Gorilla Economics (a dramatic reading)

Gorilla economics

The core of my argument is by no means original, in fact it's something so unoriginal that the only way to find it surprising, is to actively deny and ignore its existence on a daily basis. Its most notable characteristic is its striking absence in almost all mainstream economic debates. Constituting nothing less than an invisible 800 pound gorilla in every news room, board room and living room in the modern world. But what's really strange is how people are constantly talking about this gorilla indirectly and non-ironically, as if it were a trained monkey that existed solely for their amusement.

The interesting thing is that this gorilla is really smart, in fact he's smarter than any person, but that doesn't really matter because he doesn't need to think, or communicate with us lowly mortals. You see, he's even bigger than the food chain, human beings are about as relevant to him as a zookeeper is to King Kong. Routinely he crushes countless civilizations under his mighty toes and only notices a slightly squishy sensation while continuing to go about his business.

But what exactly does an invisible 800 pound gorilla do, you might ask. The classical answer has always been "whatever it wants to.". However this gorilla only really does one thing well, but he does it better than anyone else.. He grows. Yes that's right. He eats our fast-food, he drinks our booze, he drives our cars, and he smokes our cigarettes. And guess what? He doesn't pay us a penny for any of it. He charges it all to his credit card. Credit backed exclusively by his own girth, the bigger he grows the more he's worth, the more he can borrow to feed his insatiable appetite.

That is until he eats the entire earth. Then he will have no other option but to start eating himself, then again, that's really what he's been doing all along. Kind of makes you wonder what it is that we all see in this gorilla, to keep thoughtlessly feeding him the fruits of our labor, even while he forces us out of our homes, our jobs, and possibly even our lives. Maybe it's time for an intervention, maybe it's time to stop feeding a gorilla that's already grown so fat that it's no longer under our control? Just maybe?

Category:

News & Politics

Tags:

• gorilla
• economics
• dramatic
• reading
• growth
• ignorance
• greed
• gluttony
• hubris
• credit
• collapse
• ecology
• denial
• delusion
• psychosis
• suicide