Greed, the vicious sister

Eris threw the apple, long ago. And the girls started a fight. A tradition we have to depart from.

Now countries break down, economically. To save Fortis € 90 billion was thrown in the bucket. Greece can be cheaper, experts claim. What'll the old boys do? Buy the country, so we all own a holiday house soon? Or change the system?

The financial crisis is a symptom of a disease much more threatening: the bankruptcy of the Western way of organizing and dealing with natural sources, be it people or planet. This system has all eyes on the Profit (with a capital P indeed). Not that there is anything wrong with profit, the wrongness is in the one-dimensional thinking.

What is profit? Economical gain, wealth for a few? And if so, how do these happy few intend to keep their wealth, while hungry, wealth desiring people on the other side of the fence, are anxious to break through? How to maintain your wealth in a world where everybody lives in fear of losing status? Or, in desire to gain status?

What a relief it would be if we could lose the status thing. Then sharing would be much easier and defending property less necessary. We could get rid of armies, they would be broke and in need of salvation. We also could get rid of banks that lend money and ask interest. Asking interest for doing nothing is a silly thing. Money would become it's true self: a means to exchange and a unit of account.

We would start to value in a different way. The immeasurable then, becomes the most precious. Personal development, participation in society and more soft, but not less needed: love, creativity, freedom and peace.

Sounds boring? Don't worry; there still would be competition. Only no longer fed by status fear and his vicious sister, greed. And Greece will be safe, proud of its Olympic tradition. Greece is a lot more than a pile of Euro’s, which cannot be said of all the banks that held up their hands and asked for cash.