What's Wrong with Society Today?
What’s Wrong With Society Today?
Is there a cycle of good and evil in human civilization? Major catastrophes, insurmountable political problems, unusual natural disasters, along with personal problems in families, shootings, terrorist attacks, etc., have produced an unheard of sense of fear in people’s lives such as never before. With the changing dynamics in the world today, the earth seems to remain in constant danger. Even while we are at peace, we are waging war upon the society from which we came and on which we still depend for our survival. Our appetite for materialism seems to be the catalyst for destroying our environment. It is extremely important to understand why, when we have so much, we are still consuming g the earth with our hunger for more. According to Andrew Bard Schmookler’s article,”Why Are We Devouring The Earth?” There are two main reasons which drive our insatiability. Part of the problem lies in the dynamic of our economic system, part lies in our psychological or spiritual condition. Both are necessary to explain the sources of our inability to be satisfied.
The Systemic Perspective
According to Schmookler, our economic system has blocked the psychological problem of our addiction to wealth by teaching us that mankind cannot be satisfied by nature, and that a limitless appetite which is natural, is good. Economically, man is presumed to have infinite wants. It seems wealth and human fulfillments have become equal, even though our great spiritual teachers have all taught otherwise. The market (our demand for commodities) seems to have given us great blessing, but has also put us on the path to destruction.
Schmookler goes on to say that the market shapes not only our image of human nature, but also the human reality within its reach. It shapes us by its endless messages designed to persuade us to the importance of the goods it provides. If the market is allowed to operate for generations in a cultural system,
Is there a cycle of good and evil in human civilization? Major catastrophes, insurmountable political problems, unusual natural disasters, along with personal problems in families, shootings, terrorist attacks, etc., have produced an unheard of sense of fear in people’s lives such as never before. With the changing dynamics in the world today, the earth seems to remain in constant danger. Even while we are at peace, we are waging war upon the society from which we came and on which we still depend for our survival. Our appetite for materialism seems to be the catalyst for destroying our environment. It is extremely important to understand why, when we have so much, we are still consuming g the earth with our hunger for more. According to Andrew Bard Schmookler’s article,”Why Are We Devouring The Earth?” There are two main reasons which drive our insatiability. Part of the problem lies in the dynamic of our economic system, part lies in our psychological or spiritual condition. Both are necessary to explain the sources of our inability to be satisfied.
The Systemic Perspective
According to Schmookler, our economic system has blocked the psychological problem of our addiction to wealth by teaching us that mankind cannot be satisfied by nature, and that a limitless appetite which is natural, is good. Economically, man is presumed to have infinite wants. It seems wealth and human fulfillments have become equal, even though our great spiritual teachers have all taught otherwise. The market (our demand for commodities) seems to have given us great blessing, but has also put us on the path to destruction.
Schmookler goes on to say that the market shapes not only our image of human nature, but also the human reality within its reach. It shapes us by its endless messages designed to persuade us to the importance of the goods it provides. If the market is allowed to operate for generations in a cultural system,
Cited: Schmookler, Andre Bard. (1990) What Is Enough? Why are We Devouring The Earth? Context Institute.www.context.org/ICLIB/IC26/Schmkler.htm