Written by Tom Adams   

One of the primary problems with American-style capitalism is that it is essentially anti-human to its core. The blind pursuit of profit with total disregard to societal benefits and side effects, the obsession with material and financial gain above all else, and the naked exploitation of the earth's natural resources is ultimately a self-destructive, soul-less philosophy that feeds the most negative of human instincts. And I'm not using the word "soul" in the traditional religious sense, but more in line with what Thomas Moore refers to as "a quality or a dimension of experiencing life and ourselves, that has to do with depth, value, relatedness, heart, and personal substance".

Adherence to this philosophy is yielding unmitigated disasters, not the least of which is the systematic destruction of the very things that sustain us: the air, the land, the water. The earth is viewed as a "resource" to be exploited for personal gain, rather than as a "resource" to be guarded, protected, and cared for -- it is perceived as something separate from us, rather than as a part of us. And even the bible states that Adam was created out of the mud of the earth, which even if not taken literally, has important symbolic implications about our origins and about our relationship to the environment. The word "Adam", according some, even translates to "red earth".

Our common sense and consciences must surely tell us that any system or philosophy that produces a society that leads the world in imprisoning its people, that allows over 50 million people to go without basic human health care, and that has roughly half of its entire population living at, below, or barely above the poverty level while a miniscule percentage of its people live in luxury beyond imagination, is morally and spiritually bankrupt.

Of course, that's not to say that material goods are "bad" per se; rather, that an over-emphasis on their attainment without regard to the bigger picture is a dead end . . . literally.

American-style capitalism has no soul, and soul-less cultures do not last. Just ask the Romans.