MAMMON WORSHIP

“One thing about the current generation of conservatives: Getting mugged by reality hasn’t changed the way they look at the world.”
Katrina Vanden Heuvel
“So be it.”
John Boehner

Has capitalism become a religion? If so, is this a sign that, according to Eric Hoffer in THE TRUE BELIEVER, “its workability and advantages have ceased to be self-evident?” The gospel of free enterprise, put forth by Saints Ayn, Ronald and Milton, has attracted many true believers who seem to put free enterprise principles above the practical workings of economics. High priests Rush and Grover (and their countless minions), despite the enormous prosperity of a few and stagnation and impoverishment for everyone else, preach the doctrine that “government is the problem” with unquenched fire. The stronger the evidence that marketplace magic is not working very well for most of us, the more fervently do the faithful servants of Mammon cling to their belief in capitalism’s triumphant goodness. With their complete disdain of government in any form comes joyful reverence for avarice. According to these true believers, we are left with only six deadly sins, greed now being credited as the sole source of human progress, perhaps the single human virtue. Therefore, those who profit from their greed should be allowed to keep all their gains lest they be discouraged from getting more, which would throw all mankind into a new darkness. The leap of faith required to believe this dogma is a long one, but this presents no handicap to those who believe.
Some of Mammon’s faithful hold to the hardcore conviction that even a kind thought toward those less fortunate will stop progress dead in its tracks. Then there are those who feel rich people can share with others if they want to. But under no circumstances, no matter how great the need, should the wealthy be compelled, especially through taxes, to share the wealth, because after all taxes are for government, and government is always the problem. If a rich man wants to help the poor, he may. But if he does not, the poor must endure or die. Free people in a democracy are free to starve, but they are not allowed to use their democracy to provide for those in need, if those who possess a surfeit refuse to share.
This is a tough creed to swallow.
It is understood that need is a subjective emotion. Some people are aware that they need very little to be happy, but who are they to force their Thoeauvian simplicity on everyone else? Who is to say that material comforts and pleasures are not the just rewards of a job well done? But for one man to need many mansions, several yachts and planes, many cars, warehouses full of expensive clothes and jewels galore (not to mention pockets stuffed full of politicians) is a bit of a stretch, for most of us who do not have all that. And if the same rich man can look at millions who live in squalor, hunger and privation, and say these people have all they need, credibility fails completely.
The servants of greed are left with a religious conviction to stand on, a conviction holding that human greed, for all its resultant hardships, dislocations, warfare and suffering, is the only source of human progress. Obviously, we can understand why a mega-rich empire builder would spout such a creed. But why should anyone else believe it? The rest of us are expected by the adherents of this faith to endure any amount of hardship for the benefit of the few who have it all, believing that if we let their selfishness run rampant, some day all humanity will be materially better off. Again, this creed is tough to swallow.
In this capitalistic religion, there is no nirvana to look forward to. No heaven with its pearly gates and streets paved with gold, no celestial virgins waiting to reward us in afterlife for enduring this vale of tears. There is only faith in a better economic life for our descendants, someday, maybe. We must accept our poverty, disease, and injustice, live with our misery. . .and BELIEVE! If free enterprise depends on blind faith, then its practical advantages are no longer obvious. Under this creed, commonsense solutions to everyday problems are now sins. Unfettered greed has become the highest virtue. Adults ought to know better. Most of us do.
Historically, unbridled capitalism always concentrates too much wealth in the hands of too few people, and productivity always exceeds consumption. With consumers spending too little, surplus production backs up. Workers are fired and privation becomes widespread. Private charity is overwhelmed. Practical solutions to this problem include government spending on public works to increase employment so people will buy things again. Some wealth must be redistributed to maintain balanced prosperity and social stability, which benefits rich, poor, and those in-between. Free enterprise, constructively regulated and shared by all, is an effective tool for society’s improvement and human progress. But the people it serves must make it serve. Like fire, capitalism makes a bad master.
And greed is still not a virtue.