18. Exploitation's Deceitful Attraction


Exploitation's Deceitful Attraction

Bob Komives
::

We know from experience that, despite all the good it does for us, at times Adam Smith's "invisible hand" needs to be slapped. We rise again and again in fits of moral outrage to knock down those who sacrifice common good to disparity—promote our loss for their gain. Do we do so often enough? We discuss that question frequently. Here is another question that we should discuss: do such struggles and knock downs pit morality against economics? To this second question I answer, no. Morality need not fight economics unless you equate economics with pursuit of personal gain. You should not. I do see these struggles as contests between good and bad; but between (good) morality and bad economics, between common good and bad science. Great disparity is a great clot in the arteries of development.

Great disparity between us,
great impediment among us.
Moral justice asserts
that our wealthy must distribute wealth
onward to our poor.
Economic development just begs
that wealthy just act
knowing their dependence upon the poor
—and upon more.
More wealth distributed
brings back more wealth recirculated;
today distributed,
tomorrow shared.
In abstract we speak
of wealthy and poor.
In concrete we speak
of butcher, baker, banker,
slave, master,
pitcher, raker, candlestick maker.
We distribute,
recirculate,
compete,
cooperate,
evolve,
to survive
to prosper
together.

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Consider the economics of exploitation. Take an extreme example; consider the economics of
slavery. As species, as group, our wealth grows biologically with each birth; it decreases with each death—usually. Simply having more people may decrease our group wealth. Our increased population may overwhelm brain knowledge and artifactual knowledge that we use to harness resources. While this negative outcome may not be as likely as doomsayers often say, more people do not by their presence alone make the individuals in their group more wealthy. Yet, mistaken actions by fellow humans seem to stem from a belief that greater population brings wealth—if it is more of the right kind of population, the kind that makes us rich. When powerful individuals and groups enslave other people they increase the population that works at their service. A slaveholder feels wealthier holding more slaves.

We can exploit others in ways more subtle than slavery, but in all ways exploiters believe (if they are honest with themselves) that they become wealthier if they subjugate more people. Usually they do not try to increase overall population, just their controlled population. Unfortunately, history shows that from their narrow and short-sighted viewpoints they are usually right. Since we see our world having static resources, we find it selfishly attractive to exploit the minds and bodies of our brothers and sisters. These harnessed minds and bodies know how to gather wealth for us.

 
From the broad viewpoint of humankind exploitation is not attractive. It reduces opportunities for the exploited. That reduction inhibits the growth of brain knowledge and artifactual knowledge for our species, reducing species wealth and average per-person wealth. To the exploited it is painfully obvious that they suffer the burden of their exploiters. 


Unfortunately, exploiters are painfully ignorant that they suffer under the burden of their exploitation. This becomes tragically obvious when a lethal microbe flourishes in the impoverished ecology of the exploited and surges forth to kill exploited and exploiter alike. Yet the lesson is not learned. Here, economics has, first, much to learn and, second, much to teach.

Exploiter dreads that exploited would self-organize.
Old culture that slave might keep,
and new culture that slave might create,
destroyed, discouraged, undone.
Exploiter simplifies—
in
simple
organization
finds
control.
Biosphere complicates—
for in our complexity, it finds resilience;
for in its resilience, we find wealth.

||



:: Bob Komives, Fort Collins © 2006 :: Plum Local IV :: 18. Exploitation's Deceitful Attraction ::
With attribution these words may be freely shared, but permission
is required if quoted in an item for sale or rent

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