Roots of Today's Economic Brinkmanship

As we see the nation's economy sliding in a kind of death spiral, the bail-out continuing to throw inconceivable amounts of money (whatever happened to the gold standard?) toward the outstretched hands of institutions of "wealth" and businesses ill-run and ill-governed, the Easy Essays of Peter Maurin, co-founder of the Catholic Worker movement come to mind.

Modern society believes
in separation
of Church and State.
But the Jews
did not believe in it,
the Greeks
did not believe in it,
the Medievalists
did not believe in it,
the Puritans
did not believe in it.
Modern society
has separated
the Church from the State,
but it has not separated
the State from business.
Modern society
does not believe
in a Church's State;
it believes
in a business men's State.
"And it is the first time
in the history of the world
that the State is controlled
by business men,"
says James Truslow Adams.

I agree with every word that Maurin writes and quotes, except the bit about "the first time in the history of the world that the State is controlled by business men." During the so-called English "reformation", Lord Cecil and his cronies wrenched the State from the Church and made the template for modern wealth and business. The truth of the adage, "Follow the money" could easily be seen during Elizabeth's reign; to do so, however, would probably have landed one in the Tower.

The foundations of today's economic crisis lie in the corrupt and hoarding worship of Mammon during the English reformation. One more "easy essay" of Maurin:

Uncle Sam does not believe
in the unemployed dole,
but Uncle Sam does believe
in the money lenders' dole.
Uncle Sam doles out every year
more than a billion dollars
to the money lenders.
And it is the money lenders' dole
that put Uncle Sam
into a hole.
The money lenders are first citizens
on Uncle Sam's payroll.
There were no money lenders
on the payroll
in Palestine and Ireland
because the Prophets of Israel
and the Fathers of the Church
forbid lending money at interest.
But Uncle Sam does not listen
to the Prophets of Israel
and the Fathers of the Church.