In The Wisdom of Crowds, previously mentioned in my blog on 8th July, author James Surowiecki makes the following observation:
“It’s a familiar truism that at any one moment, financial markets are dominated by either fear or greed. But the healthiest markets are those that are animated by both fear and greed at the same time.”
While I understand what he’s saying, the use of the term ‘healthiest’ in this context strikes me as an oxymoron. I have to ask how such a system can ever be healthy?! I’m not an economist, but I do know that fear and greed are both characteristics of the ego-based illusion. So, if humankind is to evolve beyond this era of ego, what will it mean for global markets and the nature of future economics?
Taking it further, what does it mean for our approach to business, especially for people who regard themselves as ‘spiritually aware’? The argument often put forward is that we have no choice other than to play by the rules of the game, as it is presently played. I assume that what we mean by this is that we’ll do it differently once the rules change. But the reality is that the way we do business presently is based on an underlying assumption that there’s not enough for everyone – hence fear and greed, dog eat dog. If we truly believe that this is not the case, as most spiritually aware people claim, then why do we have to continue to operate according to the competitive model? Should we not put our monies where our mouths are and start playing by the rules we profess to believe in?
There are many people who profess and believe themselves to be examples of ‘how to live successfully by the rules of the Universe’. The fact that they’re materially successful is, to them, proof that they are getting it right (and thus, in effect, that the Universe has no choice other than to bless them). And yet, in many instances, their success is built on exploiting the rules of the illusion – in short, getting people to part with their money by provoking a sense of fear or greed. When you stop and examine the underlying message that accompanies their product, it goes something along the lines that if you don’t have the product you will in some way be lacking something, and worse, that you may be doomed to a future of abject insufficiency. No matter how subtle the marketing strategy, the underlying message remains the same.
What does success that’s based upon the most honest principles of love and trust look like? I suspect we can quite easily find out by checking in with ourselves as we go about our business. If we’re not doing our business that way, we’re effectively denying what we profess to believe – that it is safe to live in integrity, that the Universe offers us more than we could ever possibly need, and that there is more than enough for all now! I’m not saying it’s easy, and I’m not saying I’m innocent. I’m just saying we should try to be honest with ourselves about it. We may believe ourselves to be sincere, but when we depend on provoking fear and greed in others in order to make our living, we reveal the fact that we ourselves are motivated in the same way. We can’t wait for someone else to change the rules of the game. The rules will change when we choose to live in alignment with what we say we believe.
