Two hundred years ago in America, if you were white, had a gun, a mule, and a plow, you could wander off to Kentucky or Ohio, and later to Colorado or California, and find a place to live, and a town to live in, with mostly supportive neighbors. Few people traveled over thirty miles from home after that. Families were both very independent, but also dependent upon the community. The local church probably helped maintain a set of values. Life was difficult but mostly safe from the larger forces of the world.

The railroads came, gobbled up the best land with the support of the government, and speculators followed. Richer people bought more land, They fought over minerals. They fought over oil and gold. Later the banks began mortgaging farms. Small farms sold to bigger ones, and now everything is corporatized and globalized. The same people who have corporatized everything have always run the government. It is only when everything falls apart, in panics, depressions, or plagues, that those people briefly lose control.

There is no way to escape the forces of greed. It wouldn’t be so bad if they just competed with, fought with, and destroyed each other. But everyone’s lives are too intertwined now. The invasion of Ukraine will starve people in Egypt and Africa. America will spend trillions on the military, but Congress thinks we can’t afford to help diabetics pay for insulin. Eli Lilly makes about 300% profit because only three companies sell insulin the US, and they don’t compete, they fix prices.