Who is this Economic Deity Who Starves Babies?
by Spocko
Today listen, watch and read how people talking about “The Economy”
Bernie Sanders
@SenSanders I applaud the people of Greece for saying NO to more austerity for the poor, children, sick and elderly. pic.twitter.com/hoAwRDy6gl
There will be billions of bits spilled today talking about Greece and “The Economy” it’s nice to see someone put people in the picture.
As my friend Anat Shenker-Osorio says in her book, “Don’t Buy It: The Trouble with Talking Nonsense about the Economy.“
The economy is not a force of nature. It’s not the tide that raises all yachts. It is not like a tidal wave where humans can’t do anything to stop it or change it.
The economy is not a deity who demands we starve our elderly and kill babies in order to be pleased.
Do we humans serve The Deity Economy or does the economy serve humans?
(I’m tempted to quote the Twilight Zone, “It’s a cookbook!” )
It is not a Deity demanding more forced austerity. It’s people making those demands. And it’s not about people tightening their belts more. People have been hanging themselves from those austerity belts,
Do Natural People Have any Power over Corporate People?
In the second episode of Mr. Robot, Elliot the protagonist talks about “The invisible hand that guides us all.” He knows how people are being hurt by “Evil Corp” and wants to lash out at the system. But given the scope of the problem the hero wonders, “What’s the point?”
He has to decide to act or not. And then how far to go.
The hero sees how his actions, or lack of them, will have a direct impact on him and his happiness. Does he ignore the human suffering in front of him or keep ignoring it to keep himself happy?
He might tell himself that he needs the human suffering to happen, “for the greater good,” but he knows it’s really his greater good first.
Will he hurt individuals who are not the guilty parties, in order to fulfill his mission of wiping out debt, and punishing Evil Corp? Is there a guiding principle to his attempts to make change where he keeps the lives of humans foremost?
All This Economy Talk Makes Me Thirsty
Today I walked by the University of Chicago the Booth School of Business the Graham School of Continuing Liberal and Professional Studies.
I also spotted this quote for Kevin Murphy. I know nothing about him except what is on this sign. “Economics is about applying some pretty basic principles to a range of areas and trying to inject a little creativity.”
I thought that was an interesting comment. So, to echo Bernie Sanders, I ask, “What are the principles being applied?”
Part of a sense of powerless comes from how the situation is presented to us. If I see the economy as a force of nature or deity then who am I to hold back the ocean? Who am I to defy God?
If you have been fundamentally changed by the economic crisis, as I have been, it’s hard to look at the world the same way. I remember the rage, the fear and the powerlessness.
I see people living their life here in Chicago as if there is a tomorrow and they might have work next week. That’s nice, I’m happy for them.
But I also remember the long cloud that, though no fault of our own, hung over the economy in our country. I still felt responsible. Maybe I didn’t worship The Economy right. Or I didn’t batten down my hatches enough. Probably not enough bootstrap pulling on my part.
Yes, I have a bias about who the economy should serve. I put myself in the shoes of the Greek people. I would say I’ve walked a mile in their shoes, but I think they use the metric system over there.
Sanders is reminding us that God didn’t create “The Economy” it was just some men in an office building somewhere. And that means that men and women can change The Economy too. They don’t have to change the laws of nature either. Just the laws of men.