Midas was this guy who made wealth by touching stuff. Everything he touched turned to gold. It was wonderful, until he touched someone he loved. And she too, turned to gold.
The Bond movie, Goldfinger, is based on the story of Midas. Except he didn’t love the woman he killed with his touch. She was a betrayer to his cause. For this sin, she was murdered with gold paint.
Midas is a cautionary tale. On the surface, we get that. Deep down into the bowels of our hearts, we would love to have the Midas touch. All that wealth would mean no more worries. Right?
No. It means a set of different worries.
All worries are relative.
In our current world, we have many ideas and arguments about the super rich and what they should, or should not, be allowed. All those arguments, all those opinions don’t mean a thing to those oligarchs. Not until the working class begins to cut off the funds of the super rich, will these Midas types be brought back down to the rest of us. Except they would only rise up again. If you think they wouldn’t, you have not been paying attention in the real world.
King Midas, who may have been an actual person, has many stories connected with his name. Some stories say that his father was Gordius, the king who gave us the Gordian knot. All that aside, we focus here on this idea of the Midas touch. It is, of course, a symbol for a person who is able to make things happen in a good way. Pointedly, make money, and create wealth. Some individuals have it, most don’t.
Aye, there is the rub.
From the thinking of the Enlightenment, that we are sovereign in our beings, evolved the idea that all men are created equal. If that is so, then what stops some individuals from making as much money as the next? Why do we still have class systems? Firstly, I think we need to take a glance at the man or team, that gave America its prime myth: the equality idea. That would be the Committee of Five: Adams, Livingston, Jefferson, Franklin and Sherman. Except for Franklin, all were attorneys. It is rumored that Jefferson wanted to put in scathing language about slavery. That language was vetoed less the slaveholders take offense, and leave the Cause. Then there was that phrase about the pursuit of happiness, the other often quoted bit. Mix the two together, it says that we are a nation of equals who get to pursue happiness.
Except real life always rears its ugly head. Because, I will argue, those two phrases give us false notions about what is possible. That what is possible is not always probable. It is not probable that anyone can become president of the United States. (Another myth.) Most of our presidents are from the upper classes. Even our first black president was from the upper, white, middle class. He had no legacy of slavery. His father was an actual African from Kenya, not from Kentucky. Because reality, a horrible master, tells us that to be president one has to be smart, well educated, have social capital, be married, and needs to rub elbows with the rich.
Read Obama’s autobiography, and you will see he did all those things. You do not have to like his politics, but he is textbook when it comes to success in politics. Now he is a part of the rich. He is also a man who puts in the work to get what he wants. That too, is textbook.
The current argument, among the middle class, is that they want to see the super rich controlled. Of course, the super rich know this about them. However, they don’t seem to be too afraid of the middle class. They do pander to the middle class, but make changes based on what the middle class wants?
The middle class that complains, especially those who come up with their ideas on how to punish the rich by taking their money from them, tend to voice their ideas on social media. Nonetheless, no revolutions have been planned and executed on social media. Nor will they be. Because social media censors the middle class, who then complain about that as well. But do they leave social media? I’ll let you answer the question.
The super rich behave as though they think the middle class is impotent. The only effort the middle class extends into making changes is to complain, and elect individuals who cater more to the ruling class than to the people who elected them. Never mind that, the elected understand that they are there to punish the unelected, and the people willingly pay for it.
Let’s put that another way. The people love to spend money on their own punishment.
What a sorry bunch, eh? We have become a nation of bullies and whiners.
Real change begins in the social sphere. That’s where groups of like minded people put their action where their mouth is. They first create a hierarchy, oh horrors!, and those with the personality to lead, step up. Hopefully, these born leaders have been trained in the art of leading.
Real change is not about bullying or using the political. It’s about resisting and refusing. It’s about placing your hands on the problem, to not wait for someone else to do it for you. It’s also about recognizing that at the core, to take up a great cause means to have a good life, internally.
There is a vast difference between those who are angry because they feel they are a victim, and those who have a righteous anger against those who take advantage of others. And, this is extremely important, those who go along with the unfairness of the system for the sake of convenience, must also be considered a part of the problem.
The current crop of those who are super rich, got that way, mostly, by providing you with conveniences. Indeed, the whole of the Industrial Revolution is about providing people with the items that relieve us of drudgery, early death, and the destruction of the Earth’s balance. Because if you think people are careless about keeping nature well maintained and clean now, you should see what are ancestors were up to. Whales were slaughtered, nearly to extinction, for the oil. Thousands of bears were slaughtered for their skin, meat and fat. The making of linen on the farms polluted the streams. During a drought, the cattle died. Children died form tetanus, small pox, measles, and whooping cough. TB, small pox and bubonic disease wiped out millions, yearly. Everyone who was privileged to go to school, walked there. We can go back further to look at people’s lives, whilst we ask the question, would you like to live that way now?
Who took us out of those old ways? Leaders. Kings with engineers. Priests with the power to create a dynamic, a balance, among the leaders, by writing books of etiquette that we now refer to as holy books and codes Contrary to what you may think of those ancestor, anyone who could come up with an idea was free to pursue it. Clever people got ahead. No one would punish you for getting ahead, as long as you did not blaspheme the gods, you were good to innovate. It wasn’t until later, when the Catholic Church became too big for its britches, that some innovators were silenced. But they were scary innovators that suggested the church didn't understand that science is a moving target.
Say, isn’t that what is happening today among scientists?
The people, the working class, has begun a resistance. Millions do not want to work in the usual fashion, i.e. 9-5. They are tired of sitting in traffic and sitting at desks. Others have started, and run, businesses that are a blend of the old ways with the new ways. I’ve seen old hotels spring to new life, vineyards that offer organic wines and cheeses, butchers that give you grass fed beef, and clothing that is made in America, once again. For them to succeed, they need you to find them, and patronize them. Go to the fruit stands, not the big box grocery, bake your own bread, read books from the library or used book stores, not Amazon. Walk, ride a bike, or better still, move to someplace small that allows you to ride your horse into town. I know folks who have done just that.
The world will not be made better by shifting the control of huge wealth from the productive to the non productive. The change will come by encouraging the working class to participate in the productive life. Handy skilled workers are needed everywhere. Workers can also band together to open their own factories. Or buy into the business they work for. The point is, more possibilities are out there.
The call to action here is to stop telling people they are victims, and begin to tell them they have themselves to turn to. Resources are there. Look for them, grab hold of them.
The biggest impediment the working class has, is a lack social capital. People in poor neighborhoods need to meet people in wealthy neighborhoods. And then emulate their habits. And ask for a job.
When millions of people do not want to work, that is what we call, opportunity for those who want to work. If you need a job, find out where they need people, and go there. The magic about work is this; when you have a job, others will come your way. This is the Midas touch.
The complaining middle class, those who have never lived in a working class neighborhood, need to try it for a while. To be silent, and observe. Middle classers will find they don’t have all the answers for other people.