OverviewWhen we consider the 6 major problems of humanity that AAB wrote about in the 1940's, the problem of Capital, Labor and Employment is arguably the most demonstrative and influential of the major problems she wrote about. It literally involves every person on Earth who works, regardless of occupation or work location including anyone who interacts with products and services from their nation or any other. It involves economic systems, which largely drives political, economic and social decisions and those persons or groups who control the means of production and the world's resources. This is a problem about how capitalism and materialism effect everyone in today's world. When "Problem of Capital, Labor and Employment" was published in Problems of Humanity in the 1940's, the world had just emerged from the very destructive effects of WWII and the first atomic bombs were dropped on Japan. This new atomic energy was seen as both destructive as a weapon and as a new "constructive" source of energy for mankind. Although atomic energy is being used around the world as a power source since at least the 1950's, coal, gas, and oil continue to be the main source for generating electricity for commercial and residential sites right into the 21st century, which will be discussed in this paper. Here at the beginning of the 21st century, the problems of Capital and Labor have evolved to create better relations between labor and management. This improved relationship has produced a more comfortable and productive workplace. However, given the sophistication of the world's economy and workplace, issues between labor and management are more complex than in years past. They now involve new relationships that didn’t exist before, such as trade alliances among nations, redefining how business and commerce are conducted, teaching cooperation and goodwill in the workplace, changing attitudes toward protecting the environment and enabling the principle of sharing. In this article, I will address the problem of Capital, Labor and Employment from at least four major angles:
Finally, I will offer my observations and some possible solutions to the current economic / political crises(es) confronting us today. Labor - Changes in the WorkplaceIn the last 100 years, so many positive changes have occurred for the worker regarding labor's working conditions, company benefits and their interaction with management, that they cannot all be listed here. However, one of the major changes that's occurred is the value that's been placed on the contribution of the employee to the company's success. Employees are now treated as strong contributors to fulfilling the business goals and policies of the company. The company values highly skilled workers by rewarding them with benefits, such as higher salaries or wages and special pension plans. This drive has increased over the last half century by attracting workers who are well educated and experienced to the profession. A more recent phenomena for the professionally skilled worker is how job recruiters search out the best workers and offer them more money and benefits to work for a competing corporation. This weakens the sense of loyalty that the worker has for his company and makes many workers more transient. In most cases, the American worker has much greater mobility and can move to another job easier than most places in the world due to a number of favorable economic conditions in the US, such as available and more affordable housing. In Europe and Asia, this type of free movement of the labor force is much more difficult. Among the greatest changes in the workplace for the worker is the relationship between the worker and their employer. For example, just in the last 25 years many companies have adopted open door policies to encourage direct communication. This is management’s desire to institute cooperative business practices with their employees. This policy allows the average worker in the company to talk directly to the company’s leadership and offer suggestions and in so doing, participate in the company's success. This practice when used, encourages loyalty and a sense of responsibility among the company’s personnel. In some cases, workers can actually receive a monetary reward for a suggestion that helps the company. Other positive changes for protecting the worker include the enactment of anti-sexual harassment, discrimination laws and worker’s compensation. In addition, the Family and Medical Leave Act passed by the US Congress in the late 1990's, allows the employee to leave their job for up to 12 weeks while preserving their job. This law is mainly designed for maternity leave but can also be used for family emergency situations such as death in the family and caring for another sick family member. Unlike other cultures, in the US workplace, the employee is expected to work and produce more. In most other countries, the motivation and expectation is often not quite as strong and so their ability for producing more is less. Issues between Labor and Management“The basic goal is the freedom and the liberation of mankind, but the spiritual workers are handicapped by the fact that men themselves must make free choice and decision in order to be free; they can only be liberated when they — as individuals and later as groups — liberate themselves from the expressed thought-control of the powerful dominating groups and from the fears which these groups intentionally engender. Freedom can never be conferred through totalitarian methods; liberation cannot come through a dictator or dictating groups.” Most of the tensions between labor and management in the last couple of centuries have been around workplace and benefits issues. It wasn’t until the latter half of the 20th century that the skilled individual worker began to be seen as a valuable asset to the company. Often companies and corporations were controlled by greedy and authoritarian bosses who were unwilling to share the companies' prosperity, largely made possible by that individual worker. Gradually, as the decades have worn on, the worker has gained more benefits and shared in the company's success. With the main weapons of the union being able to organize and strike, they forced many companies to grant the average worker benefits such as more reasonable working hours, better pay and better working conditions. In the post-WWII era, labor unions continued to exist but began to loose control because some of them became too greedy. Today, labor unions still exist but are considerably weaker in influence. What remains comprise mainly the teamsters union of truck drivers, warehouse workers, auto plant workers and Teacher’s unions.
We have said that over time, the unions were largely successful in creating better working conditions and better benefits for the average worker. There have been however, some unforeseen negative consequences. Now that the worker gets paid more, has better working conditions and benefits, this has cost the employer more money to operate. As a result, the company can’t profitably work in the US anymore. Consequently, many manufacturers, in clothing, computers, tools and equipment have relocated offshore to other developing countries such as China, India, and Central America. This allow a company a cheaper way to operate and make a product for a fraction of what it would comparatively cost in America. This has resulted in the closing of dozens of plants and warehouses across the US, particularly in the South and New England. Another recent phenomena in the last 10-15 years, has been a shortage of engineers, particularly in the flourishing computer industry where thousands of highly skilled people from India, Pakistan and other countries are competing for American jobs. Many of these workers are highly skilled and will work for considerably less than their American counterparts. This has caused considerable tension in the white collar community in the US as the competition and demand for highly skilled jobs increases. With the further expansion of the globalized economy, many companies in the US and Europe that manufacture technical products, such as computer software and hardware have expanded the offshore practice of hiring highly skilled technical support personnel. Just in the last 10 + years, India for example, supplies a significant share of workers who provide excellent and cheap labor for the computer manufacturers. This is directly an issue for companies not wanting to pay the higher salaries and benefits to the workers in America. This practice only benefits corporations in the short term. For the long term, labor markets in both Europe and the United States will be hurt. This will inevitably cause less of a demand for jobs in the technical fields in the future and limit the amount of research and development in the US. Influence of Capitalists (Corporations) on labor, economic and government policyThe influence of capitalists, the rise of modern Western economies and governments can arguably be traced back well over 300 years. Back in the 1600's, the merchant-capitalists in the West became wealthy and powerful by trading goods in the "Triangular Trade" or the shipping lanes between Europe the New World and the West Indies. At the time, these trade lanes not only strengthened the merchant-capitalist of the time but also strengthened the economic and political interests of Britain and France as well. From the 1600's forward, it can be also pointed out that slaves or laborers were forced to become cheap labor and often suffered under an abusive capitalist task master who benefited completely by their hard work and gave little in return. This was an early beginning of the modern influence of the capitalist over the management of labor. This was also a relative beginning of capitalists either working in concert or exercising their control over the political and economic interests of the major countries of that era. This set a precedence later for the United States to base its economy on. From these early beginnings, the capitalist has grown in his influence over industry and governments as the centuries have passed. “The responsibility for the widespread misery to be found today in every country in the world lies predominantly at the door of certain major interrelated groups of business-men, bankers, executives of international cartels, monopolies, trusts and organizations and directors of huge corporations who work for corporate or personal gain. They are not interested in benefiting the public except in so far that the public demand for better living conditions will enable them—under the Law of Supply and Demand—to provide the goods, the transportation, light and power which will in the long run bring in heavier financial returns. Exploitation of man-power, the manipulation of the major planetary resources and the promotion of war for private or business profit are characteristic of their methods.” Since the beginning of the 20th century, the impact of capitalists and corporations on economic and governmental policy, countries and social structures has been extensive. For centuries, the rays have conditioned the process of how a business operates and how its organized. The power of the 3rd ray manifests in the form of companies, corporations and businesses organized in a structured way to make them function like a well run machine. The 6th Ray reveals that that power comes from a central source such as one authoritarian figure making decisions within a company. The 7th Ray, on the other hand has evolved many companies in the last 25 years to invite people within the company (group) to contribute to the whole (the company), thus diffusing the power of central figure’s policies. Over time, the combined influence of the rays, has contributed to the consumer driven, materialistic civilization we now live in. This influence has not been entirely a healthy one. Due to the success of intelligent business practices around the world, humanity has created for itself a civilization that constantly demands products and services 24/7. This civilization as we have allowed it to evolve, has severely impacted life, stressed the environment, depleted the world's resources and has clouded any clear vision for a sustainable future. It is precisely due to a lack of vision and wisdom that the current power and influence of the corporation, poses the most significant threat to world peace and stability because of their influence over the world’s governments, society, economies and culture. In the last 100 years, capitalists have exerted tremendous influence over predominately Western civilization. In this section, I will be discussing two major industries: first — the "energy" corporations. These comprise the oil, coal and natural gas industries. The second is the defense industries named by Eisenhower as the "military industrial complex". These companies make up all the people that wage war, promulgate or philosophically justify its existence and of course the arms industry which creates the weapons. Although there are many other corporate influences that impact the world daily, I believe these two main industries are key when considering a solution to much of the world's problems. For any comprehensive solution to the myriad of humanity's issues, which I ultimately believe is a political one (resulting from the combination of vision and leadership at the governmental level), the leaders of these industries must be involved. For in reality, the government and these corporations feed on each other through back room deals in an effort to maintain power through money and control of much of the world’s resources. This relationship has perpetuated from generation to generation for well over a 100 years in the Americas, Europe and Asia. Conclusions“To own, to possess, and to compete with other men for supremacy has been the keynote of the average human being — man against man, householder against householder, business against business, organization against organization, party against party, nation against nation, labor against capital — so that today it is recognized that the problem of peace and happiness is primarily related to the world's resources and to the ownership of those resources.” The principle that the Earth and its bountiful resources belong to all was elevated from the photography of the Apollo Missions of the 1960's where we saw the Earth from space. For the first time, we saw our planet, whole with no borders or political boundaries. Up to this point, governments and society have not supported this concept but if humanity can realize its essential unity as one human family through education, we will be closer to embracing the concept that the planet and its riches belongs to all and not the selfish few. Here, in early part of the 21st century the spirit of humanity, despite its glamours, is driving onwards towards a more spiritual civilization and culture, with changes in the workplace, perhaps, being one of the most obvious examples. In "Problems of Humanity", Alice Bailey said "….the changes between capital and labor is a strive for freedom". When the spiritual concept of freedom is realized then the physical plane will reflect this new understanding. For centuries, both labor and capital are inseparably connected and any changes to either group will effect the other. With the continual advances in automation and technology we've seen a dramatic increase in productivity over the decades, which has benefited both capital and labor. This has made the workspace more amenable for the worker for promoting creativity and thus allowing the capitalist to be more prosperous. Among the greatest benefits (intangibles) and changes that have occurred that both labor and management (Capital) enjoy are:
Lastly, we see that just in the last 25 years for example, globalization is bringing together the political, economic and social elements of society under the guidance and control of the 3rd and 7th rays. This is another indication that the concept of unity is taking hold in the international political and economic consciousness despite the frictions of all the players. It should be noted that the activity of these rays and others will continue to influence civilization for hundreds of years into the future by conditioning humanity to create cross-border cooperation through trade. Another challenge for humanity is that the continual want or desire for more products drives consumerism. Capitalists are naturally responding to the public’s insatiable appetite for more products. This appetite, however has serious karmic consequences on the environment as corporations strive to meet the consumers wants, they are depleting the Earth's resources and creating more pollution. This consequence, although in the mainstream consciousness and largely acknowledged by science, has yet to be brought under control. With increased pollution and erratic weather happening globally at an alarming rate, the time will come very soon when global warming, will create such destruction and that governments will be forced to protect humanity by making draconian changes in how we live and conduct ourselves in the world. There’s no easy answers and civilization has become used to an increasing voracious desire for more products that the environment cannot sustain. It seems that a combination of grass roots organizations supporting sustainability, science showing us where we're at and offering solutions and wise leadership from the governmental sector are what's needed to guide humanity at this critical juncture. From this must come the realization that consumerism can't maintain its current pace if we want a vital and prosperous civilization for our children and succeeding generations. |
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