Dear People From Western Capitalistic Democratic Societies,

 

Unfortunately, you have, due to your unintelligent, unconscious, coercive Disembodied Language (DL), still not been able to connect the dots and, consequently, you have never fully acknowledged, that individualism – the modern foundation of your culture – requires an urgent change in the way that you talk, so that you can begin to engage in and enjoy Embodied Language (EL), which is the one and only true capital of the happy and free individualistic way of life.

 

Amsterdam is the capital of the Netherlands, as it is the center of all commercial activities. When the Dutch settlers created their colony, it was called New Amsterdam, which later became New York. It was the Dutch individualistic mentality, to basically not bother about anyone’s belief, but to trade with anyone, who had something to trade, as long as the transaction was profitable. Later, this foundational principle was enshrined in the US Constitution: we hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator, with certain unalienable rights, that among these are, Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness.

 

As we can and should all agree, the aforementioned statement from the Declaration of Independence – which, obviously was the best anyone could do with superstitious DL – considers, not the individual, but god, as the capital of the land of the free. Certainly, it was man himself – that is, the Founding Fathers, the group of 18^th century American revolutionary leaders, who united the Thirteen Colonies, oversaw the War of Independence from Great Britain, who established the United States – who crafted a framework of government for the new nation. Yes, it wasn’t some god, but some roughed individuals – who rebelled and moved away from the so-called rule by divine right of King George III – who drafted and signed this important, fantastic document.

 

Few people know, that the Pilgrims, who had first  escaped from England, found sanctuary – before the Mayflower took off – in the Dutch city of Leiden, where they were free to worship and enjoyed much peace and liberty. They had lived there for more than a decade. Some even said, they were doing so well, in the Netherlands, that there wasn’t even any reason anymore, to go to America, as they already had found religious freedom in Holland. The only real reason these pious people eventually faced the unknown, left their pleasant environment and sailed across the Atlantic Ocean, was, of course, commercial.

 

Interestingly, these Pilgrims, who made their way to America, were – like many other people nowadays – economic migrants. They had worked in Leiden’s flourishing textile industry. As former farmers, they had little else to survive on, except the skills of weaving, spinning and making cloth, they learned from the Dutch. However, their life wasn’t so cozy anymore, after the wool market had collapsed. My point is, they didn’t have any capital anymore.

 

It is really fascinating to know, that these fanatical, moralistic, English Pilgrims appreciated, but also, at the same time, judged and rejected their Dutch religious freedoms, which, they felt, spoiled their children. It was, however, their notion of greater economic prosperity in America – mixed with their new sense of individual freedom, which they had inadvertently picked up from the Dutch culture – which was to be their capital, once they arrived in the New World.

 

The Pilgrims saw more opportunity to preach their Christian religion in America, but the investors in the profit-seeking corporations, which were established in James Town, were more down to earth and more interested in profits than in prophets. Consequently, also a whole bunch of economic, non-believing adventurers had to come along, to make the voyage profitable. When the Mayflower landed far north than they expected, they were suddenly on their own, and felt, they were no longer obliged to the Virginia’s Company’s Charter. The Pilgrims gave investors little or no return on their investments and were only able to find some sense of stability, once beaver hides began to bring in more money. As you can understand from this brief historic overview of America, it always was – and it still is – capitalism, which paves the way for individualism.  

 

With EL, we will truly make individualism the capital of our culture, but with DL, we maintain, at all costs - similarly to these puritanical Pilgrims - our outdated, unrealistic, anti-commercial and, ultimately, non-productive beliefs. Capital: a Critique of Political Economy by Karl Marx is also the bible of communists, who are, vehemently, against individualism. In my opinion, it is not the economic structure, or as Marx says, the forces and relations of production, which are the crucial factors in shaping a society, but the freedom of the individual. The only real capital we have, whether it is economical or psychological, is always individual.