Humanistic Capitalism

Bird Droppings September 1, 2026
Humanistic Capitalism

I started my morning with a bit of color in the sky, and two deer crossed my path. As I drove this morning, I pondered the issues at hand. Why do we need all the gold in Washington, DC? From my standpoint, it seems a bit tacky. More importantly, why are we allowing such huge amounts of wealth to be created? We have individuals now with more money than some small countries. I can only think of one billionaire who is truly giving back. MacKenzie Scott was married to Amazon co-founder Jeff Bezos. She has pledged to give away most of her wealth and has already become one of the world’s most significant philanthropists. Why are there not more like her? I have pondered the idea of humanistic capitalism for many years.

“Corporations must assume an active responsibility for creating a healthy society and a habitable planet—not as a gesture to improve corporate image or as a moralistically undertaken responsibility, but because it is the only reasonable long-run interpretation of ‘good business.’ In the end, good business policy must become one with good social policy.” Willis Harman, Humanistic Capitalism: Another Alternative, Journal of Humanistic Psychology, Vol. 14, No. 1, Winter 1974

Is this even a possibility that a corporation would deliberately work to benefit its people and the environment? Would it be possible for a company not to operate solely to generate grossly inflated profits for its shareholders, who have nothing to do with the company other than buy stock, which is purely speculative? As I sit here on a bright Tuesday morning, I wonder: could there be ethical capitalism? I may have come to this discussion in talking with my son about a local company in his town that left when the employees were unionized and moved the facility to another state, leaving one thousand people unemployed. It could have been, perhaps, a conversation starting with a one hundred fifty-million-dollar bonus and salary; my health care insurance company CEO did nothing for my own health care except raise my premiums, and I was called a socialist for not accepting capitalism. I am amazed that we, as a society, have allowed this to happen.

“And while the law of competition may be sometimes hard for the individual, it is best for the race, because it ensures the survival of the fittest in every department.” Andrew Carnegie

I started looking at Social Darwinism, which states a similar line to Carnegie. No one else matters but the winner. As I looked deeper in my research and found a few more of Andrew Carnegie’s thoughts, it was more of the same.

“Do not look for approval except for the consciousness of doing your best.” Andrew Carnegie

“Every act you have ever performed since the day you were born was performed because you wanted something.” Andrew Carnegie

I have written numerous times about how greed seems to overpower and take control in a society totally oriented around money and power. Reality shows add to the confusion as kids grow up watching rich teens squander money and very rich adults buy fifty million dollars’ worth of imported marble for the bar in their hundred-foot yacht. It would be easy to say not having a lot of money makes one angry, but my point is: when is it enough? I have helped feed hungry families and house homeless families, and I have seen how far some of our neighbors have had to go to survive. I have helped people with disabilities apply for and hopefully receive benefits, while some people complain that entitlements should be cut, and some say they should be banned altogether.

“A second characteristic of the process which for me is the good life, is that it involves an increasing tendency to live fully in each moment. I believe it would be evident that for the person who was fully open to his new experience, completely without defensiveness, each moment would be new.” Dr. Carl Rogers

While Rogers is controversial, as I read tonight trying to write, read, and watch “Date Night” with my family, this thought is significant to me. I thought about a recent talk with a parent about listening to a coach of six-year-olds yell and scream at these little kids during a t-ball game, and then the parents asked for him to be removed as coach, which is a bit refreshing.

“Children were taught that true politeness was to be defined in actions rather than in words. They were never allowed to pass between the fire and the older person or a visitor, to speak while others were speaking, or to make fun of a disabled or disfigured person. If a child thoughtlessly tried to do so, a parent immediately set him right in a quiet voice. Expressions such as “excuse me,” “pardon me,” and “so sorry,” now so often used lightly and unnecessarily, are not in the Lakota language. If one chanced to injure or cause inconvenience to another wanunhecun, or “mistake,” was spoken. This was sufficient to indicate that no discourtesy was intended and that what happened was accidental. Our young people, raised under old rules of courtesy, never indulged in the present habit of talking incessantly and all at the same time. To do so would have been not only impolite, but foolish; for poise, so much admired as a social grace, could not be accompanied by restlessness. Pauses were acknowledged gracefully and did not cause lack of ease or embarrassment.” Chief Luther Standing Bear

It has been so many years since I coached basketball in Macon, Georgia, and one of the facilities we played in was an old school gym. The gym was small and had no room inside for parents to sit. Instead, they would have to stand outside to yell and scream. This small gym was where all the kids liked playing the best. We instill this idea so early: competition and winning at any cost. Sadly, it reflects in all we do and infects every phase of our society.

“Just Enough Profit is defined as: Profit that is gained honorably, respectfully, and preserves human dignity; the purposeful distribution of a company’s profits to: promote a higher standard of living for employees, create fulfilling jobs, reduce prices, encourage shareholder philanthropy, and spawn other types of pro bono contributions to society. It also promotes financial openness and transparency.” JEP Foundation

I wonder if one day we could get away from seeking the American dream of Andrew Carnegie, since he was only interested in reaching it for himself, and anyone in the way was defeated through survival of the fittest.

“With Just Enough Profit, there’s an appropriate balance between three components: consumers and customers come first, employees are second, and the owners and shareholders come last. With this model, everyone wins—customers receive a better product at a lower price, employees receive a fulfilling and rewarding place to work, and shareholders lift humanity and make the world a better place to live.” JEP Foundation

Idealistically, perhaps, as I read about humanistic capitalism, I am wandering into an area that, while to me it holds some merit, will not fly with those who seek to have everything and all at once. I talked with a friend about going back to subsistence living and getting away from the craziness of our society’s grab for greed and power. I am on my way, at least with herbs and medicinal plants. It has been an interesting day, news-wise, and around the nation we have various groups trying to grab the spotlight from each other.

Perhaps humanistic capitalism is idealistic. Perhaps “just enough profit” is impossible in a culture that continually tells us that more is better. But I keep coming back to the same question: When is it enough? Enough money, enough power, enough winning, enough possessions? Somewhere along the way, we must remember that there are people on the other side of every economic decision. Maybe the answer isn’t another economic theory at all, but something considerably older: we are all related. I wish there were a way to remove the greed gene from human beings. Please, my friends, keep all in harm’s way on your mind and in your hearts. namaste

My family and friends, I do not say this lightly,

Mitakuye Oyasin

(We are all related)

docbird

PS:

Datura wrightii, sacred datura, is a night-blooming flower known by many names—Jimsonweed, devil’s weed, moonflower—and Indigenous peoples of the Southwest have had their own names, traditions, and relationships with the plant.

In 1968, Carlos Castaneda published The Teachings of Don Juan. I want to say I first read the book around 1969. Castaneda presented his work as an account of his apprenticeship with a Yaqui man he called Don Juan Matus and his exploration of Indigenous knowledge and psychoactive plants. Datura became part of that story.

Castaneda’s books fascinated a generation, myself included. Eventually, serious questions were raised about whether Don Juan existed and whether Castaneda’s accounts were anthropology at all. Much of what he presented as ethnographic experience came to be regarded as fiction or fabrication.

Yet the controversy surrounding Castaneda does not erase the much older story of the plant itself. Long before his books, Indigenous peoples knew datura, used it within particular cultural and ceremonial traditions, and understood something Castaneda’s readers sometimes overlooked: this is not simply a beautiful flower or a plant for experimentation. Datura is dangerously toxic. It should not be ingested.

Perhaps that is part of what makes today’s photograph so interesting. The afternoon light struck the white trumpet so intensely that the flower seemed to hold the light itself—beautiful, mysterious, and deserving of respect