One would have expected that with the financial crisis and our present economic woes that we would learn many lessons – as the politicians and financial experts are keen to point out when interviewed and lost for words. My distaste for the phrase “lessons are to be learnt” has to do with my dismay over the number of times this has been uttered, when in reality nothing changes. Old habits die hard – they just re-invent themselves. As events over the past weeks have revealed, greed is quite difficult to control. It is hyper-active. And those (individuals, financial institutions and corporations) who have been among the main culprits in our economic demise continue to demonstrate how they do not intend to change an iota.
Money not only talks: it rules and in very strange ways it continues to dictate our lives. Banks, Bankers and financial institutions that/whom we have had to be bail out through the public purse continue to dictate policies ranging from exorbitant payments/salaries of huge sums of money to all forms of immoral defence and excuses to justify these. The figures we are talking about will not only break my calculator: it will make the budget of some majority world country look like peanuts. This is besides the fact that all our talk about ethics appear like something from the Stonehenge.
Can we wholly blame conscienceless individuals and a system for this situation? Where and how have we become accomplices in such a system built on an illusion, good enough (while it has its run) to give us handouts that make us feel worthy, rich and part of something going somewhere? Perhaps, the Dutch economist Goudzwaard is correct to note that our economic system can be compared to us being caught in a traffic jam in a tunnel with the traffic flowing only in one direction: we can neither move forward, backward or sideways. The only safe place is forward out of the tunnel even though the road leads over a precipice.
How can economics operate with a moral conscience if banking technocrats and bureaucrats see no responsibility in earning smaller salaries? Are these people of faith? If they are, how do they connect their faith/belief to responsibility for the common good? What do faith communities say to such folks who may be members and supporters?
Is it possible for ordinary people to make a difference? I certainly think that we can use the power of protest more constructively: those who are shareholders may wish to help change policies rather than only thinking profit. We may also wish to be more radical in our protest: take our monies out of banks that are unethical. And forget supermarket financing and credit cards! Don’t be duped. Perhaps we ought to contemplate alternative banks. Why not? Why do we have to stick with immoral economic nonsense? Why wait for politicians to remedy this situation. The bottom line for politics is that economic interests rule and call the shots even though these are crumbling like dominoes all around us.
Here is the seven headed dragon multiplied a hundred times that is the prevalent evil the day. There is no knight in shining armour ready to slay the beasts and its many avatars. We can, however, individually and as small communities act by going alternative: do not use unethical banks; invest ethically; do not go into debt; live within your means; why do you need more than one credit card?; pay your credit card off immediately; if you cannot, then bin it as soon as possible; why not try bartering (a faith community is a good space to start such an initiative). Faith communities can certainly take the lead on this. There are loads of other ideas online.
See for instance:
http://www.socialedge.org/discussions/responsibility/alternative-economic-structures
After all: a journey of 1000 miles begins with the 1st step (Korean wisdom saying). Do not wait on someone else to take that step! Act now!
© copyright jagessar December 4 2009
