Humanism and the Buying and Selling of Money

One of the oldest practices in Human history is the selling and buying of money.  Thus, there is nothing specific to Profit-Seeking in Capitalism.  Likewise, there is nothing in that respect that is de-Humanizing in Capitalism.  But, in a transition to a Humanist Morality, the elimination of the assistance by others for Profit would be a first step.

Wealth and Conspicuous Consumption

From the youngest age, regardless of their economic condition, Americans seem motivated to maximize personal Profit. The motivation is part of the general Ethos rooted in Capitalism.  Leisure time is no exception--such periods seem devoted to conspicuous consumption, dedicated to the purchase and display of excess wealth.  There seems to be no opportunity in American life for an alternative to the production of personal Wealth.

Education Loan and Education Pressure

Someone who has to rely on an Education Loan is at a disadvantage in comparison with one who does not because of the obligation to repay that they have incurred.  Their educational focus must be entirely on the classroom material being delivered, with no leeway for reflection.  But even with such attention, Education remains an exercise in pressure, as the primary goal of Education, from the earliest age, is to maximize Personal Profit, even if the motivation to do so remains obscurely conditional.

Free Education and Student Loan

The call for Free Education is primarily a corrective against the ills of the Student Loan business, to which a student is obligated almost immediately upon a graduation.  A student thus becomes almost completely at the mercy of an employer, having to labor under conditions, performing tasks, dictated by the latter.  The consequence is essentially a lifetime of servitude, even if superficially a life of conventional 'freedom'.  So, one of the benefits of Free Education is that it liberates a student to at least some Liberal Arts Education, in which they have the opportunity, without obligation, to reflecting on the nature of society, and their role in it.  With such an opportunity, a student can also participate in the building of society.  In recent decades, such an opportunity has seem far-fetched, but it was once envisioned as central to both Education and Society-building.

Compassionate Capitalism

Ultimately, Compassionate Capitalism is Self-Indulgence.  It is an opportunity for feeling Good about Oneself, without any Causal Efficacy.  It lacks the capacity to go beyond a Feeling, since the motivation to change a situation is lacking.  The motivation to change a situation must be Objective, which can derive from neither Profit-Seeking nor from feeling Good about Oneself.  Compassionate Capitalism is a Moral deadend.

Capitalism and Compassion

Perhaps the most decisive moment in the development of Capitalism is Smith's unexplained abandonment of his previous advocacy of Compassion as the basis of Morality, in favor of personal Profit-Seeking.  The historical consequence has been routine political conflict--Capitalists rigorously adhering to Smith's Principle, and those who seek opportunity to modify the Principle with occasions of Compassion.  The current mainstream conflict in the U. S. is an example of this conflict.  However, both sides of the conflict have neglected the interests of those who have routinely been marginalized by both sides, outsiders who have become numerous enough and robust enough this year to mount a potential formidable challenge.  One attempt to neutralize the challenge has been the attempt of the less than rigorous side to co-opt the rhetoric of the traditionally marginalized, and recast it in the rhetoric of traditional Compassionate Capitalism.  The degree of success of the strategy remains to be seen.

Humanism and Education

A Humanist Education teaches that each is a Part of an Organic Whole, so that any skill that a Part learns benefits all.  This concept of Education is, of course, very different from that taught for centuries, according to which each is taught to maximize personal Profit.  Human society is changing, and in a matter of centuries, the slow trend is that it will be determined by Humanist Education.

Free Education and Education Reform

A current political topic is Free Education. But a more radical topic concerns the content of Education.  In the U. S., from the earliest age, the function of Education has been to seek the maximum personal Profit in the Market Place, which it does so by competing for available work.  Absolutely absent from the system is any kind of Liberal Arts Education in which there is reflection upon the role of Education in society, and upon one's role in society. Free Education would be a start in a Liberal Arts Education--an opportunity to reflect on one's role in society independent of the curriculum the aim of which is the interests of the Market Place.  Absent more radical reform, beneficiaries of Free Education would still only compete for available positions.

Pollution and Morality

For many, for a long time, the 'Environment' has signified the inert world that Humans inhabit, a concept deriving from Descartes' concept of the lifelessness of the corporeal world.  The economic implication of that concept is that such a world is a potential source of Profit for it its owner.  But with the emergence of a Biological concept of the corporeal world, which Humans inhabit imminently, Humans are Biologically effected by all events.  For example, while in the Cartesian model, pollution is Profit-producing that may affects onl the owner of the natural resource, in a Biological model, any pollution has potential ill Biological effects on any other Human.  In other words, there is a Moral distinction between the Cartesian model and the Biological model--for the former, Profit-Seeking of the Individual has the high priority, whereas Humanism follows from the Biological model.  Regardless, in the current political situation, the conflict is merely bi-partisan, and economic.

Health Care and Morality

In the current U. S. political situation, two terms that are often used interchangeably are 'Universal Health' and 'Single Payer'.  Now, the distinction is usually considered to be economic, i. e. how an expense is to be paid for. But is it is Moral.  Two primary distinctions are between a patient and a consumer, and someone who is not a source of profit and someone who is. Furthermore, the distinction is between someone for whom society is responsible, and the protection of Profit-Seeking.  In other words, between the seemingly interchangeable terms 'Universal Health Care' and 'Single Payer' lies traditional Profit-Seeking Individualist Morality and Humanist Morality.