From
local economic development bodies to President Trump, many folks have bought
into the idea that the new Holy Trinity of science, technology, and industry
(to use Wendell Berry’s words), especially as embodied in large corporations,
is the key to obtaining a good life for a community. But this is not so, for a number of
reasons. Let us look at a few.
First,
the large corporate model excels in specialization, so that each worker has
only a few tasks to repeat throughout the day.
This is harmful to the body and the mind: the body, as it stands or sits most of the
day in the same position; the mind, as it generally remains idle, thinking
little, deciding little.
Second,
and related to the first in some ways, it is stressful. There are reasons why the population of the
States is so heavily medicated, and this economic system is one of them. From rush hour traffic, to the uncertainty of
one’s employment, to the never-ending competition with other companies and even
with one’s own co-workers, mankind following this way of life is bombarded with
tension on such a regular basis that he is falling to pieces before our eyes.
Third,
it is ugly. Concrete and metal rectangles
all across the landscape do not reflect the beauty that flows from God the
All-Holy Trinity (the True Holy Trinity of the Father and the Son and the Holy
Ghost) and cannot lead us to Him, Who is our life.
Fourth,
large corporations generally uphold causes that are contrary to
Christianity. For instance, all the
corporate ‘anchors’ that cities are so eager to attract nowadays, like Best
Buy, State Farm, IBM, Ford Motor Co. - even companies that have a Bible Belt
heritage like Wal-Mart and CenturyLink - received a perfect or very high score
from the pro-lesbian-gay-bisexual-transgender (LGBT) Human Rights Campaign
Foundation’s Corporate Equality Index in 2017 for their support of the LGBT
lifestyle, as reflected in their policies regarding benefits, training, hiring,
and so on (The Index may be read here: http://www.hrc.org/campaigns/corporate-equality-index).
Fifth,
their ruthless pursuit of profits leads to an obsession with efficiency, which
in its turn leads to a dehumanization of the worker (his being treated like a
machine) and his eventual replacement with robots, A. I., etc.
It
is not necessary to live this way. There
have been many eloquent defenders of a “third way” between corporate capitalism
and communism (which are two sides of the same Godless, materialist coin): the English Distributists like Chesterton and
Belloc, the Southern Agrarians like Andrew Lytle, Richard Weaver, and the
aforementioned Wendell Berry, and other voices like Allan Carlson, Rev William
Barnes of Dorset, and Wilhelm Roepke.
What they advocate is a return to the wide distribution of productive
property amongst the people: land, tools, machines, small shops, etc., which
would secure a livelihood to them in a manner much more humanely than Big
Government and Big Business (again, two wings of the same bird) can provide.
But
it is necessary not simply to put the property in their hands, but to make sure
it does not easily leave them. If it can
be easily alienated from them, then the corporate system will be revived
without much effort. Some sort of legal protection
is needed. A good ensample that could serve
as a blueprint of sorts is found in Leviticus chapter 25, where land could be
lost or sold if one fell into debt and so on, but it would return to the owner
every fiftieth year, the Year of Jubilee:
‘And ye shall hallow the fiftieth year, and
proclaim liberty throughout all the land unto all the inhabitants thereof: it
shall be a jubilee unto you; and ye shall return every man unto his possession,
and ye shall return every man unto his family’ (v. 10, KJV).
Giant
corporatism is not the way to the good life.
We have tried to sketch a few features of both above, but the last word
on this matter needs to go to Father Seraphim Rose of blessed memory who
described what he called the “Old Order” in the little book Nihilism. His description will make for a fine
guidepost as we try to get there:
‘The
Old Order was the soil, nourished by Christian Truth, in which men had their
roots. Its laws and institutions, and even its customs, were founded in that
Truth and dedicated to teaching it; its buildings were erected to the glory of
God and were a visible sign of His Order upon earth; even the generally
"primitive" (but natural) living conditions served (unintentionally,
of course) as a reminder of man's humble place here, of his dependence upon God
for even the few earthly blessings he possessed, and of his true home which
lies beyond this "vale of tears," in the Kingdom of Heaven. Effective
war against God and His Truth requires the destruction of every element of this
Old Order . . .’ (St. Herman of Alaska Brotherhood, 2009, p. 75, copied from http://oodegr.co/english/filosofia/nihilism_root_modern_age.htm#IV.,
opened 23 Jan. 2017).
--
Holy
Ælfred the Great, King of England, South Patron, pray for us sinners at the
Souð!
Anathema
to the Union!
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