My dad and I are very close. Over the years, however, there is a topic that has become more difficult for us to engage in \u2013 that of American politics and economics. This is probably because I have less certainty and more questions these days and it can get awkward fast.<\/p>\n
I grew up believing that if our economy is less restricted, government programs are smaller, and taxes are lower, then everyone benefits and wins. The last few years I have begun questioning this assumption and Polanyi\u2019s The Great Transformation <\/em>only adds to the questions.<\/p>\n Is everyone benefiting? Does everyone win in this system? Is there a better way? And if I am honest, then there is the question of who am I to even ask these since I know so little of such complex subjects?<\/p>\n One thing I know. We are embedded. Our embeddedness makes it difficult to see. It makes it difficult to sit with questions that could challenge all we have ever known and seem threatening to our lifestyle. Perhaps this is why Polanyi\u2019s work is still being discussed decades later? Because while we are entrenched and unsure of solutions, our awareness that not everyone is benefiting (and many suffer) keeps us searching.<\/p>\n The county I live in is a dichotomy of resources. It holds one of the wealthiest areas in the country, which includes Mara-Lago, Donald Trump\u2019s Palm Beach residence. But if you take this same road at Mara-Lago due west you will end up in Belle Glade, one of the poorest towns in Florida. Within the same county, we have one of the richest zip codes in the country and also the city that ranks 213 of 215 of best places to live in Florida[1]<\/strong><\/a>. It’s hard to reconcile.<\/p>\n I wonder if on a macro level these inequalities continue to exist, at least in part, because of a scarcity mentality. Stephen Covey believes there are two mindsets in life, that of scarcity or abundance.[2]<\/a>He asserts that these are the two basic ways people see the world and that each has great consequences. Scarcity is a zero-sum view of life which means that there is only so much pie to go around and if you get some, I will have less. But abundance believes that there is more than enough to go around. Scarcity mentality is much more natural according to research and my personal experience but breeds all kinds of evil.<\/p>\n People become objects and obstacles to \u2018getting ours\u2019. If there is only so much to go around, you become my competition. Or I need to use you in order to get a bigger piece of the pie. It is difficult to serve someone when they are same person you need to beat or best.\u00a0When scarcity is the filter, it is easier to understand the commodification of laborers. As Asad Zaman gives insight in his summary of The Great Transformation<\/em>–<\/p>\n “Certain ideologies, which relate to land, labour and money, and the profit motive are required for efficient functioning of markets. In particular, both poverty, and a certain amount of callousness and indifference to poverty are required for efficient functioning of markets. Capitalist economics require sales, purchase, and exploitation of labor, which cannot be done without creating poverty, and using it to motivate workers…Thus, the existence of a market economy necessitates the emergence of certain ideologies and mindsets which are harmful to, and in contradiction with, natural human tendencies.”[3]<\/a><\/p>\n I am not suggesting that we just all think ourselves abundantly into a transcendent global economic reality. But as Christians, it is important to wrestle with the issues of poverty and the discrepancies of Palm Beach and Belle Glade and how our systems undergird the considerable gap. And we need to wrestle with what happens when we see people as labor instead of humans. Exploitation and injustice are surely the result.<\/p>\n I continue to wrestle with the truth of my own story and personal research \u2013 that God is not a \u2018user\u2019 and is not interested in us solely for what we can produce or what can be squeezed from us. We are not just laborers. We are not on this planet to simply add to someone\u2019s bottom line. And I keep coming to this \u2013 so if God is not an exploiter of people then the people of God should not be as well.<\/p>\n I appreciate Polanyi\u2019s caution against elevating profits over humans. This fight protects humans from functioning as machines. Dr. Len Sweet told me a couple of years ago that it was not our responsibility to help people become more spiritual but to help become more human. Humans are already spiritual beings but we lose our humanity when we are scrapping and fighting over limited resources or pieces of pie.<\/p>\n The overwhelm one can sense when dealing with such a broad, nuanced, complex topic such as market societies must not lead us to apathy but should inspire us to do our part while on the planet to protect and serve humanity. I read an epiphany Frederick Buechner had a long time ago that \u2018in the long run, there can be no real joy for anybody until there is joy finally for us all\u2019[4]<\/a>. So the work continues\u2026<\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n [1]<\/a>https:\/\/www.palmbeachdailynews.com\/news\/local\/where-does-palm-beach-rank-among-the-nation-wealthiest-zip-codes\/Ldggp6huwrGjbVBCHv5VqL\/<\/a><\/p>\n [2]<\/a>Covey, Stephen R. The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People<\/i>. Provo, UT: Franklin Covey, 1998, 218-9.<\/p>\n <\/a><\/p>\n [3]<\/a>Zaman, Asad. \u201cSummary of the Great Transformation.\u201d WEA Pedagogy Blog.<\/p>\n https:\/\/weapedagogy.wordpress.com\/2013\/08\/28\/summary-of-the-great-transformation-by-polanyi\/<\/a>(January 23, 2019).<\/p>\n