The Hamster Solution
Sometimes being forced to write succinct written commentary can make us realize we knew something but had not previously articulated what that knowledge is. I had such a moment earlier today. I realized that not only is unbridled Capitalism a threat to our Nation, it’s a threat to every person caught in its web and to the planet itself. I decided to use this post to explain it in the simplest and ugliest way. There are three components to what I’ve dubbed - the Hamster Solution.
In order, they are - 1) Consumerism, 2)Wage Slavery and 3)”Elite Ennui".” First, let’s think about Consumerism. EVERY person raised in the US since the dawn of commercial television is raised to be a consumer. They’re not raised to be creative, to be thinkers, to be caregivers, they’re raised to DESIRE and ACQUIRE - STUFF! One of the first things I desired as a child was a pair of PF Flyers. They could make me run faster and jump higher. Since my parents were moving up from lower middle class to upper middle class they bought me those shoes. I immediately tried them out by running down the block on the sidewalk. I was sure that I was running faster and jumping higher despite my relatively short legs. Of course I wasn’t but why let reality spoil a dream? In the years since, and sticking with the podiatric theme, over the years I witnessed the rise of other fabled shoes - Converse All Stars, Air Force 1s, The Reebok Pump and so on (full disclosure - since hitting 60 I’m all about comfortable shoes). If you’re being honest, whether it was athletic shoes, Dooney & Burke, Louis Vuitton or anything worn by a Kardashian, you too are a victim of Consumerism, whether unwittingly or not.
Wage Slavery is essential for Consumerism to work. Were folks simple farmers who raised their own food and built their own shelters, consumerism would implode. Today we call it “Living off the grid” and, as consumerism commands, we scoff at the very idea. Instead, there are far too many Americans today who literally don’t know where things like beef, eggs, milk and bread come from. Yet that is EXACTLY what the “wage slave owners” want. Too bad for humanity their myopia spells doom. These “owners” are what today are called titles like “CEO,” “Chairman of the Board” and any number of other corporate titles (though “Overseer” is most apt). The problem with near-sightedness is it’s far too easy to not see the disaster hurtling towards us, until it is “near” enough to impact us. That problem is multiplied because our society elevates these clowns to positions deemed prestigious and inherently worthwhile. Worse, the wage slaves believe this nightmarish fantasy is accurate. Bob Iger, Jamie Dimon, Warren Buffet, George Soros and their ilk are parasites feeding off of the literal blood, sweat and tears of wage slaves. In a very real way, the entire retail market is the corral in which wage slaves and the consumers they are and support are kept. The “Company Store” has gone global and virtual, and the owners are too blind to see what they’ve wrought. What they consider utopian is rapidly bringing about the destruction of our planet and the needless suffering of billions.
Elite Ennui is the numbing effect of being a “successful” collector of money and “valuable” things. Cartier, Tiffany’s, The French Laundry, Lion Tartar (I made that up, I think) and so on. The elite (worth 100 million and above) grow ever so bored and weary. Their hunger for more is insatiable in the most horrible of ways. Rather than waste their time trying to understand the world as it is, they seek more and more ways to stay entertained, well fed and more comfortable than Jabba the Hut. Since they are at the pinnacle of sloth and greed, their appetites twist into the vile and unholy. Kings and Queens of the Leeches, they turn to their supplicants, the de facto Jesters and command them to dance, sing or whatever else must be done to hold their attention. After every disaster, the Jesters proclaim - “Oh look sire, a great catastrophe has befallen the people, perhaps a tiny gift will show the victims how generous you are.” In their myopia they don’t see the human suffering that is nearly unbearable for the victims or that the demands of MORE are often the true source of great devastation. If the elite really want to be generous, give it ALL to the survivors and help them re-build the land as the universe intended. But the elite hate nature since it gives them, in their minds, nothing. The elite hear the term “land back” and instead of understanding those making the demand wish only to steward what is natural and in harmony with the universe, they believe they are being asked to join the Poors. Unfortunately for our planet and species, the elite choose to not understand that were they to give away 99% of their wealth for the health and success of our planet and our species, they would still flourish. Instead, without saying so, they believe there is no fate worse than being worth but a solitary billion or two and in so believing they may have already doomed us all.