Capitalism Run Amok

Capitalism Run Amok, Part 2

For to all those who have, more will be given, and they will have in abundance; but from those who have nothing, even what they have will be taken from them. Matthew 25:29

A capitalistic economy can provide generous financial rewards for those who produce products or services that are valued by the marketplace, especially when those offerings are in high demand and short supply. In a purely open economy, the financial value of one’s work mirrors the value of the product or service provided. There are many types of support services required for an economy to function, however, that unregulated markets will not adequately provide under the forces of supply and demand. Those supports include law enforcement, the military, healthcare, governance, and services for the poor and marginalized. Capitalistic countries like the United States must constantly balance the parts of the economy allowed to operate freely in its largely-capitalistic markets with the parts removed from or heavily supported outside of the marketplace. As more of the economy is removed from free market forces by regulations, oversight, support, and taxes, more of its products and services are removed from the open interactions between buyers and sellers that often benefit consumers with improved products and lower prices. At least in theory…

When I say that capitalism has run amok in the United States, I mean that making more money in the marketplace used to be a means to an end, which is to say one would strive to accumulate money for specific life-related purposes – to buy a home, save for a secure retirement, or to improve one’s lifestyle. For businesses, making a profit – the excess of income over expenses – allowed businesses to replace aging equipment, increase employee salaries, or to expand or improve the products and services offered. There was a tangible purpose for making more money that directly corresponded to a person’s life-experience or a business’s purpose for existing. In recent decades, a novel purpose for making money has become increasingly evident – to make even more money. Making money became not just the means to an end, but the means and the end.

When Charles Darwin published On the Origin of Species, in 1859, he introduced theories that revolutionized the natural sciences with concepts that remain in common use today: evolution, survival of the fittest, and natural selection, to name a few. Thus began a time where science provided more logical explanations about life – its beginnings, purpose, and propagation – than had previously been  provided by religion. Although Darwin is said to have seen no conflict between his theories and a sovereign God, his ideas instigated a deep divide between science and religion that continues for many to this day, and both science and religion (and politics) are diminished as a result. One of Darwin’s observations was that in nature, the species’ best suited to their environment were most likely to survive, reproduce, and perpetuate their existence, also known as the survival of the fittest. It was an impersonal, if observable, description of life in unregulated biomes. Darwinism-run-amok might be described as the belief that only the fittest should survive – that we should not interfere with the natural course of events to preserve less-fit species of plants and animals from extinction. In economic terms, Darwinistic capitalists might argue that unregulated financial markets are superior, even when they allow the richest in society to thrive as the poorest wither and die. The underlying assumption, of course, is that one’s value to the marketplace is the sole determinant of one’s overall value. If we believe other factors are at play in determining a person’s value, the economy must be regulated in ways that prevent the wanton degradation of the lower classes. And although our economy today is regulated, those regulations are woefully inadequate because the wealthy keep getting wealthier as the poor get poorer.

Factual, scientific knowledge is useful for working with tangible projects like medical advancements, home-building, and space exploration; moral and spiritual considerations are useful when wading through intangible aspects of life like compassion, love, and inherent values. Science without compassion can become aloof and ruthless, while compassion without science can become abstract and unrealistic. We find our best lives when drawing from and integrating both disciplines.

Underlying pure capitalism is the mistaken belief that more is always better, whether one is talking about money, possessions, power, or influence. Everything in a capitalistic economy becomes a competition where success is measured not simply by how much one has, but by how much more one has than others. If resources were unlimited, such an attitude would matter less. But critical resources – healthcare, housing, and food, to name a few – are limited, so when an economy is regulated in ways that allow some persons to continue accumulating resources far beyond their need while others must rely on charity and government welfare to barely scrape by, we know capitalism has run amok.

This is the 15^th in a series titled The New-Old Social Pandemic. The opinions expressed here are mine. To engage with me or to explore contemplative spiritual direction, contact me at ghildenbrand@sunflower.com.