Prof. McMurtry and The Cancer Stage of Capitalism

Our civilization is entering the stage of crisis before collapse. Prof. John McMurtry (1) can be added to those hundreds if not thousands of wide awake and well-informed intellectuals, philosophers and politicians that have superbly described what greed, tyranny and corruption rules the empire of our day and what destruction, suffering and death these cause.  Like medical experts diagnosing what lay people don’t notice and only vaguely understand, these prophets of woe can go only half way towards curing (if possible) the disease that’s killing our world. Many treatments and cures have been attempted even if the diagnosis is still not yet agreed. 

Prof McMurty gives his own prescription for curing the evil -  “The war of the world today is won by knowledge in action.” In theory that might be the cure, and many would agree – better education for the world. But in practice, applying this cure is like trying to force feed a suicidal anorexic patient. It might work for awhile but fails when the patient leaves the hospital. This might sound like a very pessimistic perspective. But if this pessimistic view is the real situation then to ignore it would be like someone ignoring a valid diagnosis of cancer because it’s too pessimistic. Prof. McMurtry compares the situation of the world to cancer. If he’s right - and I’m convinced he is (2) – then it’s incurable. For centuries upon centuries, the empires of humanity were built upon and perpetrated by greed, tyranny and corruption.  And for centuries upon centuries wide awake and well-informed intellectuals, philosophers and politicians have described  and championed the cure for their own and other societies and empires. None have ever succeeded in curing this type of cancer because it is an inherent social disorder and incurable. (3)

Prof. McMurtry and others like him don’t appreciate the nature of the disease as accurately as some others. The problem is much deeper than mere ignorance. (4) (5) But here’s the Good news: To understand what’s happening to our world and how this will end well, we have to switch from the metaphor of the cancerous human body to the metaphor of a grand old tree. When trees become very old and dry they are easy prey to disease which eventually weakens the roots, trunk or both. Eventually the tree will be blown over in a storm and die. But before that happens, seed bearing fruit, flowers or other paraphernalia fall from the branches and start germinating separately, so that by the time the tree dies a vibrant new seedling is ready to shoot up in its place and reproduce.  Even this might sound like pessimism, especially if we prefer quantity to quality. But in reality, if the number of poverty stricken factory slaves, starving and diseased children, the number of polluted cities and waterways and the number of extinctions of living species continues to increase year by year, then the death and rebirth of humanity would be better than long drawn out suffering and ultimate death of the natural realm of our planet and all these billions of people that depend on the planet as host.

No one would argue that the kindest thing for a cancerous old person with no hope of being given a rejuvenated body would be to die in peace and find relief from pain. The same can be said for much of humanity today. Even if the top dogs are enjoying the race and the suffering has not yet reached proportions where it can no longer be kept away from our TV screens and newspapers, it doesn’t help to say: “It doesn’t affect me; I’m the head of my body and I can still talk, see and hear OK.” It doesn’t help when tranquillizers and pain killers prevent us from feeling how the cancer moves through other parts of our body.

The extent of this social cancer and suffering is increasing year by year. The best thing we can do for ourselves and our children in this situation is to become the seeds that are germinating somewhere separately and ready to flourish as the new tree in the next post-capitalist age of humanity. But until we come to the humble realization that we are on the road to destruction (6) we will continue to trust in and take pride in our wealth, our technology and the past successes and self-confidence of the empire we are part of.

 Notes:

(1)     Winning the War of the World  by Prof. John McMurtry. http://www.globalresearch.ca/winning-the-war-of-the-world/5375649
(2)       The end is not yet in sight     by M. J. Molyneaux     http://uncensored.co.nz/2008/10/18/the-end-is-not-yet-in-sight/
(3)      The crucial importance of Human Genes in the Analysis of Global Political Affairs  by M. J. Molyneaux  http://uncensored.co.nz/2012/02/22/the-crucial-importance-of-human-genes-in-the-analysis-of-global-political-affairs-most-of-the-suffering-is-still-to-come/

 (4)     “The heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately wicked: who can know it?”  Jeremiah 17:9
(5) “The spirit is willing but the flesh is weak.” Matthew 26:41
(6)        “Before destruction the heart of man is haughty”   Proverbs 18:12