Economics
Tithing
05/16/08 13:06
I had a realization today. There is much discussion about economics and economic policy, particularly as elections are coming up. Often times as Christians we try to connect what we see as Scripture to how we do life, and sometimes (for good and evil) we try to literally follow the prescriptions of Scripture. Late last year, when Huckabee was still a viable candidate his tax policy was considered by some - the flat tax where income is not taxed but only an enormous sales tax is levied on all products. The tithe of the Old Testament represents a very new and different form of taxation/public support. Not only does the theocratic form of government necessitate a different understanding of this economic interaction, but the very form of the tithe is not an income tax. Instead the tithe is a full wealth tax - the 10% is taken from everything that a family owns, not just the money (sheep, goats: livestock) earned in one year. This is has some impressive implications, namely that the distribution of wealth would be much more aggressively achieved. I do not know the reproductive rates of livestock, but there are few people who grew their entire wealth by 10% in one year. Jubilee, which is often so surprising, irritating and even odious to some, becomes far more easy to cope with when wealth is already being redistributed in such a serious manner. This definitely will require more thought later!
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Alain Badiou
11/07/07 12:45
I’m just getting into Alain Badiou’s Ethics. Here are some quotes from Badiou:
“A Truth is the subjective development of that which is at once both new and universal. New: that which is unforeseen by the order of creation. Universal: that which can interest, rightly, every human individual, according to his pure humanity.”
“Evil is the interruption of a truth by the pressure of particular or individual interests.”
“Evil is the moment when I lack the strength to be true to the Good that compels me.”
“Liberal capitalism is not at all the Good of humanity. Quite the contrary; it is the vehicle of savage, destructive nihilism.”
“Our democracy is not perfect. But it’s better than the bloody dictatorships. Capitalism is unjust. But it’s not criminal like Stalinism. We let millions of Africans die of AIDS, but we don’t make racist nationalist declarations like Milosevic. We kill Iraqis with our airplanes, but we don’t cut their throats with machetes like they do in Rwanda, etc.”
“It is necessary to examine, in a detailed way, the contemporary theory of Evil, the ideology of human rights, the concept of democracy. It is necessary to show that nothing there leads in the direction of the real emancipation of humanity. It is necessary to reconstruct rights, in everyday life as in politics, of Truth and of the Good. Our ability to once again have real ideas and real projects depends on it.”
“The ethics of Truth always returns, in precise circumstances, to fighting for the True against the four fundamentals forms of Evil: obscurantism, commercial academicism, the politics of profit and inequality, and sexual barbarism.”
“Evil is the interruption of a truth by the pressure of particular or individual interests.”
“Evil is the moment when I lack the strength to be true to the Good that compels me.”
“Liberal capitalism is not at all the Good of humanity. Quite the contrary; it is the vehicle of savage, destructive nihilism.”
“Our democracy is not perfect. But it’s better than the bloody dictatorships. Capitalism is unjust. But it’s not criminal like Stalinism. We let millions of Africans die of AIDS, but we don’t make racist nationalist declarations like Milosevic. We kill Iraqis with our airplanes, but we don’t cut their throats with machetes like they do in Rwanda, etc.”
“It is necessary to examine, in a detailed way, the contemporary theory of Evil, the ideology of human rights, the concept of democracy. It is necessary to show that nothing there leads in the direction of the real emancipation of humanity. It is necessary to reconstruct rights, in everyday life as in politics, of Truth and of the Good. Our ability to once again have real ideas and real projects depends on it.”
“The ethics of Truth always returns, in precise circumstances, to fighting for the True against the four fundamentals forms of Evil: obscurantism, commercial academicism, the politics of profit and inequality, and sexual barbarism.”
The System
07/06/07 13:10
There are many problems with capitalism. We all know that. We also are pretty sure that it is the best economic system out there. I wonder though if we are going to enter a period where we have to careful with the environment, if capitalism won’t kill us. My ponderance is centered on the nature of capitalism as a system that is only successful as things are bought and sold. It gets to the point, evidenced by any tour of walmart, target or the grocery store, where we begin to make and sell junk in order to continue to profit. A country’s economic success is based on how much stuff it can buy. The problem is, that seems to entail production simply for production’s sake and thus ignores the effect that it has on the environment. A carbon tax is one way where that gets evened out, but not in terms of the ‘rape of the natural world’. Thus, in order for capitalism to continue, we must create more things to sell, which then further impacts the environment.
A similar problem seems to happen with the whole globalization business. As we globalize, companies are able to send work to other places where the people are willing to work for a cheaper wage. Although I’m not convinced that this impacts the countries that the jobs migrate from (for instance, the U.S. has had some of its lowest unemployment recently), but there seem to be few safeguards that the multinationals will pay living wages. Many think that the market will even it out, but that does not seem to be the case - as evidenced by a good 20 solid years of globalization and little effect throughout much of the 2/3s world. For instance, I know of no place where I can buy some jeans, even for a bit more money, while knowing that whoever made it has been paid a fair wage (i.e., fair trade). There does not seem to be enough demand to make it worthwhile. I suppose shopping 2nd hand would be a good solution.
A similar problem seems to happen with the whole globalization business. As we globalize, companies are able to send work to other places where the people are willing to work for a cheaper wage. Although I’m not convinced that this impacts the countries that the jobs migrate from (for instance, the U.S. has had some of its lowest unemployment recently), but there seem to be few safeguards that the multinationals will pay living wages. Many think that the market will even it out, but that does not seem to be the case - as evidenced by a good 20 solid years of globalization and little effect throughout much of the 2/3s world. For instance, I know of no place where I can buy some jeans, even for a bit more money, while knowing that whoever made it has been paid a fair wage (i.e., fair trade). There does not seem to be enough demand to make it worthwhile. I suppose shopping 2nd hand would be a good solution.