The agricultural revolution set off the movement towards hierarchies and competition. From living in and for our tribe, we turned into the accumulation of resources. We started identifying ourselves and others in accordance with those values—both as individuals and as a collective. Consequently, emerged the seven deadly sins: envy, anger, lust, gluttony, pride, sloth, and greed. Those forces ignite the horrors we do within our own species, from stealing to killing, they all have their roots within the sins and the resource-based hierarchy.
Today, in our “modern, enlightened” world, we are living in hierarchies within hierarchies, all of which are based on capital. The core notion is the more wealth you have, the more you are worth. Building society on that idea has detrimental consequences—the goal of the individual is not to contribute to society but to earn as much money as he can. Thus, the value of revenue tramples the value of morals when it comes to making decisions.
An urgent example of this evil’s manifestation is in the world of technology. We are at a primitive period when it comes to technology, we still do not quite understand its effects on us, and we still mold it into our life. While there are many great things about technology, from having the opportunity to learn anything to tracking our health, the most common usage harms us, from the time spent on social media and distractions—the consequences of which are catastrophic. Corporations spend billions of dollars and man-hours in order to keep us logged in to their platforms, turning a blind eye towards the harm it may cause.
Another dismal example comes from the world of pharmaceuticals, where corruption and greed took the steering wheel. More money is being spent each year on marketing than on research on Parkinson’s, Alzheimer, Cancer, etc. Since there is more money in treating a disease than curing it, there is no incentive for those companies to invest in research, the pain and lives it costs are not a consideration.
A demonic cycle has been established, we are brought up with the egotistical notions that money, status, or a job title will make us fulfilled and we should put them above all else. We deem individuals or companies successful based on the external abundance they accumulated, and authentic charitable work only shines in times of crisis—like the importance of health care in the Covid pandemic. Most of us base our life, identity, and rationale on those values, we rather are financially successful than have a core life philosophy.
Is it any surprise addiction is so common nowadays?
Would you consider a civilization more concerned with marketing, capital, and shallow influence over authentic, humane prosperity a flourishing one?
I do not pretend to have a better solution or to have a broad knowledge of economics, nor do I think the world is only bad without drops of good. I put those thoughts because I think we should always hope that things could be better and take action, as little as it can be, to shift towards it. I believe that the ideal of putting our collective effort towards the good is the manifestation of heaven on earth. I pray we will not lose our benevolence, and that we will face our trials and make a difference. Imagine what a civilization based on love and compassion could achieve, imagine the abundance of health in such existence.