Chapter 24 Part II

Greed and Justice

Jude gaped and the red-hot anger of his dark fury started to rumble.  

“It is natural, of course,” Ernst said, sitting serenely once more at the desk. “For you are a civilized man and the acquisition of property is the pursuit of civilization. That is why the terminology of ancient justice so overlaps with instruments for measuring, weighting and allotting property. Remember your cubit, orthos and nem! And since the introduction of property into the appetites of man, we have done nothing but justify our actions through the ownership of property, and this includes not only dictating how our society and governments should be, but who we are, our values, our ambitions, our desires, and even our love for another.”

He peered over at Jude. “For man is now defined by property. Man is property, my dear Jude Royer.” 

“I do not believe you,” Jude said, through clenched teeth. “Just because there are slaves-” 

“I do not speak of slavery,” Ernst interrupted him, resting his shoes on the desk. “Free men are defined by their properties. They are enslaved by it. We accept property in such a way that it becomes natural to us and we no longer think of how uniquely remarkable property is any more than we think of the essence of air or water to our survival.” 

The shoes came precariously close to the freshly engraved disposition delivered by the clerk. And the client was due to arrive any minute.  

“But—“ 

“I see the protest forming on your lips,” Ernst said, placing his hands behind his head and his chair started to wobble. “The early tribes of humanity existed in complete equality amongst themselves. After all, why not? They had no possessions of note. Their needs were simple. Satisfy their hunger and lust and not much more. They did not own the lands they roamed, no more than animals do. Possessions are burdens to those who wander endlessly. All they had was shared. There was no concept of private property, let alone privacy or even the individual. To be alone meant death for only within the protective unity of a tribe could you survive the harshness of a brutal world. Your identity was your tribe and you were equal to every other person in the tribe in every sense of the word. That you could be an individual unto yourself with your own special needs and rights was utterly laughable!”