Serving Mammon

[jaybreak]

There's more than one way to idolize something, to knock God off of the throne and put something in His place. There's also many different ways to serve mammon, or money, material wealth and gain. It's not merely for thieves a swindlers, or for the well-connected elite making political power plays. Current systems make it very easy for the "normals" to lash themselves to the yoke of debt. There's many things that play into this phenomenon, but college loan debt can be especially heinous because of the "perverse incentives" and motivations that shovel young adults into higher education.

I shouldn't have to make a few disclaimers, but I feel I should to head off questions: no, college by itself isn't bad. Like anything in life, decisions like this are highly contextual, so there are no easy answers for people as individuals. The Bustle article in the video is probably carefully worded for maximum emotional impact, and Molyneux's commentary has plenty of flair and drama. There's nothing wrong with hyperbole, since it can speak to the heart better than mere facts can; just something to bear in mind (in the video, there are some vulgarities/scatological terms). More importantly than that, Molyneux is an atheist, 100% steeped into the Western philosophical tradition, so this post shouldn't be considered a wholesale endorsement of his views. However, his extreme skepticism of current worldly systems often align with what we teach here at Radix Fidem.

[Ed Hurst]

It was worth watching, but I am disappointed that someone with that much media experience could drag it out so long when it could have been covered nicely in about 20 minutes. The short version is that Molyneux sees a dual source of trouble: One is that the lady in question didn't perform due diligence, nor did her parents, in regards to the massive debt burden from college loans. Two is the massive propaganda from the system about the necessity of college and how the borrowing will pay for itself in higher earning. He notes that the lady who earned her masters degree ended up with a job she could have gotten without college at all.

But the best part is Molyneux explains how the trap here is the portion of the system controlled by lefties, and the hypocrisy of how they exploit people in the very ways they condemn. Elitism is elitism no matter which flavor it pretends to be. It still ends up with plutocrats plundering the lower classes by yet one more means, and enslaving them. This is just a manifestation of Western Civilization's inherent class warfare. It's built into Western thinking. The West gave feudalism a bad name by doing it wrong. Feudal authority rightly rests on the shepherd's care for his household, his commitment to his family. No shepherd seeks to enslave other clans and tribes the way Western feudalism did.

I went to college twice. I had no intention of bettering my economic standing. I went because of God's calling on my life. I was fortunate to have sponsorship both times and left with very little debt, a debt easily paid. But because I went with a mission calling, I got more from college than most people get. Not just high grades, but I gained intellectual tools I have used every day since then. It was college that alerted me to Hebrew culture and a different epistemology. It took awhile to bear fruit because I'm not that brilliant, but my determination from God is what bore fruit.

[jaybreak]

No shepherd seeks to enslave other clans and tribes the way Western feudalism did.

Seems like this is one of the defining characteristics between the Western vs Eastern feudalisms. An important one, at that.

[Ed Hurst]

Oh, you caught that, did you?

[jaybreak]

Oh, you caught that, did you?

I guess it was pretty obvious, since the idea of assuming authority outside of a feudal patriarch's particular domain would be ludicrous to them. I guess the way you worded it struck me.

[Ed Hurst]

Do you realize I struggled a long time -- years -- trying to pin that down? I'm not as bright as I wish I was. I knew there was a significant moral difference, but I just couldn't come up with a clear statement of it. This thing whispered at me from the shadows until it hit me, and frankly it was quite recently. Frankly, you often surprise me with how well you restate things I've said or hinted. It's just one more proof that asking you to get involved was an inspired move from God.

[jaybreak]

As I said before, I ain't no Einstein either, and at broad strategy things I'm no good. But detailed/tactical stuff I have an eye for. Sometimes details can really jump out at me from nowhere, even if it makes no sense or just something goofy. I'm at peace with how that works, despite wishing it would happen more often or more effectively.