Greed

where there is greed, there is much suffering. where there is capitalism, there is greed.

I have been thinking a lot lately on the problems of capitalism in America, and how short-term most corporations have been in their actions. below are just a few examples. one can imagine how things would be different if we only thought more long-term.

post-college graduates cannot pursue their hearts because their passions cannot sustain them. They are working to pay of their debts like indentured slaves, some upwards fo 50+ hours a week. they could be otherwise be cultivating their artistic craft they  have always longed to be the best at, or going overseas to do the mission work, or humanitarian work they have be burdened to do. Or, Perhaps students are going to school and getting work in a field that they are passionate about. However, that passion is no longer fun because it’s an obligation, a means to fulfill the duties due the master, rather than a voluntary act of joy rooted from a heart’s desire. Reminds me a lot of the feudalism system 1000 years ago.

Another example: government won’t enforce health regulations on things like food, or price ceilings on the now exorbitant costs of healthcare because kickbacks are oh-so-sweet, and campaign funding is what helped one get into office. Meanwhile, families living in poverty or below minimum wage are more likely to be obese and have dietary health issues like diabetes than those families earning more. And families that cant afford healthcare–capitalistic or the new socialistic model–have to take out loans to pay off healthcare bills. Another example of the modern feudalistic system at work.

SUV’s will continue to be the choice production vehicle type of American car manufacturers because profit margins are 10x greater than that of smaller more fuel efficient vehicles. All the while, the oil companies get richer, while the the environment gets more polluted, and small local economies like the fishing industry in the gulf get destroyed because of corporate negligence in order to keep costs low to boost profits.

Small independent organic farmers are being shut down because wealthy corporations are threatening to take them to court for patent infringement on GMO crops because the GMO seeds spread onto said organic farmer’s crops from natural occurrences like wind. The result is less people having access to healthy “normal” food, and small farmers being left with “figuring out” something else to do for a living. While America continues to have more food-related health issues than other developed nation.

the market for biofuels means competing with farmland for food. families, as a result are being stripped of their land in Indonesia by officials paid off by corporations who will use this land to grow non-organic palm oil. If the family is lucky, they will get work from the corp at a low, unsustainable wage, while their air gets polluted from all the harvesting and planting, and their water from all the pesticides. All this so that American car manufacturers can hit their CAFE quota because their current lineup of offerings doesn’t meet US set standards for CAFE. Rather than produce hybrids or more fuel efficient vehicles, they can get credit by producing the same low fuel efficient vehicles which can now run on biofuels.

the list goes on…human trafficking, drugs, , etc…

You know, it’s interesting being back in the states after being overseas for 15 months. For the first 3 months or so being in Romania, I thought things from my culture were generally “better”.  how ethnocentric of me. Though I am thrilled to be back in the states where I can easily find a tastey pale ale or IPA, and to be in a place where I can truly function as an adult and to fully be able to enjoy the arts and social interaction that I am a part of. I am thankful that I can be in a area of the country where I can contribute as little to the unethical corporations as possible.

how does one live in a way where one is not contributing to the unethical behaviors of the culture– namely  the unethical corporations at large? the food industry? the medical industry who makes billions of dollars treating symptoms rather than curing causes? how can one avoid working long hours, avoid supporting the corruption of the automobile oligopoly who’s sleeping with the petroleum teamate, all the while while ruining lives–individuals and families and economies in poorer parts of the world?  how can one live counter-culturally in such a greedy society?

perhaps we need to give more than we take, and think about someone else’s needs above our own.

~ by dabhandeddrifter on February 16, 2011.