http://seanmcalpin.com/2012/08/

Its Not Economics, Its Religion

A compassionate activist who has done even a cursory examination of self and society can clearly see that the existing society and world is not only harsh and unjust but also cannot be sustained. So we mistakenly believe that simply pointing this out to others will result in a groundswell of understanding and support for a mass movement of social and economic change into a more just society. We underestimate the power of emotion, culture, and belief. Those who refuse to accept that the existing capitalist economic system is unsustainable and that say a new world and way is impossible are the same ones throughout history who refused to believe the earth was round, refused to believe that we circle the sun not the other way around. They are the ones who claim that history or some selectively interpreted ancient religious writing proves otherwise. They are typically hyper-religious, conservative, afraid, cynical, selfish, and will be always be with us, so we must love them, educate them, and hope that reason and compassion will somehow break thru the complete self-delusion in which they live. But don’t underestimate their attachment to the existing false doctrines that they worship, capitalism is a puritanical religion. And it is not a rational attachment but an emotional one and therefore very difficult to confront, but not impossible.

-from the upcoming book, Another World is Possible: Occupy, An Introduction, Orientation, and Invitation to Activism