People are Destroying Their World, Because Their World has Destroyed Them

This, as you probably know, is one of my favorite themes - and it seems to be unique to me. No one else is the least bit interested in it.

I am reading, for the second time, The Mind and the Market: Capitalism in Western Thought. It is excellent, but I forgot it, and set it aside, because it did not answer the burning question in my mind - "Why are things now in such bad shape?"

Lots of books have been written about this - but they have overlooked the main issue - people's reaction to the economy of their time. They did react, and react strongly - but these feelings were not acceptable - and had to be pushed into their collective unconscious. Where they continue to act, as strongly as ever. It remains for people like me - to determine what is going on, in there.

I must return to where I left off, in 2001, in Silicon Valley. I knew something was wrong, and badly wrong - but no one else was helping me discover what this was. I had to bail out, and move to Costa Rica - so I could get some perspective on the problem. Moving here, was like going back in time - to before Capitalism took off in the North. The South remained poor, but still liked people. A huge difference, that I liked immensely.

What happened, in the developed countries - was more development, at the emotional expense of the people in them. People needed to feel important - but they no longer were!

Obviously, the kind of development needed to be changed - to make it more people-friendly. Everyone agrees with this. But how to do this, while retaining its ability to create wealth, is a tricky issue. The people who got rich in the old system, want to retain their wealth (or even get more wealthy) in the new one.

Americans need to clarify their objectives: what are they trying to do? The answer would seem to be - make America better for every American! But there is a huge resistance to this simple objective - other things - a lot of other things, are more important!

And Americans do not want to think about what they are.