Liberation theology on Capitalism

[kara speltz]

Here's another important piece by Boff, that expresses my beliefs around capitalism

Living Better or Living A "Good Life"?

Leonardo Boff Theologian
Earthcharter Commission

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According to the dominant ideology, everyone in the world wants to live better and to enjoy a better quality of life. In general terms this quality of life is associated to the Gross National Product, GNP, of each country. The GNP represents all the material goods produced by a country. Then, according to this criteria, the better positioned countries are the United States, followed by Japan, Germany, Sweden and others. The GNP is a measure invented by capitalism to stimulate more production of material goods for consumption.

In the last years, in view of the growing of poverty and of the urban favelization of the world and even due to a sense of decency, the UNO introduced the category HDI, «Human Development Index.» The HDI includes intangible values such as health, education, social equality, care of nature, gender equity and others. It has enriched the meaning of «quality of life», that was previously understood in a very materialistic form: one enjoys a good quality of life who consumes more and better. According to the HDI, tiny Cuba is better off than the United States, even though her GNP is comparatively much lower.

First among all countries is Bhutan, lodged between China and India, at the foot of the Himalayas, materially very poor, but which officially established the «Index of Gross Interior Happiness.» This is measured by qualitative, not quantitative criteria, such as whether the authorities govern well, with equitable distribution of the subsistence agricultural surplus, of the harvest of vegetation, and the sale of energy to India, with good health and education and, especially, a high level of cooperation among everyone, to guarantee social peace.

In the native traditions of Abya Yala, the name of our Indoamerican continent, instead of «living well» people speak of «a good life.» This category entered the Constitutions of Bolivia and Ecuador as the social object to be pursued by the State and by all of society.

To «live better» implies an ethic of unlimited progress and brings us into competition with others to create more and better conditions to «live better.» However, so that some may «live better», millions and millions have to and had to «live poorly.» That is the capitalist contradiction.

On the contrary, a «good life» points to an ethic of that which is enough for the whole community, and not only for the individual. A «good life» implies an integrating holistic vision of the human being, immersed in the great earthly community, that includes, besides humans, the air, water, soil, mountains, trees and animals; it is to be in profound community with Pachamama, (Our Mother Earth), with the energies of the Universe; and with God.

The main concern is not to accumulate. Moreover, Mother Earth provides all that we need. With our work we supply that which due to excessive aggression she can not give us, or we help her produce what is enough and decent for all, including the animals and the plants. A «good life» is being in constant harmony with all, celebrating the sacred rites that continuously renew the connections with the cosmos, and with God.

A «good life» invites us not to consume more than what the ecosystem can support, to avoid the production of residuals that we can not absorb with security and spurs us to re-use and to recycle that which we have already used. It will be a frugal and recyclable consumption. Then, there will not be scarcity.

In this time of searching for new paths for humanity, the idea of a «good life» has much to teach us.





Leonardo Boff

03-27-2009

[BruceChris]

We may have to settle for a Lower Standard Of Living?

(I love the juxtaposition of phrases)

Having 4 super housemates is my quality of life thing, right now

Namaste' Bruce Chris

[kara speltz]

Originally Posted by BruceChris

We may have to settle for a Lower Standard Of Living?
(I love the juxtaposition of phrases)

Namaste' Bruce Chris

Yep, that's the paradox, and the whole idea behind "simple living." We can't live high on the hog at the expense of the rest of the world.

kara

[peoplegottabefree]

what can be said but...amen. keep telling it like it is....

[scott snedeker]

Originally Posted by kara speltz

First among all countries is Bhutan, lodged between China and India, at the foot of the Himalayas, materially very poor, but which officially established the «Index of Gross Interior Happiness.» This is measured by qualitative, not quantitative criteria, such as whether the authorities govern well, with equitable distribution of the subsistence agricultural surplus, of the harvest of vegetation, and the sale of energy to India, with good health and education and, especially, a high level of cooperation among everyone, to guarantee social peace.

What an amazing concept! I love it! check the link below!

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bhutan


A video by Coldpplay has provoked a lot of discussion. Many europeans see our election as the people of the USA overthrowing the repression of the republican party and Bush's reign of fear lies and terror across the world



I feel this is indeed a work of art and potently provokes thought and feelings of the dawning of our new era!

[RedneckDyke]

I don't know that capitalism has a monopoly on some people on the top exploiting other people on the bottom. No matter what the official form of government is... capitalism,socialism,facism, there are always people who get rich at other people's expense. I'm afraid it's part of broken human nature.

[BruceChris]

While under Communism, it's just the opposite! . (Redneck, I think you just said that.....

Peace, Love, and Rock And Roll, Bruce Chris

[Eugene]

According to the HDI, tiny Cuba is better off than the United States, even though her GNP is comparatively much lower.

I think that just about sums up the value of the HDI measurement.

[kara speltz]

Originally Posted by Eugene

I think that just about sums up the value of the HDI measurement.

I find it really interesting that people can't even conceive that perhaps in a country like Cuba, under communism, the quality of life is better than in the U.S.

We've been brain washed to believe that the U.S. is the greatest country in the world, but that's just a fantasy that Americans want to believe.

It's a fantasy, unfortunately that our president also believes. My prayer is that Americans wake up, and let go of the need to be number 1.

Years ago, we were #1 in education, health, and many other areas. But that is no longer true.

What Americans need to do, is understand that our concerns need to include all of us on this planet.

Kara

[Eugene]

I find it really interesting that people can't even conceive that perhaps in a country like Cuba, under communism, the quality of life is better than in the U.S.

We've been brain washed to believe that the U.S. is the greatest country in the world, but that's just a fantasy that Americans want to believe.

In my professional career, I've worked with and developed close friendships with two people -- one who immigrated from Russia and one from China. I'll take their word for it (and their choice of countries) that living in the USA is far superior to living in a communist nation.

[kara speltz]

Originally Posted by Eugene

In my professional career, I've worked with and developed close friendships with two people -- one who immigrated from Russia and one from China. I'll take their word for it (and their choice of countries) that living in the USA is far superior to living in a communist nation.

You miss the point. The point being that we Americans refuse to acknowledge that we are not the greatest nation on earth. And that God did not give us the right nor the responsibility of telling the rest of the world how to live.

Capitalism is against everything that Christ taught. Go back and reread the Acts of the Apostles. Look at how they lived their lives sharing everything.

Kara

[RedneckDyke]

There is a difference between a group of people voluntarily agreeing to share things or live communally and a government forcing people to.

[scott snedeker]

Originally Posted by karaspeltz

Capitalism is against everything that Christ taught [ and Buddha]. Go back and reread the Acts of the Apostles [ and the eight-fold path of Buddhist tradition] Look at how they lived their lives sharing everything.

Kara

Originally Posted by King, Jigme Singye Wangchuck

In a response to accusations in 1987 by a journalist from UK's Financial Times that the pace of development in Bhutan was slow, the King said that "Gross National Happiness is more important than Gross National Product."[26] This statement appears to have presaged recent findings by western economic psychologists, including 2002 Nobel Laureate Daniel Kahneman, that question the link between levels of income and happiness. The statement signaled his commitment to building an economy that is appropriate for Bhutan's culture, based on Buddhist spiritual values, and has served as a unifying vision for the economy. In a survey in 2005, 45 percent of Bhutanese reported being very happy, 52 percent reported being happy and only three percent reported not being happy. Based on this data, the Happy Planet Index estimates that the average level of life satisfaction in Bhutan is within the top 10 percent of nations worldwide, and certainly higher than other nations with similar levels of GDP per capita.

King Jigme Singye Wangchuck only reluctantly recently allowed television and the internet and cell phone into the country because of the concern of how this would create a feeling of inferioirity and unfillable desire for possessions. Eventually he did because he did not want to repress the freedom of the people but not without apprehension of how it could adversely effect their well-being.



I think we could also consider Costa Rica. If you judge by people's individual happiness. most ticos who have lived in the US that I have known say they were happier in Costa Rica and plan to return or have returned and are happy to be back.

My experience living on a commune opened my awareness of a materialistic delerium madness that possesses and dominates so many americans to the point of blindness to the simple joys all around. Even discussing such raises hackles of fear: "Don't threaten my possessions!"

[Rick336]

Originally Posted by scott snedeker

My experience living on a commune opened my awareness of a materialistic delerium madness that possesses and dominates so many americans to the point of blindness to the simple joys all around. Even discussing such raises hackles of fear: "Don't threaten my possessions!"

Am I an exception here?

I'm very happy living here in the USA. I love it here. My family, my friends, and all of my loved ones live here. All the memories I've made over my lifetime were made right here. It's my home, and to me it's the greatest place on earth.

I also like the convenience and entertainment that my material possessions provide me. I like my cell phone, my CD player, my DVD player, my microwave oven, and my camcorder. All of these things add to the quality of my life.

But the one material possession that I own that contributes a great deal to my happiness is my computer. My computer is educational, it's entertaining, I can communicate with my friends with it, I can play games on it, I can be informed of current events, and I can express myself on forums like this one with it.

Who else among you who are reading this owns a computer?

Rick

[kara speltz]

Originally Posted by RedneckDyke

There is a difference between a group of people voluntarily agreeing to share things or live communally and a government forcing people to.

No one's talking about a government forcing people to do anything? Why are you being so defensive? And why is it that Americans can't handle criticizing our way of life.

I'm with Scot in that I truly believe that our materialism gets in the way of our humanism.

Our inability to look at how capitalism is not serving people well, means we're unwilling to look at other possibilities.

Do I love my country? Yes. Do I want my country to be better? Yes

Kara

[BenL]

Originally Posted by kara speltz

Yep, that's the paradox, and the whole idea behind "simple living." We can't live high on the hog at the expense of the rest of the world.

kara

Material things in and of themselves are neutral. I think simple living is more about how we treat our possessions and whether or not they come to possess us instead of the other way around. Simple living can be urged and recommended, but it can't be legislated. It's about what Old Testament scholar Walter Brueggemann calls "covenantal neighborliness," where society protects the weak, as symbolized in the Torah by widows, orphans and strangers. The simple life includes the notions of Sabbath (rest from labor) and Jubilee (forgiveness of debt). (Mandate to difference: an invitation to the contemporary church. Louisville KY: Westminster John Knox Press, 2007)

The trension is between me first, taking care of numero uno vs. putting others first and trusting in God that my needs will be taken care of. When attitudes change, economics and government will follow. Greed is the motivating principle of capitalism. Risk is the moderating force that keeps greed in check. Captialism without responsibility is dangerous for individuals and socieites. Consumerism is based on the principle that owning and possessing more equals happiness. If we once see that happiness transcends the acts of acquiring and possessing, we can enter into the joy of the "simple life."

[Eugene]

Am I an exception here?

I'm very happy living here in the USA. I love it here. My family, my friends, and all of my loved ones live here. All the memories I've made over my lifetime were made right here. It's my home, and to me it's the greatest place on earth.

No, you're not an exception.

[Eugene]

Capitalism is against everything that Christ taught. Go back and reread the Acts of the Apostles. Look at how they lived their lives sharing everything.

Seems to me that people in a capitalist society have more to share than people elsewhere. HRC and Lambda Legal have been beneficiaries of what I have to share by virtue of the capitalist economy of the United States.

I'm curious. What is the status of the gay rights movement in Central America? Or Cuba? Or anywhere else in the third world, for that matter.

I have a suspicion -- though I couldn't prove it because it's not something I'm motivated to investigate -- that there is a fundamental link between a nation's prosperity and a nation's time and willingness to attend to issues such as gay rights. Otherwise, all energy would be diverted to everyday survival.

[scott snedeker]

[QUOTE=Eugene;68200].

I'm curious. What is the status of the gay rights movement in Central America? Or Cuba? Or anywhere else in the third world, for that matter.

QUOTE]


Answer: Gay marriage is legal in Mexico. It is also legal in several predominantly socialist countries like Spain and Holland.

[kara speltz]

Originally Posted by Eugene

Seems to me that people in a capitalist society have more to share than people elsewhere. HRC and Lambda Legal have been beneficiaries of what I have to share by virtue of the capitalist economy of the United States.
I'm curious. What is the status of the gay rights movement in Central America? Or Cuba? Or anywhere else in the third world, for that matter.

I have a suspicion -- though I couldn't prove it because it's not something I'm motivated to investigate -- that there is a fundamental link between a nation's prosperity and a nation's time and willingness to attend to issues such as gay rights. Otherwise, all energy would be diverted to everyday survival.

How interesting that you bring up HRC at this moment in time, as we learn that the CEOs of so many of our supposedly LGBTQ support groups are making well over $250,000/year. See that's the problem with capitalism. People see nothing wrong in this outrageous salaries.

And we have more, because others have less - there is a relationship. It's all about getting all you can get at the expense of others.

And as Scott has pointed out, your suspicion is wrong.

kara