Big-Self Capitalism

The poem I wrote in the previous post captures the essential reality of all great civilizations, from Hindu (the “untouchables” suffer even now after three thousand years), Egyptian, Persian, Greek, Roman, Mogul, to the modern European/American. Each and every civilization was built using the blood and sweat of the lesser human beings. Modern nations and modern economic systems evolved from this broad human reality. The original cause behind the fatal attraction of the proletariat to communism was centuries of exploitation by feudalism and capitalism. Communism was simply a revolt by the masses. Like any revenge of the mobs, it was a release of anger, hate, and insanity by big parts of humanity. And, of course, revenge is often crueler than the exploitation that causes it. Science, communication, and weapons made it possible for the proletariat and the insane rulers in their “name” to kill twenty million in Soviet Russia, sixty million in China, and few more millions in other countries. Trying to achieve the impossible task of making all human achievements equal, communism led to the repression of all freedoms, economic, social, and spiritual.

In contrast, free-market capitalism worked well in spreading democratic values and general uplifting of the living standards of many people, though many were exploited and left behind. Two essential instruments of capitalism were innovation and exploitation. Historically, exploitation was not only its main instrument, but was often used as the bow that shot the arrow of innovation. Some men could think because others toiled in slave labor. The biggest exploiting groups gave birth to the greatest innovators. This continues even today, may be in more subtle forms, even though after FDR’s New Deal and advancements in technology, there was hope that innovation would replace exploitation as the main instrument of capitalism. Curiously, libertarians such as the famed economists Ludwig von Mises, Milton Friedman, and the pop philosopher Ayn Rand spent their whole lives preoccupied with the instrument of innovation, never acknowledging seriously the instrument of exploitation in the success of early capitalism.

The interaction of innovation and exploitation creates three forms of capitalism. Small-self capitalism, which increases efficiency mostly by exploitation (of workers, customers, and the environment). Modern capitalism which increases efficiency using both innovation and exploitation. And, big-self capitalism which increases efficiency mostly by innovation. The influence of money on government is highest in the stage of small-self capitalism, and lowest or non-existent in the stage of big-self capitalism. Only a complete elimination of the influence of money on law-makers can guarantee that laws against exploitation can be effectively passed without being blocked by the exploiters. In the 20th century, the western countries moved from small-self capitalism to modern capitalism. The big question confronting most industrialized nations today is whether we can move from modern capitalism to big-self capitalism in the 21st century?

Wounds and Scars

Once upon a time lived two tribes
The men of first tribe were unhappy and evil
The men of second tribe were happy and noble
One day the evil struck the noble
Took over their land
Raped their wives
And enslaved their men

The happy tribesmen now worked twelve-hour days
Under the threats of hunger, fear, and pain
The physically strong were kept alive with food and shelter
The weak ones abandoned without any care
The unhappy tribesmen were freed of bodily labor
They could now pursue thinking and contemplation

To the unhappy tribe were born the children of privilege
To the happy tribe were born the children of misfortune
Over time these children bore more children
The bodies and minds of the two tribes adapted to their new roles
Institutions developed to help strengthen the new realities
Both tribes forgetting how they came to be

The children of the unhappy tribe had minds full of wonder
The children of the happy tribe had hearts heavily burdened
The children of the unhappy tribe created science and technology
The children of the happy tribe watched with envy
The children of the unhappy tribe celebrated life
The children of the happy tribe feared for their lives

Centuries later children of the unhappy tribe discovered
The many injustices of their ancestors
Their hearts filled up with undeserved emotions
Of sadness, remorse, guilt, and anger
They freed the children of the happy tribe
And shared with them a piece of their pie
But their acceptance came from a heart of contrition
Not a heart flowing with love and benediction

The children of the happy tribe wanted affection
Not the pity arising from the historical infraction
Though their wounds were beginning to heal
They could not see blinded by the scars
Some children of the unhappy tribe saw the scars
Quickly announced that sharing of pie created scars
So the children of the happy tribe were abandoned
With their partially healed wounds and their visible scars

The Intellectual and the Wise

An intellectual circles around and around to prove a premise hidden in the emotional middle brain.

The intellectual is very skilled at hiding the "emotional" origins of the premise, not only from others, but even from himself, by using logical arguments of the upper brain.

The premise invariably is rooted in some small-self identity of the intellectual (i.e., American, conservative, liberal, etc.).

But how long can one move in circles? Five years, ten years, fifty years? Whole life?

A wise person quits circling around, and moves inward, towards the very center of the circle, right into the middle brain.

The wise one sees the small self.

In that seeing both the small self and the premise lose their grip.

Meditation is seeing directly into one's middle brain, with a silent upper brain. It is the journey of a small self into the big self, a transformation of the intellectual into the wise.

Living 100%

A divided Self consists of many small selves pulling the consciousness in opposing directions. The consciousness of a divided self may range from simple indecisiveness, to chronic procrastination, to paranoid schizophrenia.

Insanity is total separation of small selves. Self-actualization is total integration of small selves. A self-actualized human being is fully integrated in body, mind, and spirit. Such a being lives 100% moment by moment.

The small selves must be loved unconditionally for them to die and merge into the big Self. For example, the gluttonous over-eating self must be loved unconditionally for a compulsive eater to go beyond the guilt of overeating and thus, attaining freedom from addiction to food. The guilt of eating too much keeps one trapped in eating without awareness. By enjoying food 100%, eating slowly with full awareness of the taste buds, allows one to eat less. This applies to all mental addictions from food and love to money and career. Enjoying life 100% is the easiest way to find the balance and harmony that is beyond the grasp of small selves, but is the very nature of the big Self. Loving a small self unconditionally and totally is the way to allow the small self to merge into the big Self. Conscious death of the small selves is the birthing of the big Self. Loving every single small self within, deeply and unconditionally, however bad, ugly, evil, unworthy, the small self may seem, is the quickest path to big Self-realization.

Only a big Self can live life 100%