Capitalism: the dominant secular religion

I've had a personal beef with corporate america for some time now, as regular readers here already know. But an article recently by Andrew Seidman of McClatchy Newspapers, Could better corporate ethics have prevented BP oil spill? struck a chord. Probably because I'm taking this Christian Social Ethics class. :) Here's an excerpt:

WASHINGTON — Religious leaders and scholars are clamoring for more corporate accountability in the wake of what they call the destruction of God's creation in the Gulf of Mexico, and they may have found a partner in their battle cry: the American business school.

"Look at the Gulf disaster — no one has questioned the core value system that BP used to cut corners with that rig out in the Gulf; namely, the race to maximize profits at all costs," said Mark Wallace, a professor of religious studies at Swarthmore College. "That's the religion of our time . . . the fundamental worldview that animates our common life together."

That [idea] has spurred deeper thinking about the economy by religious scholars, who've turned to the Bible for answers.

"A general theme from the Hebrew Scriptures that may be relevant to Deepwater is one that runs through the Prophets: When the people have become arrogant and obsessed with wealth, the poor suffer and the land suffers," said Willis Jenkins, professor of social ethics at Yale Divinity School. "Says the prophet Hosea: 'Even the birds of the air and fish of the sea are perishing.'"

The imagery of the trees, water and land that pervades the Psalms suggests that "the song of Creation is meant to be respected and revered," noted Mary Evelyn Tucker, coordinator of the Forum on Religion and Ecology at Yale.

Instead, Tucker lamented, disasters like the spill in the Gulf illustrate the "endless appetite of the octopus of market capitalism."

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Yep, maximize profits at all cost. Including the cost to nature, to workers, to families, to society. That's a behavior I've seen over and over again in real life, but have rarely seen it related to the words of the OT Prophets. Good call, Andrew.

It makes me grateful that the company I work for now, while desirous of profit, is not willing to get there at all costs. And I can even refer to a phrase from the Prophets or the Psalms... and actually get knowing nods of understanding. It feels good. :)