The Lack that is Limit

There was once a president of the united states who wanted an "ownership society." He did not appear to know precisely what that would be, since the details perhaps escaped him, but he was of a class that owned the whole of the country already. They convinced themselves of their importance, since they were allegedly the drivers of the economy; they owned businesses and they had become accustomed to taking what they pleased. They seem to believe that their wealth comes from divine providence, that their god has chosen them to control the means of production. Yet, their god was the god of fortune. The ancient Greeks called it tuche, which meant "luck", but also "chance" at the same time. Humans are no different than the other creatures on the planet. They take what they are able to possess through the path of least resistance. If they have already what they need, their tendency is to do nothing. Those who participate in this mindset develop themselves very little; they take what they please and become angry when they do not receive precisely what they wish. These are the members of our society who make the laws. They choose for themselves what will drive them through that least resistant path, making a society that rationalizes their privilege and their appropriation, while explaining to the remainder of the society that they must borrow at interest, since the remainder owns little or nothing. It is not an ownership society when the very home in which one lives can be taken from the "owner" if those who truly own so please or if the occupant of the home fails to provide more ownership to those who possess already to much.

There is a lack that occupies this perspective. It is not a lack such as you are, my friend, but rather it is a certain limit. One can only hope, in the spirit that ancient Greeks did, that these owners will develop themselves.