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Money, Life’s Ultimate Goal?

January 14, 2021   ·   0 Comments

By Doug Skeates

Ideology has changed even within living memory.  In the mid nineteen hundreds there was a form of capitalism, a model of small government, low taxation, and controlled social security.

Over a few decades a radical view of life emerged.  A new breed of economists promoted a concept of self interest, the American dream, quite different from the attitude of promoting a common good.  Privatization reared its ugly head.  Even government began promoting limited governance and the prominence of business. 

All aspects of life, even such basic elements as health care and education were considered to be best approached via the private sector.  The basis of life was the free market.  The end result?   The rich 1% got richer while salaries for the other 99% remained relatively static along with policies towards downgrading of unions and the loss of the middle class. 

A new radical form of thinking was exemplified by national public health in Britain, an approach adopted by Medicare in Canada and many countries of the developed world.  This later wave of economists now promotes a completely different form of capitalism led by Mariana Mazzucato, i.e. leadership by public interest. 

The old way of life was shattered in the 2008 recession and the COVID crisis, where industry is having to be rescued from insolvency by massive infusion of public money in order to maintain profit margins.

What tends to be overlooked even in the later ideology are the most valued attributes of humanity, creativity and the arts in particular.  The middle class, now diminishing rapidly, has always been the primary support for writers, musicians and artists, the really prominent innovators. 

The executives of major corporations and those at their peak in the sports and entertainment fields receive many millions of dollars annually while those in the arts have a real struggle to make ends meet.  Their plight was highlighted in “The death of artists” (William Deresiewicz, 2020, interviewed on TVO, the Agenda).  The pandemic only made matters much worse with limitation on fans at any form of gathering.

The conflict between the old and the new was particularly obvious during the debate between two contenders for a U.S. senate seat to be voted on in the state of Georgia this month.  The Republican candidate spoke many times of her pride in having achieved her American dream, personal wealth. 

The Democratic nominee made reference to Martin Luther King and his famous speech, “I have a dream.”  The latter promoted the well being of all people.  To me the difference highlighted the value of leadership potential for the individual or the role of government, representing the people, to benefit all members of society.

The pandemic showed the promise of artists for the future.  Throughout history artists have exhibited the creativity of individuals in the various fields of the arts, working to be productive in their chosen endeavours.  The goal was love for what they wanted to accomplish, not wealth.  Society today benefits from their efforts though most died in financial poverty while we still marvel at the works of Shakespeare, Handel’s Messiah, Michael-Angelo’s

paintings, Beethoven. Mozart, etc. as well as leaders who promoted cultural changes elevating the lives of all humankind.

The highly contagious COVID-19 virus further complicated life for society as a whole.  Many people moved from offices to work from home or found themselves unemployed as stores were forced to close. 

On the positive side this meant greater opportunity to work on their gardens, a real boon to seed and plant industries. Many took advantage of idle time to concentrate on doing things they had always wanted to do, developing new musical initiatives or diverse projects around the home. 

From a societal point of view this also meant reducing commuting time along with less use of fossil fuels, hence a reduction of carbon emissions in the atmosphere.

The other side of the coin reflects the disastrous effect on the economy faced by industry. With loss of employment, many families have encountered dire circumstances, while nations have been forced to find billions of dollars to support them and businesses.  

Once again many aspects of the existing capitalistic system have come into question. 

The future of the world’s ideology based on the almighty dollar is now open for change.

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