January 29, 2011

The Reign of Mammon

Mammon does not sit on a throne in the

sky, as so many other gods and demons do.

Mammon resides among us, or, to be

more precise, in the spaces between us.

Mammon thrives among the strands that bind

us, feeding on that web which connects not

only every single being to every other one,

but also the past history of every single

being to the past history of every other one.

By focusing the human lens on the individual,

and dangling profit and self-aggrandizement,

Mammon can convert any cohesive community

into an assemblage of isolated individuals. “There Is

No Alternative (TINA),” said Margaret Thatcher.

To begin, Mammon transforms himself

into an interstitial trickle so small as to be

hardly noticeable. The trickle becomes a river,

then a torrent, then a flood, and it is then that

people, separated and lonely, are susceptible.

“Give me your heart, Darling, and I will make

you rich, powerful, honored and long-lived!”

Those with the most hollow core comply first,

providing Mammon with a valuable foothold.

“Give me your soul, Darling, and I will make you

successful and prosperous forever and ever!”

The void cries out for fulfillment, and by now

most people turn to him to alleviate their pain.

“Give me your child, Darling, and I will make

your wealth grow and never cease to grow!”

Imagine, a prosperity that never stops

expanding, material abundance increasing

endlessly, wealth accumulating perpetually,

economic growth sustained for all time.

Moloch, that ancient Semitic stone statue

filled with a fire kept ablaze by child

sacrifice, grins and stretches out his arms.

The ancient Israelites were among the first

societies to give their children gleefully to

Moloch’s fire, in return for prosperity.

Many societies have done so since then,

but ours at present, is the first society in the

history of humankind which not only sacrifices

its children to Moloch but also all life on Earth.

The poor bleed, eight species become extinct

daily, and we look to money for the cure.

We no longer think of ourselves as part of

Nature, only as cogs in a world economy.

Return on capital has replaced conviviality.

Our inner emptiness is so complete that

we have forgotten that we and the

environment are one, one continuous

blessing, and that to kill other forms of life,

is but another way of committing suicide.

Jesus said that one could not serve both

God and Mammon. Indeed. One builds

connections, the other destroys them.

Have you noticed that of late, we have

transformed ourselves from a print-based

culture into a picture-based culture?

Those smiling, happy people look good,

don’t they? White, perfectly aligned teeth,

impeccable hair, skin without a blemish,

and eyes which command us to trust their

complete dedication to our well-being.

There is nothing inside these people.

The pictures which bombard us constantly

reflect mechanical humans in the service

of Mammon. There is no grace or wholeness,

no empathy or compassion, no depth,

interiority or clear ethical stand, no spirituality,

no reverence for anything except Mammon.

Our book has only a cover. There is no text.

In a world of such need as ours,

external wealth is a sign of inner poverty.

References

Principal Reference:

McIntosh, Alastair, 2001/2002/2004. Soil and soul. London, UK: Aurum.

Particularly pp. 1, 39, 100-104, 107-108, 114, 118-121, 124, 152, 155, 174-175, 204-205, 208, 213-215, 251 and 283-284.

Other References:

Hall, Francoise. 2008, “The Market Paradigm and the Destruction of Life.” October 21 (97 pages, unpublished). Among numerous others, original sources include Meyer, Stephen. 2007. The end of the wild; Wilson, O. E. 1991/1999. The diversity of life; and World Bank and United Nations University 2000, Millennium ecosystem assessment – ecosystems and human well-being, synthesis.

Note on Data Consistency: According to Hall 2008 (p. 81), the background rate of species extinction is 0.5 to “several species” per year, and the present (2006) rate, 3,000 species a year (8.2 per day).

Raven 1999 (see below) cites the present rate of species extinction as being approximately 1,000 times the background rate. If the present rate is 3,000 (Hall 2008), and it is 1,000 times the background rate, this means that the background rate assumed by Raven is 3 extinctions per year. This figure is within the range of 0.5 to “several species per year,” cited in Hall 2008.

Raven, Peter. 1999. “World’s Biodiversity becoming extinct at Levels rivaling Earth’s past ‘mass Extinctions.’” Journal of the Botanic Gardens Conservation International, Volume 3, Number 3, December.

http://www/bgci.org/worldwide/article/394. Accessed January 31, 2011.

P. 1: “The current extinction rate is now approaching 1,000 times the background rate, and may climb to 10,000 times the background rate during the next century, if present trends continue.”

Wikipedia,

2010.

“Evelyn De Morgan.”

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki. Updated 12/06. Accessed 02/01/11.

“Mammon.”

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki. Updated 12/23. Accessed 01/31/11.

“You cannot serve both God and Mammon” (Holy Bible, Matthew 6: 24).

2011.

“Moloch.”

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki. Updated 01/27. Accessed 01/31/11.

The laws given by God to Moses expressly forbid the Israelites from sacrificing their children to Moloch:

“And you shall not let any of your seed pass through Moloch” (Holy Bible, Leviticus 18:21).

“Herbert Spencer.”

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki. Updated 01/31. Accessed 01/31/11.

“Margaret Thatcher.”

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki. Updated 01/30. Accessed 01/31, 2011.

“There is no Alternative.”

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki. Updated 01/02. Accessed 01/31/11.

Margaret Thatcher, the conservative British Prime Minister of the United Kingdom, 1979-1990, often used the slogan, “There is no alternative (TINA).” The phrase was first used by libertarian philosopher Herbert Spencer (1820-1903).

The slogan warns that there is no alternative to neoliberalism, with its laissez-faire doctrine of free markets, free trade, and capitalist globalization, and that any deviation from the doctrine is bound to lead to disaster.

“George Frederic Watts.”

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki. Updated 01/31. Accessed 02/01/11.

George Frederic Watts (1817-1904) (British painter and sculptor), “Mammon – a Portrait dedicated to his Worshippers,” (1884).

http://theformofmoney.blogharbor.com. Accessed 02/01/11.

Evelyn De Morgan (1855-1919) (British painter), “The Worship of Mammon,” (1909)

http://theformofmoney.blogharbor.com. Accessed 02/01/11.

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