universe as reciprocity is also seen in human affairs in the economics arena as market corrections or the boom and bust of the business cycle.

Fundamentally we lose sight of the exploitation factor that is a central and integral part of the capitalist system. The edge that capitalism provides over other economic systems is to carve off a piece of others efforts for your self. It is based on the idea that we should get something for nothing. The same fiction that allows us to treat corporations as natural people with all the associated rights and privileges also justifies the role of capital as a commodity when lent. This neo-credit has been looked down upon and objected to in religious traditions across time and space. We find that in the Jewish tradition only non-Jews were exploited by charging interest. It was forbidden to charge interest from other Jews. Islam has maintained its prohibition against "riba."

The current financial crisis shows that the international capitalist monetary system has lost sight of the old hustler's adage: use don't abuse.





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