Bring on the End

The end of a matter is better than its beginning, and patience is better than pride (Ecclesiastes 7:8).

Years ago, I rallied around this Old Testament verse after watching HBO’s detective drama True Detectives.  After eight, hour-long episodes, I was relieved that the dark Louisiana drama was over.  It made it better.  It made it ephemeral.

Originally, corporations, limited-liability companies, were not immortal institutions able to accumulate huge amounts of wealth and power.  Municipalities or local governments would task a group of people to build a bridge or work on a specific task, and after the job was done, the corporation would be dissolved.  And in a sick twist of political maneuvering, corporations jumped on the 14^th Amendment, the Amendment passed to protect the rights of freed enslaved persons, and now, arguably, Amazon, Apple, Google, Facebook, and the like have more protections, allowances, and power under the law than the people of the United States, and in certain arenas, the United States government.

Returning to the Old Testament, comes the often overlooked portion of Leviticus that redistributes the wealth and property of Israel because private property is a delusion when everything under the sun belongs to God.  The biblical law of Jubilee requires all lands to be returned, persons (sold into servitude) to be released, and all debts to be forgiven.  The unbridled accumulation of wealth and power through generations is a terrible idea, but essentially the founding idea of this nation. 

The end of something is better than the beginning.  It allows us time to reset.  To redistribute wealth and power.  To reflect on the decisions made individually and collectively in our lives and societies. 

Yes, I’m talking about the end of capitalism.  Of the American Empire.

This requires responsibility and patience – responsibility for ourselves and our neighbors, and patience with the messy and slow-moving pace of peace, justice and equity work.  But that’s the work that needs to be done.  It’s pride and greed that drives Trump to slap his name on every hideous thing his family’s estate has built.  It’s pride and greed that drives the American war hawks and profiteers into every corner of the globe.  It’s pride and greed that created 24-hour news media with it’s endless jabbering and political catering.  It's pride and greed that motivates the Democrats and Republicans to not take any serious measure to combat the slow apocalypse of climate change.  It’s pride and greed and institutions with no end in sight. 

I’m looking to the end of capitalism for the sake of the planet.