Forasmuch as capitalism by far isn’t a philosophy nor a science (1), that is, a system that must needs has stony epistemological grounds, sound signaled trodden methods, the precisest colourful expressions, and ever-guiding north-aster ideas, it shall be considered an up-for-grabs faltering ideology, or, in my outraged sight, an all-hemlocking mixture of horse-sense notions, hazy sticky-tricky terms, old-lore-based personages, easy-to-be-gotten plots, and gospelling ready-made phrases.
Any enough deal of criticism athwart the foresaid ideology, which oozing boozes on behalf of a certain nothingbutness-smeared consumerist individualism, of a kind of accidental history-rooted dogmatism that justifies the seizure of stolen treasures, is called «leftism». Full of unthankfulness could be to affirm that «communism», so to speak, isn’t a «pure theory», but an inevitable reaction ‘gainst all forms of exploitation. This raw stance, in pragmatical affairs, is the effectivest one. Perchance the truthbibber peruser will grok in the below half-knit cycles how capitalism spellbinds shieldless material matin-swallowers.
Amongst the hurlyburly of life the human rumblegumption is wont of old to puzzle over thought-threshing problems by going from singular objects, which easily may be illusory things, to general concepts, which in their turn can be run-of-the-mill bossy dogmas. In straightforward logical jargon, this witty mental movement is called «induction». Thro Kantian ever-ratcheting paragraphs ‘tis is known as «the physico-theological path». We, human beings, are capable of thinking owing to our sleight to translate slurred wit-boggling stains, as it were, into specificness and permanence. But such a sort of thought isn’t a scientific one.
But this sheds encroaching light upon the pliability of the human mind before from-rags-to-riches tall tales, which for the most part are just from-manger-to-inn stories. And this easy-to-be-clung structure, of course, is the amiablest shanty-plot for one of the most abstract characters in literature, to wit: the sedulous welkinholpen monkey that only by way of induction is able to tread the aquiline azure.
Were I a capitalist preacher, I’d noise at home and abroad the physico-theological parable of the mustard seed, which being the smallest «waxed a great tree» (Luke 13: 19). This avarice-fit lullaby could wholesomely give deep roots to the liberal belief that says as follows: «the customer is always right». ‘Neath the ensuing words every pro-leviathan capitalist churchmen earths the true meaning of Jesus’s wisdom: «appetite», «industriousness», «impetus», «hardship», «temperament», «spartan», «vitality», «competitive», «vigor», «diligent», «selfmade entrepreneurs», «reputation» (2), and so forth on end. Do such inductive terms encourage the Christian weft? Methinks some of those adjectives’ve rather a good deal of monkeyishness, but no gospel truth (3).
Betwixt the aforeuttered hodgepodge of sleepless moon-lit seenights and wassailed twelvemonths which we call life, the human common sense is wont to peck around accidents by brandishing the all-snatching snare named «concept», which thro general words picks up singular deeds and tempest-tost qualia. This lazy intellectual process, in a logical lingo, is what is wisted as «deduction». The «creator of modern epistemology» (4), the aye-bourgeoning Immanuel Kant, did name’t «the ontological path», whereby the mind puts upon uneven things the flattening substance of homogeneity and simultaneity. Both of these mathematical weights have only, indeed, some little nearness to what we nowadays name in biology, say, «truth».
But this analysis, at the windy drop of a loose hat, lo!, at the drop of a concept into ill-combined dust, ascertains why the human mind slaves away in front of sensitive know-nothing tall stories. Our «Einbildungskraft» sans some method-trimmed thought, namely, sans philosophy, heists fantastic images that are cozy seats for another quite renowned literary character: the far-sighted mystic owl (5), which just by deductions can foreshadow worldly contingencies.
I’d enkindle the other’s ghost to risk wantonly his more-than-finite pelf, were I a capitalist wordmonger, or a protestant preacher in avarice, by echoing that Jesus «perceived» the «thoughts» of secretive recreants (Luke 5: 22). Since fancy and feelings’re in the dunnest marriage, the said Christian parable could sustain the «Sturm-und-Drang-wise» liberal slogan which chants thus: «if it feels good, do it». I trow the next moronic words may be useful to upstir the passions of blind, or deductive, giltworshippers: «new life», «inspired», «dream», «optimistic», «vision», «expertise», «aura», «enthusiam», and so on «ad nauseam». Do this Macbeth-inspired poesy heave up the meek Christian lore? Nowise, ‘cause Jesus didn’t wot the hereafter.
The human wit, from never-to-be-retrieved tides of yore, has bragged it has the synthetic capability to array multifarious objects, seats, folks, bogles, etc., in order to hoist within its memory what is christened as «circumstances», which’re the staple of an intellectual operation wotted in the aristocratic daïs of philosophy as «reification». The Kantian criticism, due to toilsome surmises, did call this spontaneous arrangement «the cosmological path», by which the mind, in spotting some seemingly fortunate hap, or gestalt, or signal of fortune, beseems or smirking successions or full-of-stillness continuities. The arbitrariness of such mumbo-jumbo dispositions is ‘gainst science, I’ faith.
But even tho this is so, ‘tis a quite comfortable wide-windowed shack for another never-forgotten sightless literary personage of capitalism: the shrewd bat vampire (6), who merely by gathering together non-serial suckable occasions can be fed and can flip in torpidness its wings, which may just fly thro the winds of opportunistic tall tales.
Once again, were I an awe-hoeing preacher that promises gold is a godsend, a benediction, I’d ask more than oft-times this: «Why sleep ye? Rise and pray, lest ye enter into temptation» (Luke 22: 46). «Be watchful», it means in moneyed protestant lore, «to ghoulishly outrush each bluiddrop from the wet neck of opportunity», that’s, from every sweatshop, which’re places teeming with voters, who «know best» current situations, as another liberal adage says. The following expressions, I ween, could dight such dummkopf-fit creed: «democracy», «open markets», «audacity», «risk», «shrewd intelligence», «economic liberalization», «boom», and so ad the fool infinitum. Are these timely ill-wrought words tokens of the Christian stoicism? If ye readers, like a vampire, can discern the sky, but not the times to come, wherein shekels’ll be clay, then ye’ll aren’t, at least, sheer Christian kith.
Notes:
(1) The religious liberal stubbornness of Donald Trump, who is the newest wimp-president of the from-Disney-to-Wokeland America, and the ill-peruked clown Javier Milei, who is downstirring Argentina’s hap, are still enthralled by bygone capitalist creeds. See, for example, How Argentina’s Javier Milei Lost the Markets and Turned to Donald Trump (Financial Times, September 23, 2025), by Michael Stott and Joseph Cotterill.
(2) From James Kynge’s China Shakes the World, which isn’t a book of science that explains China’s material boom, but a trumpet-tongued leaflet applauding capitalism, I did peck up these cheerleader-wise words and expressions, which’ve an unmistakable propaganda flIair: appetite, democracy, open markets, industriousness, impetus, dynamic job, ultimate blessing [unemployment], audacity, risk, hardship, temperament, shrewd intelligence, economic liberalization, transition, spartan, modern city, vitality, purpose, new life, competitive, inspired by [by America, by the way!], dream, optimistic, vigor, boom, superpower, prosperity, openness, precious money, multiplication, private, diligent, selfmade entrepreneurs, personal wealth, world-beating company, reputation, status, technological secrets, value, trendy product, big players, vision, social stability, world’s largest, world’s biggest, company museum, maker, collective energies, quantum leaps, expertise, skills, better life, new future, free trade, blossom, force of will, start-up, sincerity, philanthropist, brand values, aura, social capital, design, enthusiasm, difference, respect, developed world, engineering giant, overinvested, underinvested, orchestrate, uncanny facility for, model worker, the workshop of the world, green pressure, interconnected world, clean fuels, recycling, environmental responsibility, the big four, value hierarchy, the ultimate arbiter [the customer], american icon, internationalization, business logic, a technological visionary, the school of hard knocks, with his own hands, resilience, dreams, and corporate culture.
(3) Scientific novelties can be achieved collectively to boot. Read, for instance, Trade unions mobilizing workers for modernization, by Li Ke, (China Daily, April 29, 2025).
(4) Bertrand Russell, An Essay on the Foundations of Geometry, «Introduction».
(5) In his revved up Macbeth, Shakespeare quoth that the owl is a «mousing» and an «obscure bird».
(6) In his Das Kapital the peerless philosopher (only Kant, I think, may be beside him) Karl Marx used the German word «Vampyrdurst» («vampire-thirst») to illustrate the gastric nature of capitalism.
