Human sacrifices
May 28, 2024 16:57:25 GMT
Post by Stella on May 28, 2024 16:57:25 GMT
Here's an issue you might want to think about. The Ego and capitalism are inseparably related. Neither want to contemplate, or hear about the possibility of sacrifice. But sacrifices need to be made. So who decides who is to be sacrificed? Are we talking about human sacrifices?
Now it would appear that we are centuries away from, and even a few civilizations away from, the Aztec Empire where human sacrifices were made on the altar of a temple, their still beating heart sliced out of their living body to appease the gods. But we're not.
Western civilization, here and now, today, is centred around the widespread belief in neoliberal, 'free market', unregulated and unrestricted capitalism which results in perpetual economic growth and corporate profit. Within this, and many people believe this, corporate profit equates to wealth distribution. This is the new religion. There is a disturbing number of people who somehow seem to believe that working full time in some job with a living wage somehow puts you on equal footing with billionaires and banks and that we are all somehow contributing to society.
Within this you have the Ego, in the modern sense, completely meshed and embedded into the capitalist psyche thanks to the works of Sigmund Freud and others. The Ego is the basis of all that we think we are. It's the basis of the social contract of "I will make believe you are who you think you are if you make believe that I am who I think I am." Having an Ego is a necessity in modern Western society. Without it you are toast. It's also the basis of whatever model of reality you have in your head. The only issue is that the Ego is an illusion, a concept, an image, and you are neither a concept or an image, are you?
But see also - and this is my personal take - capitalism is not that much different to gambling. It's something that needs regulation and some degree of restriction given the fact that the needs of the market are rarely if ever the same as societal needs. However in modern Western politics this is something of a taboo subject. It's like when a doctor has a patient who is dying from emphysema but who still smokes 40 cigarettes a day and the doctor doesn't want to discuss the possibility of giving up smoking. Politicians generally do not want to talk about limiting or regulating free market capitalism or free trade.
So what you end up with is a society based on inequality. Some people go through life not making sacrifices and having unlimited opportunities. Then you have many more people who are forced to make sacrifices and who often have few if any opportunities. Now it's all well and good if you're the one who is choosing to make your own sacrifices. That's okay. That is your choice to do so. But for many people this is not the case and far too many people are forced into making sacrifices against their will by other people who are making decisions that force other people to have to make sacrifices. When you have an unequal society where many people are forced to make sacrifices not of their own choosing, you're going to end up with resentment, bitterness and social divisions.
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Now it would appear that we are centuries away from, and even a few civilizations away from, the Aztec Empire where human sacrifices were made on the altar of a temple, their still beating heart sliced out of their living body to appease the gods. But we're not.
Western civilization, here and now, today, is centred around the widespread belief in neoliberal, 'free market', unregulated and unrestricted capitalism which results in perpetual economic growth and corporate profit. Within this, and many people believe this, corporate profit equates to wealth distribution. This is the new religion. There is a disturbing number of people who somehow seem to believe that working full time in some job with a living wage somehow puts you on equal footing with billionaires and banks and that we are all somehow contributing to society.
Within this you have the Ego, in the modern sense, completely meshed and embedded into the capitalist psyche thanks to the works of Sigmund Freud and others. The Ego is the basis of all that we think we are. It's the basis of the social contract of "I will make believe you are who you think you are if you make believe that I am who I think I am." Having an Ego is a necessity in modern Western society. Without it you are toast. It's also the basis of whatever model of reality you have in your head. The only issue is that the Ego is an illusion, a concept, an image, and you are neither a concept or an image, are you?
But see also - and this is my personal take - capitalism is not that much different to gambling. It's something that needs regulation and some degree of restriction given the fact that the needs of the market are rarely if ever the same as societal needs. However in modern Western politics this is something of a taboo subject. It's like when a doctor has a patient who is dying from emphysema but who still smokes 40 cigarettes a day and the doctor doesn't want to discuss the possibility of giving up smoking. Politicians generally do not want to talk about limiting or regulating free market capitalism or free trade.
So what you end up with is a society based on inequality. Some people go through life not making sacrifices and having unlimited opportunities. Then you have many more people who are forced to make sacrifices and who often have few if any opportunities. Now it's all well and good if you're the one who is choosing to make your own sacrifices. That's okay. That is your choice to do so. But for many people this is not the case and far too many people are forced into making sacrifices against their will by other people who are making decisions that force other people to have to make sacrifices. When you have an unequal society where many people are forced to make sacrifices not of their own choosing, you're going to end up with resentment, bitterness and social divisions.
read more