Honey bees are a good example of the abundant gifts that creation provides for the "common good," benefitting everyone, owned by no-one. Honey, fruit trees, flowers each depend on the pollinating of our tireless benefactors. But once everything is owned and monetized, driven by efficiencies and shareholder interests, the well balanced, abundant, and free gift collapses.
And the human response driven by the story of separation and a scarcity created by capitalism, and ideological marketing? Selling honey mixed with corn syrup and worse. Moving it through other countries to conceal its source when tariffs are applied to control artificial price controls.
And more, ever more... Every bee keeper in America driving their hives to California every February to pollinate the water hogging almond tree crop grown abnormally large due to illusory health food marketing, because their diminished and stressed bees aren't producing as much honey and other countries are flooding the market with watered down honey, artificially reducing the price so that honey makers need to do whatever they can to compete/survive.
Meanwhile the local crops are denied *their* pollinators that they need to flourish, and some other short term, money driven, harmful solution is added to the long line of deadly "solutions." Because of the "Market" is god.
The honey bees are a microcosm of the beautiful world freely given, abundance for everyone. Capitalism has provided many good things, but it's given far more credit by its defenders than its due. And its role in creating human isolation and inequality, ecological devastation and class animosity is ignored by its apologists.
I know that we can't go back to Eden, but we can't continue on this path either, ignoring the cliff at the end of the road, all because we can only imagine two options, ruthless capitalism, or ruthless statism.
And the human response driven by the story of separation and a scarcity created by capitalism, and ideological marketing? Selling honey mixed with corn syrup and worse. Moving it through other countries to conceal its source when tariffs are applied to control artificial price controls.
And more, ever more... Every bee keeper in America driving their hives to California every February to pollinate the water hogging almond tree crop grown abnormally large due to illusory health food marketing, because their diminished and stressed bees aren't producing as much honey and other countries are flooding the market with watered down honey, artificially reducing the price so that honey makers need to do whatever they can to compete/survive.
Meanwhile the local crops are denied *their* pollinators that they need to flourish, and some other short term, money driven, harmful solution is added to the long line of deadly "solutions." Because of the "Market" is god.
The honey bees are a microcosm of the beautiful world freely given, abundance for everyone. Capitalism has provided many good things, but it's given far more credit by its defenders than its due. And its role in creating human isolation and inequality, ecological devastation and class animosity is ignored by its apologists.
I know that we can't go back to Eden, but we can't continue on this path either, ignoring the cliff at the end of the road, all because we can only imagine two options, ruthless capitalism, or ruthless statism.