The world’s people are being abused and are about to be abused even more. 

Global society is suffering from predictable “Mean Social Arrangements” and the “Social Atrocities” those arrangements inevitably generate.¹

Global corporate capitalism, by nature, creates Mean Social Arrangements and generates Social Atrocities.

In my view, the dominant root cause of the abuses being experienced by Humanity is global corporate capitalism; and the deepest, most powerful root of all is the set of social understandings (mis-understandings in my view) upon which capitalism is based.²

The corporate capitalist model is based on, promotes, rewards, and depends upon public acceptance of the following set of social (mis)understandings:

• Human Nature: Capitalism promotes a negative, simplistic, incomplete, inaccurate, abusive, anti-human (mis)understanding of Human Nature — one that excessively emphasizes and gives practice to our capacity for self-interest seeking and claims that selfishness is the dominant behavioral capacity of human beings.³ Furthermore, corporate capitalism ignores how a chosen social and economic model (i.e., the social milieu) can upregulate expression of our non-altruistic behavioral capacities and downregulate expression of our altruistic capacities (as is the case with corporate capitalism) or can upregulate expression of our altruistic capacities and downregulate expression of our non-altruistic capacities (as is the case with the Children’s Hospital Public Economy Model, CHPEM,⁴ which has been practiced by pediatricians and children’s hospitals for decades, globally, with great success).
• Monetary Incentive: Capitalism promotes the notion that “monetary incentive” is the “sine qua non” of any successful economic model — because, “due to human nature (i.e., capitalism’s view of human nature),” people need monetary incentive for adequate motivation and adequate performance.⁵
• Competition: Capitalism promotes a negative, simplistic, inaccurate, and perverse understanding of the nature and role of competition.⁶
• Innovation: Capitalism insists that monetary incentive and capitalism’s perverted version of competition are essential for innovation and creative advancements.⁷
• Private enterprise: Capitalism insists that private “free enterprise” and “free market” activity are essential components of any successful social and economic model.
• Capitalism promote the belief that its model, despite its many flaws, is the best economic model that has ever been created—because it takes into account the above understandings (the purported “realities” of human nature, e.g.) and because alternative models “do not sufficiently take the above ‘realities’ into account and inevitably lead to authoritarian, totalitarian behaviors and economic failure.”
• Capitalism promotes the belief that the best leaders are those who most enthusiastically embrace, practice, and promote the above set of social understandings and, thereby, generate the most prosperity.⁸

In my view, the above set of social understandings represent powerfully misleading misunderstandings. Global corporate capitalism has been able to survive and increasingly dominate for several centuries because the set of social understandings upon which it is based has not been adequately challenged. Proponents of capitalism have been able to convince themselves and most of the public that this set of social understandings (which, in my view, are misunderstandings) is accurate.

In stark contrast, the Children’s Hospital Public Economy Model (CHPEM)⁴ is based upon the following set of social understandings:²

• A positive, comprehensive, more nuanced understanding of Human Nature that emphasizes the spectrum of human behavioral capacities that we all have (including capacities for both altruistic behaviors and non-altruistic behaviors) and emphasizes that the social and economic model that a society chooses can either upregulate or downregulate expression of given capacities.³
• An understanding that “moral incentive” is a sufficient motivating factor and that “monetary incentive” is neither essential nor desirable.⁵
• A positive, accurate understanding of the true nature and role of “competition,” particularly the understanding that the word “competition” comes from the Latin “com petere,” which means “to seek (new heights) together.⁶
• A realization that “monetary incentive” and capitalism’s version of competition are not necessary for innovation and creativity.⁷
• A realization that private free enterprise and free market activity are not essential for a successful social and economic model.  Instead, a different kind of freedom might be the most precious freedom of all — the freedom to enjoy widespread upregulation of the expression of human altruistic behavioral capacities — upregulation in oneself and in society as a whole (which are inter-dependent).⁹ This “precious freedom” is provided by a public economy and denied by a capitalist economy.
• A realization that it is best to fill positions of leadership in society and the economy with “altruistic natural leaders”⁸ who have demonstrated exemplary altruism, honesty, kindness, and incorruptibility — as opposed to filling positions of leadership with those who enthusiastically embrace and practice capitalism’s social (mis)understandings and, thereby, make corporate entities most profitable.
• A realization that it is unrealistic to think the “Mean Social Arrangements”¹ that are currently harming Humanity and the Earth can be corrected by continuing the economic model that has predictably spawned and exacerbated these problems in the first place. The most realistic way to correct these Mean Social Arrangements is to develop “Kind Social Arrangements” that spawn Social Beauty rather than Social Atrocity and Social Misery.¹ The CHPEM creates and supports Kind Social Arrangements and spawns Social Beauty; capitalism does not.

Most people (at least in the USA) have accepted the negative and incomplete understanding of Human Nature that has been incessantly and dogmatically taught by the corporate capitalist economic model. Most people have not been introduced to the positive, more complete and more accurate understanding of Human Nature upon which the CHPEM is based.

Most people have also accepted the notion that “monetary incentive” is essential for motivation, excellent performance, and innovation, and have not considered that “moral incentive” can be an adequate motivating factor.

Most people have been taught only a negative and perverted understanding of the nature and role of “competition.”

Most have never heard of “altruistic natural leaders.”

Most have never considered the existence of, much less the importance of, “a most precious freedom.”

Most have never heard of “Social Beauty”¹⁰ or the concept of “Social Clinic.”¹¹ Most have rarely, if ever, thought of “vast fields of public activity”¹² and a “Public Economy,” and when/if they do, the mere thought, due to their mis-education and conditioning, reflexively strikes fear of totalitarianism and loss of individual liberty.

Most have been taught that capitalism, despite its flaws, is the best, most “realistic,” and most successful economic model ever implemented, and that alternative models, particularly public economy models, are inferior, “always lead to disastrous results,” should be feared, and should not be considered.

Most people have not worked extensively in an altruistic children’s hospital, or a similarly altruistic setting — which means they might have little personal experience with collaborative, altruistic, non-profiteering efforts that practice the foundational set of social understandings upon which the CHPEM is based. Most people do not realize how well the CHPEM has already been shown to work.⁴

In short, pro-capitalist teachings (which amount to propaganda and “gaslighting”) have been extraordinarily powerful and effective. That propaganda has convinced people that no alternative economic models need to be considered. Worse, the message has been that alternative economic models are dangerous to even think about. This pro-capitalist propaganda has immunized people against consideration of any alternative models. That has made it difficult for people to understand “Social Beauty,” the CHPEM, and application of a CHPEM-inspired/Hugo-inspired Public Economy Model to the general economy.¹³  Pro-capitalist propaganda has been so powerful that most people are hesitant to even read about or listen to these alternative ideas.¹⁴ Unfortunately, this pro-capitalist propaganda has not been adequately or effectively challenged.

What has been least recognized is that the foundational set of social (mis)understandings upon which corporate capitalism is based (those listed earlier), which has given capitalism its great power and control over Humanity, is also its Achilles’ heel (i.e., where it is most vulnerable), and the most effective way to hold corporate capitalism to account and release its predatory grip on Humanity is to expose the inaccuracies and flaws of its foundational set of social (mis)understandings and explain how the foundational pillars of the CHPEM represent a more accurate and helpful understanding of Human Nature and how to organize and conduct a society.¹⁵

In other words, we should expose how proponents of corporate capitalism have been (wittingly or unwittingly) gaslighting the public with its (capitalism’s) set of social (mis)understandings.

It cannot be emphasized enough how extremely powerful, effective, controlling, and abusive the pro-capitalist, anti-public, anti-Humanity, propaganda has been — particularly capitalism’s promotion of the set of social misunderstandings upon which it is based.

It is not enough to just treat the symptoms of corporate capitalism. The roots of corporate capitalism’s power and control over Humanity (particularly its foundational set of social misunderstandings) must be effectively challenged.

Corporate capitalism is not threatened by mere symptomatic treatment of the problems it creates. Symptomatic treatment (e.g., softening or partial correction of its “Mean Social Arrangements”) may give the illusion of a somewhat “kinder and gentler” form of capitalism and give the illusion of social progress, but does not affect the root cause of capitalism’s power and control or its ability to cleverly adjust in order to continue infecting and dominating.

Lethal viruses and malignancies cleverly adjust in order to continue infecting and dominating. So, too, does corporate capitalism.

In fact, symptomatic treatment of capitalism, without accompanying exposure and correction of its foundational set of social misunderstandings and without proposal of a wholesome alternative economic model, enables capitalism to continue its dominance because such treatment gives the false impression that capitalism is okay as long as it is made kinder and gentler via better regulation and periodic injections of compassion.

That is why capitalism is not threatened by symptomatic treatment. In fact that symptomatic treatment makes capitalism more palatable and thereby enhances its ability to survive and continue dominating.

Therefore, in addition to treating the symptoms of corporate capitalism, we must focus on corporate capitalism’s Achilles’ heel¹⁵ — its inaccurate, powerfully misguiding foundational set of social (mis)understandings. That is where the corporate capitalist model is most vulnerable and would feel most threatened. Throughout the past several centuries, the corporate capitalist social and economic model has been able to infect, thrive and dominate because its foundational set of social (mis)understandings has not been sufficiently exposed and challenged.

Accordingly, the most realistic way to free Humanity from corporate capitalism’s powerful, predatory grip is to expose capitalism’s Achilles’ heel and present a wholesome alternative economic model (e.g., a CHPEM-inspired/Hugo-inspired public economy model). It is unrealistic to think that the Mean Social Arrangements and Social Atrocities that are abusing Humanity can be corrected without addressing the deepest root cause of this abuse — the inadequately challenged set of social misunderstandings upon which capitalism is based — and without presenting a wholesome alternative economic model.^{4, 12, 13, 16}

Conclusion

Humanity is being abused. 

The vast majority of human beings are suffering from predictable Mean Social Arrangements and the Social Atrocities those arrangements generate. The root cause is an inadequately challenged economic model (global corporate capitalism), and the deepest root of all is the inadequately challenged set of social misunderstandings upon which capitalism is based.

Capitalism depends on public acceptance of capitalism’s foundational set of social misunderstandings. 

Public acceptance of this set of social misunderstandings has given capitalism its great power, control, and longevity. 

However, this set of social misunderstandings is also capitalism’s Achilles’ heel — for, when the majority of the public realizes that capitalism’s foundational set of social understandings are seriously flawed (i.e., that they have been “gaslit” by the capitalist narrative) and also realizes that there is a better alternative economic model (a CHPEM-inspired model), public support for capitalism will collapse, and there will be opportunity for public energy to be democratically directed towards creation of Kind Social Arrangements, “vast fields of public activity,” and Social Beauty, to replace the Mean Social Arrangements and Social Atrocities that have been predictably created by global corporate capitalism.

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Notes

The footnotes refer to Presentations in A Course on Sowing Seeds of Social Beauty.¹⁷ The Course further explains chapters in the book Sowing Seeds of Social Beauty.   Both the Course and the book are posted on my website (www.notesfromthesocialclinic.org) where they can be downloaded and read/listened to for free.  See Table of Contents (TOC) on the website.  These Presentations are footnoted because they provide further explanation and justification for statements made in this article.

1. Presentation 11: Mean Social Arrangements
2. Presentation 5: The Foundational Set of Social Understandings Upon Which the CHPEM is based: Comparison with the Social Understandings Upon Which Capitalism is based
3. Presentation 6: Human Nature
4. Presentation 3: The CHPEM (Children’s Hospital Public Economy Model)
5. Presentation 8: Moral Incentive vs. Monetary Incentive
6. Presentation 9: Competition
7. Chapter 31: Which Economic Model Best Promotes Innovation and Creativity? (In the book, Sowing Seeds of Social Beauty
8. Presentation 7: Perspectives on Leadership
9. Presentation 10: A “Most Precious Freedom”
10. Presentation 2: Social Beauty
11. Presentation 17: The Social Clinician and Social Clinic
12. Presentation 4: Hugoist Public Economy Model
13. Presentation 13: Application of the CHPEM to a General Economy—A “Third Way”
14. Presentation 14: Anticipated Concerns About Applying the CHPEM to a General Economy
15. Presentation 12: The Achilles’ Heel of Capitalism
16. Presentation 16: Development of a Collaborative International Network of Unique Independent,  Creative, Self-Determined, Self-Reliant, CHPEM-Inspired, Democratic National Public Economies—as an alternative to global corporate capitalism
17. Presentation 1: Overview of the Course — Video with Audio

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