Cognitive Inequality: The Powerhouse of the Necroeconomy

It was unavoidable that the myth of human supremacy would be cloned and broadcasted within human societies themselves.  Any species subscribing to narratives of its supremacy over other species will unavoidably soon construct very similar narratives within its own society. This is why all the crimes which humans have perpetrated against nature, they have already perpetrated against themselves. 

Our economic system literally runs on supremacy and inequality because these are the narratives enabling maximum profit at the lowest wages, and maximum exploitation of all beings involved in the value chain.  Profit thrives most vigorously on the vulnerable, the desperate, the enslaved, the minorities and the defenceless, whether you are an orangutan in Southeast Asia or an uninsured and undocumented sweatshop worker in New York City.  Inequality is an asset to be invested in, maintained, amplified, leveraged, and monetised, and this is common knowledge among all global corporations who strive to keep their consumers misinformed, helpless, addicted to their products and cognitively defenceless against their predatory advances.  Preserving income and educational inequality is key to necrocapitalism because there is more profit to be made from the weak, the desperate and the uninformed, than from those who have the option to collude with this self-destructive system.   

Both human rights and nature’s rights are therefore the enemies of profit. Values such as dignity, compassion, equality, ecology, healthcare, are red alerts for necrocapitalism. They are loss-making overheads, extremely risky areas for The Thing to want to “invest” in. 

Necrocapitalism does not distinguish between nature’s rights, and human rights.  It is an opportunistic system which will go after all living things, regardless of species or position in the pecking order.  As long as profit rules, there will never be respect towards nature or humans.  It is more profitable to burn down a rainforest than maintain it.  It is cheaper to breed more consumers and salary slaves than maintain the health of existing ones. This system is coming for us all, regardless of what we look like or what species we are.

And yet, the discontent towards this system is barely adequate to trigger a revolt.  We have been filled with the false fear of perishing in the absence of the steady drip of comforts the necroeconomy provides.  We’ve been convinced that the world will enter the dark ages without these amenities, so we choose our slavery to the Unhappiness Machine over freedom. Both the “haves” and “have nots” will defend this suicidal system like their life depends on it, even though they have everything to lose simply by continuing to support it. 

Humanity has censored its own ability to revolt.  The fear of abandoning this economic system is so immense, people would rather live with the inequality, exploitation, and slavery it breeds than even contemplate a day without necrocapitalism.  In this incredibly absurd society, we have all passively accepted that a handful of billionaires can accumulate the planet’s wealth, while the great majority struggle. We have come to expect inequality and discrimination at every turn, and we have become accustomed to war and hunger as part of our daily routine. 

But our defeatism is encouraging the necroeconomy to become even more aggressive.  As long as we continue to accept, expect and comply with the everyday atrocities this economic system commits, The Thing which breeds them will become even more ruthless, controlling, and destructive. 

No other species suffers from so much inequality in its communities, because no other species has unconditionally embraced its own exploitation. This is not an economic system. This is how a civilisation self-destructs.

George is an author, researcher, molecular biologist and food scientist. You can follow him on Twitter @99blackbaloons 

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