The world as it should be

Christianity, in [Rev. James W.] Fifield’s interpretation, closely resembled capitalism, as both were systems in which individuals rose or fell on their own.

This quote came from a NYTimes opinion piece by Kevin M. Kruse. I think it accurately exemplifies hegemony in action.

Hegemony, a term coined by Antonio Gramsci, refers to the various ways that a dominant ideology maintains its dominance. It largely operates under our radar, if you will, but its message is broadcast through the media (entertainment as well as news), through social groups, through education and religious leaders.

In this way, the belief system of the elite in power becomes the belief system of the powerless, even though it is not in the best interest of the latter.

It ties in well to the concept of cultural memes, but I am going to let you look up both (once Wikipedia comes back online…).

Anyway, it struck me as interesting that winner-take-all capitalism and Christianity, especially as practiced by social conservatives, have so much in common. Some forms of Christianity practice a sort of winner-take-all approach, allowing some people into heaven while condemning the fallen to eternal hell.

Even some people who have not even been exposed to Christianity: I win and you lose. This is how conservative economic theory works.

Kind of like the economic 99-1 split. The rich get richer (hey, I did it so everyone can do it — kind of like Lake Woebegone, where all kids are above average) and more and more people are slipping into poverty, living through their own kind of hell. The Republican presidential candidates — especially the patrician Romney — could probably benefit from learning about the Mahayana Buddhist concept of the bodhisattva.

A bodhisattva is a person who refuses his spot in heaven out of compassion for others who won’t make the last bus to Nirvana. He or she says, “I won’t go until all can go. If one person is still suffering, then I am suffering, too.”

A better story than making more than $40K per one-hour speaking engagements and referring to it as “not very much,” while paying about 15% in taxes. And to say it is not very much in South Carolina, where the average yearly salary is less than Romney makes for one speech, simply shows how out of touch he is.

But then he is going to heaven.