Second Sunday in Epiphany (1/15/25):  “Prophets or Plutocrats?”

   The fact that Trump’s inauguration will take place on Jan 20^th—the Martin Luther King Jr. national holiday—is a clear indicator of how confused and conflicted this country is (see a concise commentary by the Boggs Center’s Shea Howell here). So on this January 15^th (the actual birthday of our country’s greatest prophet), I’ll offer a few thoughts on the problem of plutocracy in this Second Gilded Age.

Sam Pizzigati wrote last week on Inequality.org:
   Last year turned out to be a huge year for billionaires. America’s nine-figure club didn’t just collectively gain over $1 trillion in wealth in 2024. They also installed a president committed to expanding their already domineering political presence.

Yes, the situation certainly does look dire for those of us fighting for a more equal society. But we’ve been here before — and ended up winning. Back in the late 19th century, unchecked industrialization brought a massive concentration of our nation’s wealth. Corporate titans saw their influence in culture and politics soar, putting them in a position much like the position our wealthiest enjoy today… Our task now: to put an end to our second gilded age. (See more on plutocracy from Pizzagati here.)

I recommend the work of inequality.org—which was cofounded by Chuck Collins, who wrote the Foreword to Healing Affluenza and Resisting Plutocracy (or HARP)—as one of the best sources for information, analysis and advocacy concerning economic disparity in the U.S. 
     The following excerpt from my Introduction to HARP echoes the above post:

  Two millennia ago, John the Revelator caricatured the domination of the poor by the rich under the Roman Empire through the image of four horsemen of apocalypse (Rev 6:6–6). Just two generations ago, Martin Luther King Jr. named the disparity of poverty and extreme materialism—wherein “profit motives and property rights are considered more important than people”—as one of the “giant triplets” threatening the sustainability of the nation.

concentrating at the top, as outlined in Chuck Collins’s foreword. The very rich are increasingly influential in affairs of state, in and out of office—more than half of the members of the 116th Congress were millionaires.

undermining hopes for political and economic democracy. The ascendant fusion between aristocracy and oligarchy persuades me to deploy in this book the term “plutocracy”: the dominance of politics by the rich.

    As Sam Mace wrote recently: “The notion of oligarchy has troubled thinkers since antiquity, but in the late 20th century we seemed less bothered about the class of the uber rich.” Not only has the return of plutocracy strengthened current iterations of John’s horsemen and King’s triplets. It is also accelerating climate catastrophe, the preeminent threat to our history. George Monbiot summarizes:

   Immense wealth translates automatically into immense environmental impacts, regardless of the intentions of those who possess it. The very wealthy, almost as a matter of definition, are committing ecocide… Surplus money allows some people to exercise inordinate power over others: in the workplace; in politics; and above all in the capture, use and destruction of the planet’s natural wealth. If everyone is to flourish, we cannot afford the rich…
   Though they are disproportionately responsible for our environmental crises, the rich will be hurt least and last by planetary disaster, while the poor are hurt first and worst… The grim truth is that the rich are able to live as they do only because others are poor: there is neither the physical nor ecological space for everyone to pursue private luxury… Life on Earth depends on moderation.

    Moderation, however, is anathema to resurgent “plantation capitalism.”
   If plutocracy is the political face of our national disease, “affluenza” is its interpersonal manifestation. This term… has become shorthand for the psychocultural pathology of having too much. Affluenza generates anxiety, addiction, and alienation around and within all of us, driving an insatiable pursuit of more money, things and mobility. It is a pandemic that empowers the rich, endangers the middle classes, taunts the poor, and ransacks the planet.

“We all live by robbing nature, but our standard of living demands that the robbery shall continue. We must achieve the character and acquire the skills to live much poorer than we do.” Captive to our delusions and appetites, however, we are no longer able to imagine the world differently. The socialized paralysis we exhibit in the face of racial (think George Floyd’s murder) and ecological (think shrinking ice caps) ultimatums is what Berry had in mind when he wrote: “The great obstacle is simply this: the conviction that we cannot change because we are dependent upon what is wrong. But that is the addict’s excuse, and we know that it will not do.” (HARP, pp. 6-8)

Amidst the spectacle of January 20^th in Washington, DC, may we pay attention to the voice of prophets, not those of plutocrats.

   Two more resources and an important notice:

1. Listen to this 10 minute clip from http://www.worshipdesignstudio.com of my Nov 20, 2024 conversation with Dr. Marcia McFee, Rev. Ben David Hensley and artist Ted Lyddon Hatten about this Sunday’s 2^nd Epiphany reading from John 2. The story of the wedding at Cana narrates a radically different vision of abundance that contrasts starkly with the excesses of affluenza & plutocracy that will be on display at Monday’s inauguration. Sabbath Economics envisions enough for everyone’s need, but not their greed.

2. Here’s a link to an excerpt from HARP that appeared in the current issue of Sojourners (you can subscribe for full digital access).

Note on HARP discounts: The book officially comes out on January 21^st, on which date the Fortress 30% pre-order discount ends. However, during the month of February if you purchase HARP online at Ched’s page on Bookshop.org, use the discount code CHEDMYERS20 for a 20% discount at checkout. We’re trying hard to make the book more affordable!