The Myth of Sisyphus: Capitalist Version

Sisyphus angered the gods. The gods punished Sisyphus by condemning him to push a large rock up a hill endlessly. Each time he pushed the rock near the top of the hill, it would roll back down to the bottom. 

As you can easily understand, this routine was both tiring and boring, a lot like working for a large corporation. Meaningless, it seemed. But Sisyphus managed to make the job more interesting, less tiring, and quite profitable. He gave it meaning. Every time he got to the top of the hill, he filled his pockets with soil and walked down to resume his task. 

Sisyphus repeated this procedure for many years. The hill got smaller and smaller as he removed the soil. Eventually, there was no more hill. The curse of the gods was lifted, for he could not roll the rock up a hill that no longer existed. 

Moreover, Sisyphus had managed to earn a substantial bonus from his labors. He had collected a huge amount of soil from the former hill, thousands of tons in fact. He proceeded to market the dirt to farmers, gardeners, and developers as "the finest topsoil in the world." He made a vast fortune peddling dirt. Eventually, he became a billionaire, then a trillionaire, and even bankrolled the gods. 

One must imagine Sisyphus happy. Not from rolling the rock up the hill, but by walking back down without it, pockets full of soil.

Apologies to Albert Camus and the Greek Mythologists

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The End of Communism and the Decline of Democracy

Remember back in 1989 and early 1990s when the Soviet Union fell apart? The USSR lost control over its "satellite" countries in Eastern Europe, then itself dissolved into the Russian Federation. Ukraine and Georgia, among others, soon became independent nations. The truncated Russian state was still the largest country in the world in terms of land mass. 

Western pundits cheered what they called the end of the Cold War and of the triumph of liberal democracy and capitalism over authoritarianism communism (many of them threw in democratic socialism for good measure). Of course, there was much good in the end of the Soviet Union. My history students were generally ecstatic about it, and like many in America, viewed it as the triumph of the USA, now the only Superpower and "Number One "

Liberal democracies would now sprout throughout the world, ushering in freedom, universal peace, and "the end of history" -- or so Francis Fukuyama told us. Free market capitalism promised a golden age of prosperity for all, the neoliberal economists insisted.

Things didn't turn out quite that well, did they? Right wing, fascist regimes are spreading around the globe. Democracies are on the defensive everywhere. World peace is a joke as authoritarian leaders like Putin and Netanyahu invade, slaughter, and interfere in other countries' affairs with all the arrogant brutishness of the old imperialists. Thanks to the Supreme Court, the president of the US -- is it Musk or Trump? -- is immune from prosecution for "official acts." Don't expect the law to protect you. 

The rules of international behavior and diplomacy are flouted regularly. Indeed, it is not a huge exaggeration to say there are no rules anymore. Countries pledge to fight global warming but do nothing of substance. Like an alcoholic or Pete Hesgeth -- but I repeat myself -- their promises to reform are meaningless. The profits of the fossil fuel giants are sacrosanct. Ordinary consumers are complicit, demanding cheap gas for their guzzlers.

And what about prosperity for all? A lot of people have seen some benefits, but most of the world remains mired in a world of poverty, disease, and strife. The mega-millions of migrants knocking on the doors of the more prosperous and peaceful countries are testament to the fundamental chaos of the world. 

In a major way, the end of communism contributed to the mess we are in. It freed capitalists from the need to treat workers with a modicum of decency. The western economic response to communism was to try to provide a decent life for ordinary workers, to prove that capitalism was best. Once the communist threat was removed, capitalists could treat their employees with greater disdain, breaking up unions, reducing wages, offshoring jobs. 

The ultimate symbol of vulture capitalism is the US minimum wage, which long ago ceased to be even close to a living wage. At $7.25/hr it has not increased in decades, while Musk, Jeff Bezos, and their ilk rack up millions of dollars a day in profits. Money stolen from the producers. 

At the same time, these oligarchs, thanks to the venal Supreme Court (SCOTUS) have developed the means and techniques of buying governments who will do their bidding. Elon Musk's recent purchase of the American government is just the most glaring example of the trend. The fact that Musk, Trump, and others display strong fascistic tendencies bodes ill for the future of democracy in the USA. If it has a future.

The Real War on Christmas was waged by Christians

Ho! Ho! Ho! It's that jolly time of year again! That hilarious time in the USA when FOX News, Republicans, and rightwing Evangelicals profess outrage at the "War on Christmas." A fake outrage, of course, trotted out at years' end for political and cultural reasons, like keeping the poor in their place working for peanuts. Not to mention keeping up donations to TV evangelists with huge mansions. 

Today's War on Christmas is a Phony War. But a real war on Christmas once took place. It was several centuries ago in the UK, with spillovers into Puritan America. And guess what? It was waged by Christians. They were called Presbyterians in Scotland and Puritans in England and New England. 

In England, the Puritans were on the winning side of of the Civil War between Parliament and Charles I in the 1640s. They famously closed the London theaters as dens of immorality. They also abolished the celebration of Christmas as a "pagan celebration." They ordered that it be kept as a day of "fasting and humiliation." No singing, no dancing, no merriment at all. Try that today. 

In New England, transplanted Puritans did the same. They kept the ban in place until the 1850s. The war ended for good after President Ulysses S. Grant declared Christmas a federal holiday in the 1870s.

It may seem odd for Christians to ban Christmas, but the Puritans found no biblical justification for celebrating the birth of Christ. Nobody knew when he was born anyway (we still don't). The Puritans also associated Christmas revels with sinful, ungodly pagan rites and behavior, not to mention Papists (Catholics). 

A wit once defined a Puritan as a person who was angry because somewhere, somebody was having a good time. That is a bit simplistic and unfair to Puritans as a whole, but the accusation fit some of them.

The Scots had preceded the English in the War on Christmas, as in so many aspects of British life. After the Presbyterian Church of Scotland came to dominate Scottish religious life in the late 16th century, they abolished the celebration of Christmas. John Knox, the Calvinist preacher who led the Scottish Reformation, was a dour sort who darkened Scottish culture for centuries. 

Scotland's Christmas ceased to be a holiday of feasting, fun, and folly (if it ever was). It became just another dark, dank, and dreary winter day -- like a Scottish Sunday until recently. 

During the Civil War, Scots Presbyterians allied with like-minded English Puritans. They also made common cause in the war on Christmas. 

[Image: Parliamentary soldiers enforcing the ban on celebrating Christmas, c. 1640s, William Barns Wollen, 1900] 

In England, the Restoration of the Monarchy under Charles II ("The Merry Monarch") in 1660 also led to a restoration of traditional Christmas celebrations. They were still light years away from the materialistic orgies of today. That required the influence of grasping, greedy American capitalism.  

In Scotland, the restoration of Christmas took much longer than in England. Presbyterian leaders continued to stifle enthusiasm for Christmas enjoyment for a couple of centuries. The difference shows in the holiday hierarchy of Scotland, compared to England, and most other civilized countries.

In Scotland, Christmas comes in a distant second to Hogmanay (New Years' Eve) as a real blowout. Think about it. The canny Scots simply transferred their serious celebrating from a sacred day to a secular one. Touché, Puritans! Freud would have understood. 

If you want to witness Scots letting their hair down these days, go to Edinburgh during Hogmanay! Or, just visit any Scots pub on a Saturday night. 

Scotland's elevation of New Year spread to the rest of the globe by the 20th century. For what do we sing at midnight on 1 January? "Auld Lang Syne" by Scotland's national poet, Robert (Rabbie) Burns, of course!

PS. If you go to the USA these days, be careful not to say "Happy Holidays!" or "Seasons Greetings!" And do not write "Merry Xmas" on your cards or gifts either. You may be accused of making war on Christmas, or even of Satanism. Or, even worse, of being a liberal. 

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