(TALKZIMBABWE) Credit crunch – a Western culture of greed

Credit crunch – a Western culture of greed
Arthur Gwagwa – Opinion
Tue, 30 Sep 2008 10:35:00 +0000

THE current global events in the financial and money markets are symptomatic of the cancer of Western greedy that is arguably the greatest threat to modern civilization in the world at the moment.

During the past few years or so, there has been a growing trend in the major world economies mainly in the USA for banks to extend mortgages to people who could not afford them. Such banks’ sole motive was to selfishly rake in huge profits at the expense of the poor unsuspecting borrower. As part of the same equation, we also had borrowers who were driven by materialism by living outside their means. These borrowers borrowed more than they could afford because to them owning a house was a status symbol.

The natural consequence of this capitalistic irresponsibility was that the poor borrowers defaulted in their payments thereby exposing the greedy banks to huge bad debt and dwindling client deposits. This caused a liquidity or credit crunch, a situation where a bank can not sustain its operations because its bad debt is more than the deposits in its books.

In response to this, many Western governments are now bailing the failing banks by taking over the bad debt (toxic instruments) from them. In doing so, they are using the poor tax payer’s money. The same tax payer who is now being punished did not enjoy the huge city bonuses that the city workers used to rake in good times. Instead this poor worker used to be haunted by the same banks even for making a £10 unauthorized overdraft.

In summary, the poor people who can hardly afford decent meals are shouldering an even bigger responsibility of carrying the City fat cats on their shoulders. The same fat cats lived lavish lifestyles from the sweat of the poor when times where good.

Can you tell me then whether Western Capitalism works? If this form of capitalism does not work, how come our own poor countries have swallowed it hook, line and sinker?

Culture of greed in Zimbabwe

Over the weekend, I attended a seminar in which I was told that the MDC recently spent £40 million of donor money to buy its MPs some posh trucks. I am reliably informed that Zanu PF also did the same for its MPs but not using donor money this time. I don’t know where that money came from. In contrast, I am made to understand that the country does not have corn seed and fertilizer hardly 3 weeks before the rain season begins. How come we are all quiet when our own leaders are championing the same culture of greed which they have always stood opposed to?

Today, if you visit black churches, you find pastors who drive the latest cars wearing Saville Row suits while living in Avondale but pastoring congregants from Mbare.

These preachers preach fire thereby sending their members in to a mood of emotional giving.

Does the Bible in the Book of Peter not warn us that in the last days many shall be deceived by these men’s covetousness? How come even well educated people who are supposed to be torch bearers in our society are being hood winked by these fly by night preachers?

A cursory glance in the Bible would reveal that all our problems in the world today are based on the three things: pride of life, lust of the flesh and the eyes. In simple terms the last two categories can be termed greedy.

Unless we begin to do something to confront this cancer in our churches, communities and governments, like Shakespeare once said, “Humanity shall prey upon itself like monsters of the deep.”

Arthur Gwagwa – Opinion

London