The Occupy movement is hands down the most potent culmination of moral and sociopolitical purpose I have seen on this large a scale in my lifetime. As a youth I aspired to embrace the ideas of the 60′s that I was exposed by my parents, but it rocks to have something alive and new to be part of. It’s leading us to evolve our expectations of democracy. Or for many of us, it’s finally starting to seem plausible that we might finally knock some sense into the world. The early months of Occupy have done tremendous good in gathering attention to the problems of inequality and greed, and we have established new networks of commitment with like-minded folks to push for change. Having followed the movement closely, it’s becoming clear to me that ideas are important. Really important.
While pondering the ridiculousness of the polarized political idioms that pervade our language and funnel mainstream thought into a pointless stalemate, I stumbled across a simple idea. Perhaps this, or something like it, can dislodge us from the narrow stereotypes that conventional left/right thinking tends to follow.
If we could somehow guarantee that every person’s compensation matched their contribution, then our economic problems would cease to exist. Nobody gets any more wealth than that which they have created for others. Perhaps it’s here, at this embarrassingly simple point of equilibrium where capitalism and socialism can harmoniously coexist. What if?
Let’s imagine a world that operates perfectly by this rule. How? Well you see, it’s metaphysically enforced by angels who run the cosmic bank. Ok, now what would it be like to live in such a world? If you are poor and in dire need of money, then all you do is just start contributing to others. In this imaginary world, you would be compensated instantaneously and fairly. If getting rich is your thing, then just do something big, something that will contribute to many people and you can be generously compensated. Just don’t harm anyone or the environment in the process. Harm is a negative contribution, so if you do that it will cut into your compensation. There’s no hiding from the angels, for they see your every thought. You would never see any sneaky subliminal advertisements that try to sell crap you don’t need. Businesses only get compensated for contributing to an actual need, so there would never be any point in pursuing annoying sales tactics that promote over-consumption.
Although imagining such a world on the outside seems unrealistic, couldn’t it be the truth that it’s already how things work on the inside? A person who has compensation that matches their contribution will always be happier and at greater inner peace than a person who doesn’t, regardless of which way the imbalance lies. Above all, this tells me that we must unlearn the habit of blocking our own conscience in order to win, and relax our survival strategy to encompass a broader and more natural set of goals. By doing so, we not only stop oppressing others, but we fulfill our own need to be at peace and in better health.
I have committed, and I invite others to commit to try and live by this rule (at least in terms of your thinking), if for a few days, and see how it feels. If it feels good, then keep doing it!
As I see it, one of the real roots of the problem is the competitiveness that is pervasive in our culture. Historically, Americans have been experts at winning the wealth game and staying on top. This has arguably been good for the nation’s economy, and many people who weren’t born rich can learn to play the game and become a winner too. These notions of “freedom” and “equal opportunity” at the heart of America’s pride are arguably good things, but let’s think bigger. What kind of world is this creating? If you strive to always beat everyone else by winning the game and getting the lion’s share of bounty before anyone else gets to it, then you are creating a world in which other people are forced to play that game as well, or be left in the dirt and have nothing. It is a self-fulfilling prophecy. Greed spreads like a virus. There is a fear in our colonial minds that if we don’t get there first, someone else will, and so we’d better make sure we get there first. It creates a world of scarcity and frenzied competition, when really there is more than enough to go around. If everyone could realize how crazy this is and just slow down a bit, we wouldn’t all have to race and compete so much. This habit of competitiveness is so deeply ingrained in western culture that we don’t even realize that other possibilities exist.
