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CHAPTER 20
Is Capitalism the Religion of Money?
Will the Majority Exorcise the Money Trust?
CAPITALISM IS THE OLDEST
TECHNOLOGY FOR DOMINATING MAN AS SLAVE OR SERVANT. ITS POWER DERIVES FROM MIND
MANIPULATION. CAPITALISM IS MADE SECURE, ENDURING, AND INFALLIBLE BY CONCEALING ITSELF AS
A RELIGION OF MONEY. AS SUCH, ITS DOCTRINES ARE FABULOUSLY FRAUDULENT.
Capitalism concealed as a
Religion of Money can best be unconcealed using Hobbes' Theory of Authority and Power.
This doctrine is well explained in Stephen Holmes' Introduction to Behemoth.1 Using Hobbes' doctrine as
foundational ground, the following analogic arguments can be advanced:
- The Church has been veiled
up as the Mediator between Man and God. Banks too have been veiled up -- as Intermediaries
between Man and Capital. Both the Church and Banks have posed as gatekeepers2 -- to Heaven or Hell, and to
Fortune or Misfortune, respectively.
- The secret of religious
Authority has been the Psychological Manipulation of the People's Beliefs.3 Both Clergymen and Bankers have
posed as intermediaries with special powers. Both have extracted Submission through Fear
or "Anxiety" -- Fear of Excommunication and Damnation,4 or fear of Bankruptcy and
Financial Ruin. The Church's Psychological dominion has required control over the
Scriptures, their Interpretation, and Propaganda.5 Psychological dominion by the
Mighty has required control over the Laws and over the Media -- today's perfect Tool for
Mass Manipulation. The current increase in the Monopolization of the Media in the
United States and in Canada is a bad omen of things to come.
- The Essence of Mind
Manipulation consists in first divorcing Man from his Conscience, then in Taking
Control of his Behavior. The Indoctrination has been Codified as follows: without
Obedience to the Church, the Individual is left without Protection from Evil and
Damnation.6 This same fiction obtained with the
Money Trust: without Obedience and Servitude, the Individual is Vulnerable to Dangers.
He must therefore Govern Himself Accordingly.
Fraudulent
doctrines. Fraudulent
doctrines, masquerading as Religion, have been assailed by the best philosophers.
"[A]rtificial religion encourages all the cruelties done in association,
conspiracies, seditions, robbery, ambushes, attacks on towns, pillages . . . Each one
marches gaily off to crime under the banner of his saint" wrote Voltaire.7 Of course, exposing evil, fraud,
and malice is not easy. According to Voltaire, one runs the risk of being "accused of
atheism by fanatics and rascals, and condemned by fools."8
The unconcealers of
fraudulent doctrines can rest assured; they are in good company. The accused, the
censored, the excommunicated, the exiled, etc., include: Socrates, Plato, Aristotle, Paul,
Dante, Luther, Galileo, Hobbes, Spinoza, Locke, Voltaire, Hume, Rousseau, Kant, Paine,
Russell, Bohm, Pauling, etc.
To understand the
Darkness in Capitalism it helps to understand the "Darkness in Religion."9 Of all the philosophers, probably
none assailed more vigorously this Darkness than Hobbes, and none mocked it better than
Voltaire. The "Power Ecclesiastiques," Hobbes wrote, was nothing but
"Usurpation" disguised as "Gods Right"10 [original spelling retained].
Hobbes accused the Pope and the Roman Clergy of his time of having been the chief
beneficiaries from "unlawfull Power" derived from "dark Doctrines."11 "Ecclesiasticall
Dominion," he argued, was a horrible mischief maintained through a "Vain
Philosophy"12 -- Infallibility of the Pope,
Exemptions and special privileges for the Clergy, Power over the Sacramentation of
Marriage, intelligence collection from Auricular Confession,13 Canonization powers, Demonology and
Exorcism, Power to Excommunicate,14 etc.
Inspired by these
revelations, thinking cynics may deduce that all may not be for the best with
Capitalism:
- Is Capitalism the Religion
of Money? Is it a Dark Doctrine for Dominating Man as Object to be Exploited?
- Are the Powers, Privileges,
and Indulgences of the Money Trust qua Religion Unlawful?
- Is the Doctrine of the
Marketplace Infallible? Is the Marketplace a Fabulous Usurpation disguised as Free
Exchange?
- Are Banks the Churches
of Capitalism, and Bankers its Clergy?
- Are Loan Applications Auricular
Confessions?
- Are Credit Bureaus -- the
Money Trust's instrument for maintaining an Index of Credit Information -- the Capitalist
version of the Index Librorum Prohibitorum?
- Are defilement and
harassment practices and procedures of Collection Agencies the Capitalist version of the
Inquisition's Malleus Maleficarum?
- Is Bankruptcy the
Capitalists' Power to Excommunicate?
To challenge the Evils of
Capitalism, one must grasp the essence of its Power qua Religion. Based on
Hobbes' unconcealment, one can see that the Mighty's struggle for mastery of Man as
Servant is not secure and cannot be permanent because:
"THE POWER OF THE
MIGHTY HATH NO FOUNDATION BUT IN THE OPINION AND BELIEF OF THE PEOPLE"15 [my emphasis].
Gulling
and Duping. Hobbes
believed that the Papacy was a "Kingdom of Fairies" -- a Kingdom
which could only exist in "the Fancies of ignorant people . . . "16
The Power of the
Papacy endured as long as Fear could be used to Seduce the people.17 Hobbes' revelations mean that the
Mighty command power by gulling the multitude; and that their Authority is based on
psychologically duping the vast majority of the people. By analogy: the Power of
Capitalists endures as long as Capitalists can use Fear to Manipulate Psychologically the
People. As soon as Obedience to Fear-based Authority is withheld, the Unmerited Power of
Rapacious Capitalists Crumbles.
Hobbes' philosophy of
political power has a modern version: "X has authority over Y if Y follows
the rule that he obey X."18
From
Encroachment to Reformation. Hobbes alleged that the papacy "encroached upon
the rights of kings."19 The encroachment resulted in Henry
VIII and Queen Elizabeth Exorcising the Ecclesiastics, and, thus, "cast[ing] them
Out."20
The encroachment of
the Church was most ruinous for the papacy. In Germany, Martin Luther embraced Reformation.
In Switzerland, Ulrich Zwingli did the same; so did John Calvin in France and in
Switzerland. The Power and Authority of the Church to mediate between Man and God would
never be the same. For Luther and his followers, "sola fide" (faith
alone)21 -- not the Church -- became the
road to man's salvation. Calvin went much further: salvation is secondary,-- the
"chief end of human life" is "'[t]o know God by whom men were
created.'"22
Capitalism veiled as
Religion is most dangerous to Man. Hobbes' unconcealments reveal these truths:
- Fear-based Authority is
the Greatest Fraud ever perpetuated on Man.
- When a Church Encroaches
upon the Rights of the People, it is Exorcised.
THE PRESCRIPTION FOR SAVING
CAPITALISM FOR THE NEXT MILLENNIUM SHOULD NOW BE CRYSTAL CLEAR: THE
DARWINISTIC NET ADVANTAGES OF THE MONEY TRUST OVER THE CITIZEN MUST BE ELIMINATED BY THE
LEGISLATURE. IF THEY ARE NOT, BOTH THE MONEY TRUST AND
THE LEGISLATURE RISK BEING EXORCISED AND CAST OUT BY THE MAJORITY. THE REFORMATION
IS NOT LIMITED TO ENCROACHING PAPACIES, IT CAN OVERCOME AND CONSUME ANY CHURCH THAT
ENCROACHES ON THE RIGHTS OF MAN -- IRRESPECTIVE OF DENOMINATION.
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| 1
See Thomas Hobbes, Behemoth, edited by Ferdinand Tönnies, with an
Introduction by Stephen Holmes, 1990. 2 Ibid., at xliii-xliv
(Gatekeeper-Priests).
3 Ibid., at
xxxix ("psychological manipulation" of beliefs).
4 Ibid., at
xiv (anxiety about the future), xxxix and 71 ("power to condemn to hell"), xliv
(authority through fear and anxiety).
5 Ibid., at
xxxvii (power of propaganda).
6 See Thomas
Hobbes, Behemoth, edited by Ferdinand Tönnies, with an Introduction by Stephen
Holmes, 1990, at xl and 8 (excommunication: salvation and damnation are controlled by the
Church), xlii and 33-34 (obedience for protection), xlviii-xlix
("obedience-for-protection exchange").
7 See Voltaire, Philosophical
Dictionary, edited and translated by Theodore Besterman, 1972, at 233
("artificial religion").
8 Ibid., at 49
(philosophers accused of atheism).
9 See Thomas Hobbes, Leviathan,
edited with an Introduction by C.B. Macpherson, 1968, at 706 ("Darknesse in
Religion").
10 Ibid., at
703 (Suppression of Reason; Usurpation).
11 Ibid., at
708 ("dark Doctrines"), and 712-715 (Comparison of the Papacy with the Kingdome
of Fayries).
12 Ibid., at
682-703 (Of DARKNESSE from VAIN PHILOSOPHY, and FABULOUS TRADITIONS).
13 Ibid., at
707 ("from Auricular Confession, they [the clergy] obtain . . . better intelligence
of the designs of Princes, and great persons . . . ")
14 Ibid., at
708 (power to excommunicate), and 710 ("Excommunication" of the
"disobedient").
15 See Thomas
Hobbes, Behemoth, edited by Ferdinand Tönnies, with an Introduction by Stephen
Holmes, 1990, at 16 (foundation of power).
16 See Thomas Hobbes,
Leviathan, edited by C.B. Macpherson, at 714 ("Kingdom of Fairies").
17 Ibid., at
714 (power through fear).
18 See Charles E.
Lindblom, The Policy-Making Process, 1968, at 37 (The Rule Called
"Authority").
19 See Thomas Hobbes,
Behemoth, edited by Ferdinand Tönnies, with an Introduction by Stephen Holmes,
1990, at 40 (encroachment "upon the rights of kings").
20 See Thomas Hobbes,
Leviathan, edited by C.B. Macpherson, at 714 (exorcism of the papacy by Henry 8 and
Qu. Elizabeth).
21 See G.R. Elton, Reformation
Europe 1517-1559, 1963, at 16 ("sola fide").
22 Ibid., at
215 (Calvin's catechism). |
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HOBBES' THEORY OF POWER
DERIVED
FROM AN ANALYSIS BY STEPHEN HOLMES* |
| ELEMENT |
CHARACTERISTIC
AND UNDERLYING PRINCIPLE |
| Self-fulfilling prophecies1 |
Prophecies foretelling the future often
determine "the event foretold" (xiv).
Anxiety is created by uncertainty about the future: "Ideas in the head control
behavior" (xiv)
The unreal can control the real (xiv).
Unpredictable irrationality (gloominess, foolishness, stupidity, etc.) dominates human
behavior (xv). |
| Irrationality2 |
Irrational behavior is often rooted in
irrational motives (xv).
Humans do not have the capacity to "learn from experience"; they are incapable
of absorbing "the most obvious truths about natural causality" (xvi). |
| Norms3 |
Norms are relative: "'what one calls vice,
another calls virtue'" (xix and 45).
Not all motives are reducible to self-interest.
The rich are obsessed with profits (xx); but most people are passive because they are
"indoctrinated from infancy" (xxi). |
| Names4 |
Names have a greater emotional power than
facts: "'words' . . . possess enormous political force" (xxii) -- they "do
govern the world" (xxiv).
Public opinion can be manipulated for "subversive effects" (xxiii).
Labeling can be used to "destroy an enemy" (xxiii) |
| Teachings5 |
"[T]he power of the
mighty hath no foundation but in the opinion and belief of the people" [my emphasis] (xxviii and 16).
Teaching can be used to inculcate obedience.
Doctrines are "politically dangerous": they breed disputes, sedition, and war
(xxvii and 95) |
| Passions6 |
Irrational passions (love of gain, malice, envy, vanity, spite, narcissism, etc.), not utility
maximization, drive much of human affairs (xxviii-xxix).
Passions (revenge, honor, shame, fear, etc.) "regularly
override the desire for self-preservation" (xxix). |
| Political utility of
religious fraud7 |
Power is based on an intangible fiction: "'reputation' for power" (xlvi and
95).
Authority derives from the "gullibility of most people" (xlvi-xlvii). |
Gatekeeper-
priests8 |
By posing as "gatekeepers to heaven,"
the clergy induce subservience, fear, obedience, and anxiety (xliii-xliv).
The "ploy" of "sin" is used to manipulate conscience -- to induce
"guilt and self-hate" (xlviii and 26). |
Sexual guilt and
obedience-for-
protection exchange9 |
"After inculcating a
sense of peril [guilt and self-hate punishable by damnation], they [the clergy] sell their protection from
this phantom threat for the price of total obedience" (xlix) [my emphasis] |
|
| *
The basic elements of Hobbes' Theory of Power and the associated characteristics and
underlying principles are derived from Stephen Holmes' Introduction to Thomas Hobbes, Behemoth
(1682), 1990. |
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Table
20-1 Basic Elements of
Hobbes' Theory of Power -- Derived from an Analysis by Stephen Holmes
This
is a partial list of the basic elements of Hobbes' theory of power. The list is derived
from Stephen Holmes' Introduction to Hobbes' Behemoth, 1990:
1 Self-Fulfilling
Prophecies, at xiv-xv.
2 Irrationality, at xv-xviii.
3 Norms, at xviii-xxii.
4 Names, at xxii-xxv.
5 Teachings, at xxv-xxviii.
6 Passions, at xxvii-xxxiv.
7 The Political Utility of Religious Fraud, at xliv-xlvii.
8 Gatekeeper-Priests, at xliii-xliv.
9 Sexual Guilt, at xlvii-xlviii; especially xlviii (obedience-for-protection
exchange).
Sources
and Notes:
1-9 Thomas Hobbes, Behemoth (1682), edited by Ferdinand Tönnies, with
an Introduction by Stephen Holmes, 1990 (portions of the Introduction appeared in
"Political Psychology in Hobbes's Behemoth," in Thomas Hobbes and
Political Theory, edited by Mary G. Dietz, 1990 (University Press of Kansas)).
9 See also Thomas Hobbes, Leviathan (1651), edited with an Introduction
by C.B. Macpherson, 1968, at 720 ("he that upon promise of Obedience, hath his Life
and Liberty allowed him, is then Conquered"), and 728 (relation between protection
and obedience).
Copyright © 1998 by
Macroknow Inc. All Rights Reserved.
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ROLE OF THE MONEY TRUST IN NATIONAL GOVERNANCE
TWO
MODELS |
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Plate
20-1 Role of the Money
Trust in National Governance: From a Darwinistic Compulsion to Dominate, to a Duty to
ServeThe flow of authority, legitimacy,
and control on the left is consistent with Darwinistic Capitalism. In a phony
democracy, the People are controlled and exploited by the Money Trust, with the Government
effectively acting as the Trust's Agent. The flow on the right is the only one acceptable
in a democracy. In a real and absolute democracy, the Money Trust serves the
interests of the People by facilitating, enhancing, and preserving the CREATION OF WEALTH;
the Government by the People guarantees the SAFETY, STABILITY, AND FAIRNESS OF THE MARKET
SYSTEM.
[Copyright © 1998 by
MACROKNOW INC. All rights reserved.]
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WHAT IS THE IDEAL
NATIONAL ECONOMY?
THE
FLOW OF MONEY -- WHO CONTROLS, WHO PLANS, WHO GETS WHAT? |
SELECTED
MONEY FLOWS |
| a1 |
Personal taxes (direct and indirect), licenses, fees, purchases of government
securities |
| a2 |
Purchases of goods and services, investments |
| b1 |
Family income (wages, salaries, dividends, interest) |
| b2 |
Corporate taxes (direct and indirect), licenses, fees, sales of government
securities |
| c |
Transfers to families |
| d |
Corporate subsidies |
| e |
Revenues from exports, dividends and interest earned from foreign investments,
repatriation of capital |
| f |
Cost of imports, purchases of foreign securities, dividends and interest paid to
foreign investors, etc. |
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Plate
20-2 The Ideal
National Economy: The Flow of Money -- Who Controls, Who Plans, and Who Gets What? CAPITALISTS claim to offer
two great instruments for organizing and directing human economic transactions:
- The marketplace -- a
place were people can buy and sell freely what they please, at competitive prices, without
coercion.
- The corporation -- a
legal instrument for organizing and directing effort, innovation, and resources, for the
purpose of producing goods, services, and wealth.
Unfortunately, the empirical
evidence, from around the world, tends to indicate the following:
- Market processes are failing
miserably for many because of widespread corruption, exploitation, predation, etc.
Driven by greed, and hell-bent on exercising "monopolistic practices,"1
many transnationals can abuse their massive economic and technological powers -- at the
expense of people.
- A potentially Orwellian
electronic web can soon allow a few institutions to control, through ubiquitous electronic
means, almost every aspect of economic human life -- a sure road to totalitarianism and
servitude.
- The concentration of Media
powers can soon allow unprecedented global manipulations and distortions of reality -- by
a trivial few.
- Big corporations are
increasingly behaving like "para-governments"2 with substantial
coercive financial powers -- and trivial social responsibility. This is potentially a most
dangerous development. Big Business leaders represent the interests of big stockholders,
not necessarily those of the People.
- Governments are increasingly
behaving like Big Business. Democracy is perverted when politicians become Agents for Big
Business.
What can people do? The People can demand that politicians provide clear diagrams showing the
actual and expected flows and concentrations of assets, including Money -- between and
among the entities identified in this Plate, by region and by year. If the implied concentrations of indenture, servitude, or misery3 are or become unacceptable, then the politicians can be fired.
SURVIVAL
OF CAPITALISM
SOME FORMIDABLE ISSUES |
| A |
Need for recognizing that
people and families come first -- not Big Governments, not Big Business.
Need for taming the people's hostility: with decent, stable, well-paying jobs.
Need for accountability and responsibility in the marketplace, and for eliminating
unmerited rich-poor gaps.
Need for a secure, stable, and reliable safety net.
Need for protecting citizens against coercion and indentured servitude. |
| B |
Need for legislation and
moral law to secure the freedom of individuals, and to eliminate net advantages of Big
Governments and Big Business -- over citizens.
Need for effective and independent judicial powers -- for fighting crime, fraud, deceit,
misappropriation, expropriation, defalcation, abuse, etc., in the marketplace.
Need for assuring the security and privacy of citizens.
Need for truly free trade -- not
exploitative trade masquerading as "free trade." |
| C |
Need for domestically
owned and controlled technology and industry.
Need for fair distribution of the benefits from science and technology. |
| D |
Need for defeating
"monopolistic practices."
Need for protecting small businesses:
- from
destabilization by lenders or creditors;
- from predatory
"creative destruction"; and
- from other
devastations from overinvestment cycles.
Need for
protecting innovators against domination of science and technology by the Money Trust. |
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Sources:
1 Schumpeter's expression; see Joseph A. Schumpeter, Capitalism, Socialism
and Democracy, 3rd ed., with a new Introduction by Tom Bottomore, 1942, 1947, 1950,
and 1976, at 81-86 (The Process of Creative Destruction), and 87-106 (Monopolistic
Practices).
2 On para-governments, see Friedrich A. Hayek, Law, Legislation and Liberty,
Vol. 3, 1979, at 13-17 (Coalitions of Organized Interests and the Apparatus of
Para-Government).
3 In Friedman's words: "the typical state of mankind is tyranny,
servitude, and misery"; see Milton Friedman, Capitalism and Freedom, with the
assistance of Rose D. Friedman, 1962 and 1982, at 9.
[Copyright © 1998 by
MACROKNOW INC. All rights reserved.]
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