Many of the commonly recognized ills of our global society today can be linked to, if not directly caused by, western civilization's materialistic philosophy because Globalism springs from western civilization. This is not to exempt or excuse non-western cultures. Indeed the environmental atrocities committed over this past century by the totalitarian, Soviet and Chinese Communist regimes now being reported, have nothing to do with market economies, international trade agreements or secular capitalism. Neither are they the exclusive proclivity of any particular political party or economic philosophy.
Globalism has exacerbated the competition between populations internally engaged in the competitive struggle for survival. The excessive competition nations and communities experience today goes beyond a survival-motivated grab for essential resources that has resulted in concentrating over 50% of the world's wealth in the hands of 2% of its inhabitants. This massive material imbalance provides convincing evidence that we live in a world out of spiritual balance. A grossly skewed distribution of wealth (and power) is not the only evidence, but perhaps it is the most obvious testimony of today's spiritual poverty.
Admittedly, human civilization in any cultural expression has always fallen short of the ideal, but modern Globalism's impact excessively distorts every aspect of life it touches. The shape and form of today's societal ills have much to do with the world's political, economic and spiritual policies, which are driven by widespread greed and the elite's particular lust for power and status through a phenomenon of equal opportunity corruption at the expense of the average person.
Globalism corrupts the few who are winners and crushes the billions at the bottom levels of the worldwide human pyramid of power, wealth and status. Only at the limited and illusive midpoints of success may one find a balance particular to each person's identity. As I will discuss later, any balance in life leading to a creative identity formation is a spiritual process. Healthy spirituality demands each of us to exercise a freely chosen, determining role in its development and practice.
A Short Spiritual History of Globalism
The globalist dream goes back into the dimmest recesses of human history. It is clothed in the myths of beginnings, which shroud probable cores of truth with powerful spiritual symbols. Even in today's political and economic rebirth of the European Union, we find mythic imagery that hearkens back to Zeus' rape of Europa and the erection of the Tower of Babel. Even before that famous first ziggurat, the Bible discusses the spiritual beginnings of urbanism, which cannot be separated from the transformation of historical western civilization into modern Globalism.
Globalism emanates from the great cities of the globe. The sociocultural systems that came together to create the first cities out of agriculturally based villages and towns now drive the juggernaut I refer to as Globalism. Its ultimate expression would be a massive urban system of continuously connected megalopolises. Just as the "miracle" of compound interest (so simply and memorably illustrated in the classic book, The Richest Man in Babylon, by George Samuel Clason) can make a mountain of money out of modest savings – given enough time, so the first urban centers have compounded their growth in wealth, influence and power to become today's Globalism.
Since most of us live in cities and all of us suffer exposure to Globalism's impact, wisdom demands a little historical journey in order to better recognize and understand global materialism's hazardous influence on healthy spiritual growth. We cannot ignore the Judeo-Christian traditions and scriptures as a primary spiritual resource of western civilization. The powerful truths of its stories and symbols have inspired sacrificial altruism and intolerant inquisition both. Despite the fact that considerable incongruity exists between the values promoted by the words of Scripture in broad context and what the history of western sociopolitical structures demonstrates was actually practiced, the Bible's moral and ethical authority remains as a potential counterbalance to the spiritual distortions promoted in the name of God and/or the church.
Its first book of Genesis reveals where, when and by whom human civilization began to oppress its citizens in a way that inspired and rewarded evil. My definition of evil is:
That which steals life from another is evil. It is evil whether the theft is one of property or of the life force. It is true if the theft is total or partial, because partial theft or damage may contribute to the inability to provide for necessary biological needs, promote moral weakness, result in physical sickness or contribute to psychological depression. If the theft of life is complete, it obviously results in the death of the victim. It is this spiritually predatory activity of depleting the life force of human and beast that exacerbates evil thoughts and deeds... ( In Search of Spirituality, Chapter 1)
Cain invented the city to get around God's punishment for killing his brother Abel. A farmer by trade, Cain could not make anything grow. This curse followed him wherever he wandered as punishment for murdering his brother. (Genesis 4:12) Because the ground was cursed for him but not for others, Cain decided to settle down at the crossroads of trade routes and built the first city, called Enoch after his son. He made himself its king so that he could collect (income) taxes off of others' produce and labor. (Genesis 4:9-17) From the creation of his city-state kingdom, the way of Cain meanders its way through time to become the road to Babylon and later, to Rome.
If Cain is the eponymous great grandfather of Globalism, then Nimrod is the mythical grandfather. Mythical and biblical sources cite the construction of the first Tower of Babel by Nimrod as the first major public works effort after the Flood. Most archaeologists equate this tower with the Mesopotamian ziggurat. Here is the biblical account:
Now the whole earth used the same language and the same words.
It came about as they journeyed east, that they found a plain in the land of Shinar and settled there. They said to one another, "Come, let us make bricks and burn them thoroughly." And they used brick for stone, and they used tar for mortar. They said, "Come, let us build for ourselves a city, and a tower whose top will reach into heaven, and let us make for ourselves a name, otherwise we will be scattered abroad over the face of the whole earth."
The LORD came down to see the city and the tower which the sons of men had built. The LORD said, "Behold, they are one people, and they all have the same language. And this is what they began to do, and now nothing which they purpose to do will be impossible for them. Come, let Us go down and there confuse their language, so that they will not understand one another's speech."
So the LORD scattered them abroad from there over the face of the whole earth; and they stopped building the city. Therefore its name was called Babel, because there the LORD confused the language of the whole earth; and from there the LORD scattered them abroad over the face of the whole earth. (Genesis 11:1-9)
Christopher J. Patton is the president of Faith in the Future Foundation and is an evangelist with the International Ministerial Fellowship. Formerly a biblical archaeologist, he holds a Masters in Archaeology of the Land of Israel from the Hebrew University in Jerusalem and a Masters of Business Administration from the University of St. Thomas in St. Paul, MN. Experienced in web design and electronic publishing, Patton is also an adjunct college professor teaching in the Twin Cities area.
Anytime someone starts using phrases like "proper interpretation" my ears perk up because undoubtedly it indicates that someone wishes to ignore opposing opinions. In point of fact, there IS NO "proper" interpretation of scripture and there are many other viable alternative interpretations than the rather modern anachronistic interpretive schema you are using.
While I certainly agree with you on the problems of globalization, I'm not at all convinced by your rather odd interpretation of historical events. Indeed, one could as I am doing right now, point out that the problem isn't globablization, but rather the desire in certain people (perhaps even in the human specie itself) to gravitate towards authoritarianism. I can quite easily imagine a globalized economy and gov.'t that does not require absolutism, which is something you seem to say is a necessary connection.
by
David Teachout (3 articles, 0 quicklinks, 4 diaries, 21 comments)
on Friday, January 5, 2007 at 12:09:20 PM
You are correct to be sensitive to "proper interpretation." Please note that I originally wrote "proper context" and not interpretation. Apparently, "proper" was not be best choice in communicating my intent in regards to context, so I have replaced it with "broad," which will hopefully better convey my concerns. It is too easy to take a verse or even a chapter of one part of the Bible and not see its role in the whole, which is an interpretive process for anyone.
In addition to your observations, I would add that there is often more than one correct interpretation for a section of Scripture because the Bible communicates on various levels concurrently. And of course, there will always be differences between people as long as we are mortal, but your concerns seem focused on respecting another's perspective or interpretation even if disagreeing. I certainly concur and object to anyone forcing his or her interpretation upon another. That runs contrary to one of the Bible's master themes - free will.
The problems of Globalism and human nature are exremely complex and attract a broad range of opinions. I perceive severe systemic problems in Globalism that structurely force a greed-driven commodification of human and animal lives. This evil in turn inspires a tyranny of the elite at the oppressive expense of most of society, as evidenced by the extreme concentrations of wealth and political power in the hands of the few in positions of power and influence.
by
Jonah2015 (6 articles, 4 quicklinks, 1 diaries, 18 comments)
on Friday, January 5, 2007 at 1:53:38 PM
