Goods vs People

This weekend the Swiss people vote on whether or not to extend the European Union's freedom of movement for workers to Bulgaria and Romania. In principle this extension is a natural part of the Swiss agreements with the EU, of which Switzerland is unnaturally not a member, but has to negotiate its inter-dependence piece by piece. Some young Zealots have succeeded in demanding a referendum on this extension of free movement. They claim that crime will go up and unemployment, while the Swiss welfare system would be undermined. At the writing of this there is solid and increasing evidence that the referendum fails and that the extension of freedom of movement will prevail. Sigh...

In 1992 the Swiss had voted not to become a part of the European Economic Space and it cost them a very high prize. I for one am convinced that Swissair would never have been grounded, had the Swiss decided otherwise in 1992. Be that as it may, the stubborn pretention that we're better of when left alone and sealed of from the others - which of course is never real because those who pretend so always use "foreign" factory workers, laws, lands, and potential to increase their market share - but that stubborn pretention is like an old myth of an self-sufficient and self-contained island. We have goods, we don't need people, especially not those who are different from us. 

Today's sermon at my church was on Ecclesiastes (Kohelet) 2: the writer describes his unlimited wealth, his conquest of "all the women a man can want", fabulous gardens and unmatched knowledge. He says he had it all and was happy, except that when nothing further was there to be had, he fell into a deep depression. A further look at the book reveals a striking absence of any mention of people as in relationships. This guy had all the slaves and women (sic!) one could possibly have. People were part of his amassed and hoarded goods. Unlike JHWE who, at the completion of creation observed that "it was very good", this poor rich man at the completion of his kingdom realized that it was all in vain, no good and for naught. - Why? Because it never occurred to him that it is not goods but relationships that make sense in life. The Western crisis is not so much in the crashing of its financial system as it is in its preference of goods and services over people and relationships.

In that perspective the outcome of this weekend's Swiss referendum is a hopeful indication. It seems that after all we're not completely stupid.