Huainanzi - Entry 27

Trey Smith

Lofty terraces and multistoried pavilions are splendid indeedm, but an enlightened leader cannot enjoy them if people are homesless. Fine wine and tender meat are delicious indeed, but an enlightened leader cannot enjoy them if people are undernourished.
~ a passage from The Book of Leadership and Strategy by Thomas Cleary ~

Needless to say, but the rich oligarchs of today have no problem with flaunting their excesses in the faces of those who have not. In fact, many believe it is a virtue to do so! What else could a person surmise when you watch them compete with each other to see who can rub more faces into the muck!

The callous disregard that many of our "leaders" hold for the people is one of the driving forces behind the Occupy movement. While I am certain that some of the protesters are opponents of the capitalist system -- like yours truly -- my bet is that the vast majority are not. They don't necessarily begrudge corporations and individuals for being rich; what has raised their hackles is that the rich feel no responsibility for the common good.

Put another way, today's capitalists are not enlightened. Their focus solely is on themselves. If they are doing well, that's all that matters. While they may acknowledge that others are homeless, jobless and/or underfed, they don't give a damn. If a circumstance doesn't impact their bottom line directly, they couldn't care less!

To read the introduction to this ongoing series, go here.