Refering to the week of November 7th to 13h, 2022
Lucas Milanez de Lima Almeida [i]
In religious syncretism, there are many combinations of theisms. Polytheists believe in the simultaneous existence of several different deities, each one with their own powers, characteristics, and peculiarities. For monotheists, there is only one deity that possesses all the supreme power. They all have in common the fact that the god(s) must be pleased and their teachings must be practiced; otherwise, someone will suffer (either from the deity’s bad mood or from punishment for sin).
Usually, rituals of connection between the divine and the secular happen in temples and are guided by individuals who possess a direct connection with the deity in question. Frequently, they are the representatives of the god(s) on the earthly plane, their personification. They are the priests. In turn, this connection is acquired from a complex structure of traditions, which forms the basis of a particular religion.
It is possible to trace a parallel between the economy and the belief in the existence of a supreme power, a parallel between capitalism and religion, despite being different things, and the former being more powerful than the latter. It is discussed the existence of a “Market God” that must not be opposed. However, the market is just the “temple,” a place where individuals manifest their desires for something that is beyond them. Like every temple, the voices that are heard the most are the priests’ voices, which embody the deity’s desires. In general, people do not need to know the existence of this supreme entity that dictates the way everyone should behave in society. In reality, many of us follow its laws and do not even acknowledge it.
This supreme being that guides us currently is capital. That’s why the current economic system is called capitalism. Its fundamental law is the attainment of profit. Without the private appropriation of surplus value from others, there is no capitalism that could function. This, in turn, means that the capitalists are the ones who personify capital, and they have attained such a position by their own merit (the exception) or by inheritance (the rule).
In this context, taking the risk of oversimplification, it is possible to affirm that capitalism would fit the religious monotheism. Nonetheless, capital is multiple, takes various forms, and therefore has priests of various orders. There are those who preach that capital will only have its desires met if the economy is opened to the world. There are those who appeal to the increase of interest rates and to state inflation as ways to please the supreme deity. Ultimately, whether industrialists, merchants, bankers, financiers, or speculators, capitalists find a way to execute their function.
What happened last week, after Lula’s speech about the necessity of including the poor in the budget, was nothing more than the capital sending signals. As the entire population of Brazil does not fit into the public budget, the capital has warned that it doesn’t want to give up its share. That’s why its priests rushed to deliver the message to lay people, demonstrating that the elected government and the population must not challenge it.
However, it seems like the movement that happened last week was not well-received by public opinion. This can be seen in what has been the biggest tool of communication in Brazil nowadays. There was no lack of memes to express the popular dissatisfaction with its movement being done in the “market,” although some serious analysts also publicly expressed their dissatisfaction.
The worst part, however, is that there is not much to do about it. As we saw in the 2022 campaign, the alliance to end the best representative of the devil in Brazil’s history was very wide. Of course, this support would not come for free because capital resembles the old Christian God from the Old Testament. The transition team is already filled with people who will guarantee capitalist peace, from the economic field to education.
And there is no point in praying; there are no miracles in the economy. Only our daily struggle can save us.
[i] University professor at DRI/UFPB and at PPGRI/UEPB; PROGEB Coordinator. (@progebufpb, www.progeb.blogspot.com; lucasmilanez@hotmail.com). The researchers contributed: Guilherme de Paula, Mariana Tavares, and Nertan Gonçalves. Posted on https://progeb.blogspot.com/2022/11/o-deus-mercado.html. Translated by Thomaz Cisneros and Valentine de Moura.
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