Monsieur Le Capital creates an artificial nature, which is implied as even more natural than nature. By instituting credit, capital creates the illusion that there can be continual self-creation, instead of an interrupted, episodic self-creation, like nature. The crisis that besets capital is, in fact, cyclical. Madame La Terre reminds us of her existence, and tears to pieces the facade of artificial nature . . .
Creation of credit or money representing claims on future wealth is not the creation of wealth. A lot of wealth has to be found within the earth and recovered, and there is no guarantee that any particular search for it will prove successful.- Roberto Calasso, The Ruin of Kasch
It is hard for me to know what to make of the book I have cited above. I am not convinced that it is not a practical joke on the reader. As befits a book about the onset of modernity, there are some gems appropriate to our current situation. However, in the book, the onset of modernity is marked by a loss of tradition--especially the tradition of sacrificing youth to the gods.
I don't believe we have done away with sacrificing our youth. It's merely done in a way that isn't as bloody. But they are sacrificed on the altars of corporate wealth.
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Good news--I am now very busy with a new contract, and will likely be heading off to Sierra Leone in the near future, where I may have a little more time (but less bandwidth) to post the occasional thought. So postings may be quite sparse and a little spare over the next month or so.
