Capitalism perfected
Wear every won
Cells their soul
And when
Every body
No’s that
They have
A fare price
For dreams fabricated
And nightmares awoken
This poem’s title has a misleading title which implies that capitalism can be perfected. The twist in the rest of the poem is that it rebukes the illusion that capitalism can fulfill our dreams, free our souls, or save us from our nightmares feared. Instead of settling on a fair price in selling our souls (even if it reaps a profit of the whole world), we must reject this false reality and accept the fare, the cost, the price, of a higher way, which can preserve and nourish our souls. The comedian and social commentator, George Carlin, once said, “They call it the American dream because you have to be asleep to believe it.” Waking up to the pricelessness of our souls is the foundation of an architecture and arc of living that money cannot buy. Saying “No” to capitalism, the reduction of human values to monetary terms, is a worthy start to life as a free range human being. Returning money to a mere convenience for exchange of goods and services and toppling money and the “economy” from their god-like status are prerequisites for a flourishing humanity. Humans should not be domesticated around the needs of money or the “economy.” A properly ordered life is one where money serves humans, not humans serving money. Whenever there is a conflict between humans and the things that money can buy, people should come first — not including corporate persons! As Jesus so aptly put it, “You can’t serve both God and money.” Capitalism perfected is capitalism put in its place, firmly at the feet of humanity, never to rise above the least of human beings.
