Kabbalah Today – 21st Issue
Looking Back at the Future
Economic Perspectives from Two 20th Century Visionaries
John Maynard Keynes & Yehuda Ashlag (Baal HaSulam)
by Seth Bogner
The current Global Economic Crisishas affected virtually everycountry. No corner of the worldthat has been left untouched by themost severe recession in 80 years. Mostnations have reacted to the Crisis by followingthe economic theories of JohnMaynard Keynes, reputably the foremosteconomist of the 20thCentury. Keynesbelieved that government interventionand spending is the best way out of afinancial crisis. His theories were thebasis of the strategies employed by boththe US and UK in response to the GreatDepression. Many economists, centralbankers and pundits frequently citeKeynesian economics when discussingthe various economic stimulus programsenacted globally to attempt to combatthe Crisis.
Vision of GlobalEconomic Health
Would Keynes, if he were alive, believethat we would have found ourselvesin a quandary similar to the GreatDepression all over again? probably not.Keynes envisioned a vastly different pictureof global economic health for ourgeneration. In 1930 in his rarely discussedarticle, “Economic Possibilitiesfor our Grandchildren” Keynes predictedan end or evolution of capitalism. Infact, he foresaw this as a highly desirableeventuality.
Keynes anticipated that by now allthe world’s economic problems wouldbe solved. Goods and services wouldbe produced at a level to sustain all ofhumanity and the means to distributethem to all would end the struggle forsubsistence. He predicted that improvementsin productivity due to technologicaladvancements would increaseand together with the accumulationof capital, would solve the world’s economicproblems. Keynes observed, “Weshall be able to rid ourselves of many ofthe pseudo-moral principles which havehag-ridden us for two-hundred years, bywhich we have exalted some of the mostdistasteful of human qualities into theposition of the highest virtues. … therefore,to return to some of the most sureand certain principles of religion andtraditional virtue –that avarice is vice,that the exaction of usury is a misdemeanour,and the love of money is detestable,that those walk most truly inthe paths of virtue and sane wisdom whotake least thought for the morrow. Weshall once more value ends above meansand prefer the good to the useful.”
While the most renowned economistof the 20th Century was promotinghis vision of economic and socialpossibilities for his grandchildren, themost highly recognized Kabbalist of the20th Century, Yehuda Ashlag (widelyknown as Baal HaSulam) was sharinghis forward looking world view,which was remarkably similar to thoseof Keynes. Although contemporaries,Keynes (1883 – 1946) and Ashlag (1884– 1954) probably never met. Ashlag’stheories were rooted in the Wisdom of Kabbalah. If Ashlag were alive todayhe would probably have told us thatthe reason for the Crisis was man’s unwillingnessto recognize we operate in aglobal interdependent system, mankindwill only renounce its economic systemwhen the system brings more sufferingfor society than pleasure. His viewswere based on one of Kabbalah’s centraltenants, if humanity does not work togetherto correct our egotistical natureand start acting in concert with naturewe would bring blows upon mankind ofbiblical proportions. According to himwe could avert the impending sufferingby educating people about our inherentnature and providing society with an alternativepath.
An Evolved EconomicReality
The current Economic Crisis issending us a message that the capitalism,of our time, must adapt or becomeextinct, both Keynes and Ashlag foresawthis eventuality 80 years ago. Theypredicted that the hubris that has beencelebrated in our generation will givebirth to a new economic reality wherecapitalism will evolve into a new system.In Keynes’ words, “The criticaldifference will be realized when thiscondition [freedom from concern aboutbasic survival needs] has become sogeneral that the nature of one’s duty toone’s neighbour is changed. For it willremain reasonable to be economicallypurposive for others after it has ceasedto be reasonable for oneself.”Keynes trusted in the inherentgenerosity and morality of mankind.Unfortunately, mankind has notlived up to his expectations.
Given the accuracy of their vision,perhaps it is time for us to listen totheir views on the next stage of socioeconomicdevelopment. Theirviews are remarkably similar: bothagree that people must reach a statewhere concern for other membersof the society outweighs concern forself-promotion and they also agreethat this transition will not be easy.In fact, Keynes saw this as “the greatestchange which has ever occurredin the material environment of lifefor human beings in the aggregate.”For Ashlag, it represents nothingless than the transformation of humannature from egoism to altruism.In “The Last Generation”Ashlag observed that “our planet isrich enough to provide for all of us,so why this tragic war for life whichhas been clouding our lives for generations?Let us divide the work andits produce equally among ourselvesand end all the troubles.”
I’d Like to Teach the World to Sing in Perfect Harmony
by Beth Shillington
Music can name theunnamable and communicate theunknowable
– Leonard Bernstein
Music expresses a wide range ofemotions, feelings and ideaswith varying rhythms, melodies,instruments and vocalizations.Historically, music has highlighted ourcelebrations with joyful passion; has intimatelyprofessed our romantic love inballads or dejectedly bemoaned its lack;has stalwartly sent troops marching towar and bugled them into battle; musichas added pomp to the circumstancesrequiring such grandeur; and has lamentedthe loss of loved ones in dirges.Music is capable of conveying deep andcomplex emotions that are understoodand felt by the listeners.
True music must repeatthe thought andinspirations of thepeople and the time
– George Gershwin
Throughout the ages and across cultures,composers have created musicas an expression of inner feelings andideas. Their compositions necessarilyare a reflection of all aspects of theirculture, including social and economicframeworks, climate, and availability oftechnology. Not surprisingly with thewidely recognized globalization of theworld, which is fraught with financial,economic, social, familial, psychological,and ecological problems, today’smusic most often expresses disillusionment,pain, suffering, and desires forwhat seems missing: love, sex, money…. It isn’t just the lyrics that convey theunhappy and dissatisfied messages, theintense beat and discordant, cacophonousinstrumentation share the sentiments.Humans are literally singing andshouting their desire to receive, and toreceive more and more and more. It isonly natural that music resonates thesesincere growing and unfilled needs anddesires of humanity.
We have beenFocusing Entirely onthe Desire to Receive
In fact, it is a law of Nature, a force thatacts upon us. The desire to receive iswhat runs the human world. But thisis only half of the equation. The worldreally runs on two desires: to receiveand to give. “They determine not onlyour behavior, but the whole of reality– everything we think, see, feel, taste,or touch. … We receive our life energyfrom the desire to give, and we areformed by the desire to receive. However,since we learned that we couldchange our surroundings to suit our desires,we have been focusing entirely onthe desire to receive. We have becomeignorant of the fact that we receive energyand life not from the desire to receive,but from the desire to give.” (BailYourself Out)
Humanity is discovering that our naturalgrowing desire to receive remainsunsatisfied, unfilled, unquenched. Weare realizing that our exclusive focus onour ever growing desire to receive materialthings and fulfillment from othersleaves us feeling more starkly vacantand empty. As this song asks, “WillI always feel this way, so empty, so estranged?”(Ray LaMontagne)
The Answer Lies inthe Desire to Give
The answer lies in the second part ofthe equation of these forces of Nature,the desire to give. “The interplay betweenthe two desires eludes us becauseit is the very basis of our makeup, andtherefore resides at a level deeper eventhan our consciousness. But once weunderstand how these desires interactwith each other to create life, we canput this information into practice anddiscover how to benefit from doing so.”(Bail Yourself Out)
Music is the mediatorbetween thespiritual and thesensual life
– Ludwig van Beethoven
Music also provides a key to understandingthe interaction of these forcesof Nature. It can help us see our lackof balance with Nature and a clue asto how to attain the balance. Music’scurrent almost exclusive expressionof wanting to receive helps us see oursingular focus on one of the forces andshows us how distant we are from theother force, the desire to give. We areout of balance. We are not in harmony.“Classical music with strong internalharmony helps because it containsharmony born out of unity betweenopposites. It is precisely when these oppositesunite that they create harmonywhich corrects…” (Laitman.com) Classicalmusic with its intricate, extensiveand multi-layered internal harmonyexhibits the fitting together and joiningof contrasted elements in balance.This musical example of balance andharmony can help us to achieve thesame qualities for humankind..
Music is thedivine way to tellbeautiful, poeticthings to the heart
– Pablo Casals
Music is a universal language and thisfar reaching quality makes it well suitedto be used as tool to help us emergefrom the world crisis resultant from thesingular focus on receiving. The desiresexpressed in lack can be supplanted bymusic that espouses unity and balancebetween giving and receiving. Musicianswho experience unity and the interactionand connection of these twoforces can convey this balance in theircompositions both through lyrics andmelodies. “Music can help us express awhole new side of reality … the impactof such music on the listener will be unmatched,precisely because it expressesour life force!” (Bail Yourself Out)
A Better World for Our Children
by Riggan Shilstone
With the world incrisis, parentseverywherefear for theirchildren’s future. Yet, if werise to the challenge, wecan set them on the path toa future far brighter thanany we ever dreamed of
As I sit at my computer, the neighborhood rings with the laughter of children playing tag. It brings back memories of my childhood, and I can’t help but wonder what the future has in store for them.
Mankind has always invested superhuman efforts to assure that the next generation will have an easier, more fulfilling life. For many parents today, this dream may forever remain a fantasy. Economic uncertainty, environmentalcollapse, and violence promise to bethe legacy we will leave our children. ARasmussen Poll in January found thatonly 47% of American parents believetheir children will be better off thanthey are.
This gloomy outlook should be aclarion call to action for people everywhere.But if we are to have any hopeof finding lasting solutions, we mustfirst retrace the developments that ledto the problems we face today.
Did Someone Press“Fast Forward?”
Mankind’s needs were simple once: Ifthere was adequate food, shelter and securityfrom predators, life was good. Buttime marched on, and the necessitieswere no longer enough. People wantedmore from life, and sothe relentless questfor new pleasuresbegan. By the time we reached the 20thcentury, everything had accelerated, asif someone pressed “fast forward.” Wewent from horses to trains to jets; fromtelegraphs to phones to the Internet.With each generation, the luxuries ofthe parents became the necessities ofthe children.
This continuous escalation of selfindulgencehas finally caught up withus, bringing our world to the brink ofcollapse. Our culture of excess reachedits culmination with ego-maniacs likeBernard Madoff, who swindled investorsof $50 billion. And while it’s easyto put the blame on the likes of Madoff,the reality is that we all bear a shareof the guilt, even if our excesses are ona much smaller scale.
If we are honest, we’ll see that successin our society is defined as moremoney, fame or power, no matter whatthe cost to others. So what can we expectfor our future if these are the valuesthat we promote?
If egoism is the root of our problems,then the solution is to transformour values to altruism and sharing. Buthow? After all, mankind has prosperedwith a “Me first!” mentality for thousandsof years. Yet, in today’s globalizedsociety, where everything that happenson one side of the world has an almostimmediate impact on the other side,“Me first!” no longer works. In thewords of Britain’s PM, Gordon Brown,“In this global age, we need solutionsthat can no longer be defined in termsof us and them, but can be achievedonly together – as us with them.”
New Problems Callfor New Solutions
We can’t buy our way out of the currentcrisis with taxpayer dollars or consumeour way out through increased shopping.We have to approach life from anew perspective, taking advantage ofthree powerful tools.
• Education
People today are lost and confused, wondering:Why is this happening? Whatshould we do? But we are resourceful,and if we understand the problem, wewill perform miracles to solve it. This iswhy a public education campaign aboutthe globalization of our economies, theinterdependence of all people, and thebenefits of cooperation could guide usto the solutions.
Our best hope for the future lies ineducating our children. NY Times columnistNicholas Kristof recently classifiededucation as “our greatest national shame.” And he’s right: we are notproviding our children with the knowledgethey need to succeed in the newglobal era. If we offer them an educationabout the natural laws that governinterconnected systems, they will beprepared to easily navigate the stormyseas that are so baffling to us.
• Media
Most of our behavioral patterns comedirectly from TV and the Internet. Aslong as news, entertainment and sportsglorify the pursuit of wealth and a “winat any cost” mentality, we will see greedand exploitation dominate our society.If, however, we insist that these venuesreflect the values of compassion, we willturn today’s destructive media force toour advantage.
And in fact, the tide is already startingto shift. A recent series of ads bearstitles such as, “In an Absolut World,Currency will be Replaced with Acts ofKindness.” CNN’s series on economicsurvival features stories about peoplewho find happiness through the renewalof family connections, sharing withothers, and a simpler lifestyle. We justneed to give things a push!
• The Power of Society
The most powerful instrument forchange, however, is us. Throughout history,social change has been driven bythe people. The 14th century Renaissanceis just one example of a culturalmovement that led to exponential advancesin all areas. And today, the desirefor change among the American peoplewas so strong that it swept an unlikelycandidate into the highest office.
This is the force we can harness tomake the changes in today’s society.But how can we transform our approachto life from egoism to altruismwhen all we know is “taking care of #1”?Actually, our children can show us theway! When a child decides to become adoctor, he “plays” doctor, even thoughhe has no idea what he is doing. Onlywhen the child becomes a doctor willhe know what it really means, but eachof his imagined notions along the wayis a necessary preparation.
So to begin with, we can “fake ituntil we make it.” Our first “altruistic”efforts will be purely egoistic: done toescape the crisis. Over time, however,an amazing transformation will occur:our simulated joy in altruism will giveway to the real thing, providing real relieffrom the crisis.
Arne Duncan, the new EducationSecretary, commented, “We have tocontinue to think differently and do everythingwe can to put our students ...on the path to pursuing the Americandream.” Let’s pressure our governmentto use part of the $150 billion educationstimulus to create a new Americandream, one that values activities thatbenefit all and frowns upon personalsuccess at the expense of others. Let’suse the power of our collective will toshow politicians and businesses that weare no longer buying into a consumeroriented society. Let’s encourage mediato promote values of generosity andsharing, while shunning egoistic glorificationof individuals. In this way, wewill leave a lasting legacy to our children,and they will have the wisdom to know how to use it.
The Last Superman
by Chaim Ratz
The world is desperately looking for heroes, peoplewho will lead us out of the crises that are pummelingus. Can President Obama rise to the occasion anddefeat the villains of greed and egoism?
Recently, it was rumored thatBarack Obama was temptedto enter the bidding for a rareedition of the first-ever Superman comic.The rumors began to settle whenit was announced that the AmericanPresident would not be participatingin the auction (and besides, he’s a Spiderman,not a Superman, fan). And finally,all the talk came to a halt whenthe comic was sold to someone else for$325,000 (almost the yearly salary forMr. Obama).
Still, the fact that the rumors startedis much more than a coincidence. Supermanis a clear symbol of the AmericanDream; he is the ultimate cowboy,the redeeming angel of a new era. Despitethe decades that have passed sincehe was last seen flying above Metropolis,and the steady stream of heroes thathave flooded the world ever since, thereis no doubt that the blue knight in thered cape is still number one.