The concept of ownership is abstract. I do not actually own the shirt I am wearing.  I  purchased it, it has only ever been worn by me, and a person who found it would likely return it to me if they knew it belonged to me. But it’s not enchanted. It’s not imbued with my essence (only mildly by my scent). The only way I own it is by shared mental construct, or illusion. Some might argue that because I exclusively use the shirt and because I exchanged a government-recognized currency for it, I own it in actuality. I would argue that my exclusive use of the shirt is merely evidence of our adherence to our illusion, and is not inviolable. Meanwhile, the currency exchange is not itself substantial, since its existence also requires a mental construct. Of course, ownership may at times be useful, such as when I come home from someplace and find that there are no strangers traipsing about. But since ownership is something we engage in consciously, we should be thoughtful and conscientious about it. What has happened to many Americans, affected as they are by the ongoing scourge of McCarthyism (whose most insidious trick might be in having us believe that it ended in the period of time the textbooks presented it in) and the ill of materialism, is that we have forgotten this. We have forgotten that we humans allow official ownership of the planet’s resources. We have unfortunately thus begun to treat the accrual of resources as a game to be won. We have conceded the right of the bourgeoisie and the bourgeoisie supreme (the super ballers) to play at controlling all. I don’t mind leadership, and I don’t mind seeing those who have worked especially hard acquire some tasty morsels here and there, but what we are witnessing is a human pledge to respect the right to dominate or be dominated. The super wealthy have asked us to do this for them, and we have obliged. Perhaps we do this in the hopes that we could be like them, perhaps we think that we have no other choice–that, like it or not, ownership of property is a fact of nature and we cannot appeal to such “dubious” virtues as generosity and merit. Perhaps some of us are knowingly cowed by the terror certain governments have waged on behalf of this right to own. We have seen what becomes of those who seek to reform it. 

But are any of us really winning because of our obedience to these conditions? Sure you may be in a financially suitable place yourself, but wouldn’t the world be a much happier place if we spread the wealth a heap more fairly? If we were born into a world that told us we didn’t have to worry about basic needs of survival such as food, clothes, adequate shelter, and healthcare–wouldn’t that make us so much more well-adjusted? So what if there’s not enough left over for folks to go acquiring collections of mansions, yachts, jets, cars, and jewels? Wouldn’t we all just be a lot closer to our best selves if we weren’t threatened by homelessness and the costs of basic necessities? We might not be able to afford all of this just by ceasing to indulge in the most profligate expenditures of resources, but we could definitely get closer.

So maybe we are in a chokehold, but we don’t have to pretend it’s right where we wanted to be. Think of the beautiful reality that we have forgone thus far by being so fanatically addicted to the concept of capitalism. It takes a maniac to never be depressed by missing out on it. There are the pessimists who say such competition and greed are in our nature, that we could never truly overcome them. I say if you are conscious enough to comprehend these words you can manifest a different nature. You can choose not to commit a greedy act. You may have philosophical hang-ups about whether you are merely acting altruistic, without actually being altruistic. I’d suggest that, to some extent, one is as one does, but perhaps you will feel as though you are merely performing. Then, if you must conceive of it as an act, commit yourself to it. Make it your passion, your art, your discipline, your methodology. Believe in it the way you believed that wealth acquisition made you successful.