Finding Balance (Part 3 of 3)

It's common when examining economic systems to use a cost-benefit analysis type of approach. This might be all well and good IF all the TRUE costs and benefits were discussed. That rarely happens though. In regards to capitalism, there's rarely an honest discussion of the various costs to the planet and general society. Such costs almost always seem to get swept under the proverbial rug.

For me, the greatest sin of a capitalist society is that short-term egocentric benefits are heralded, while long-term societal costs are given a short shrift. If a strategy or product will benefit somebody's bottom line, then it is promoted as a public good.

For example, if a timber company wants to mow down all the trees on a particular hillside, capitalist apologists will chortle that no one should stand in their way because it will benefit everyone, not just this particular company.

Yet, once the trees have been ripped away from the landscape, we often discover that such declarations are nothing more than self-serving rhetoric. With no trees to hold back the soil, landslides occur -- often destroying people's homes and injurying/killing innocent bystanders. The eroded soil often ends up in local streams, clogging the flow of water and thereby increasing the likelihood of floods.

If lots of hillsides in one area are clear cut, we soon discover that it has a decidedly negative impact on the flora and fauna that depended on these interconnected forests.

All of these examples and more are factors that should have been included in the cost-benefit analysis, but weren't.

So, what happens? The timber company reaps huge profits from the venture AND the public ends up paying the associated bill! Put another way, the company gets the short-term benefit, while the public pays the long-term costs.

If, by chance, this situation could be changed whereby the roles would be reversed, you know as well as I that the particular company would cry FOUL and demand that the situation be more balanced.

And this is the precise problem with capitalism -- It's not a balanced system!!

In order for a small portion of the population to be filthy rich, a much greater portion must live in dire poverty. In order for transnational corporations continually to increase their profits, they must continue to consume finite resources. If they are allowed to consume such finite resources at an alarming rate, then a great number of people must necessarily forgo their share of same.

This pattern repeats itself regarding every aspect of capitalist society. In order for there to be a few winners, there must be significantly more losers. Far worse, the losers aren't provided with an opportunity even to have a say about the process! By default, they will receive the short end of the stick almost every single time.

Consequently, the drive to live more simply and in balance is not only important on a personal level, but on a societal level as well. The person who finds harmony in their life will concurrently reduce the inherent stress in their life. The society that strives to find harmony will also reduce the overall stress on the planet AND the level of stress felt by society as a whole.

In other words, it would level the playing field in a positive, not detrimental, way.