The Absolute at Large

Here's a fragment of Karel Capek's wonderful book "The Absolute at Large":

Until now the Absolute has proved that he's no good at governing. He has done nothing except making a mess of things with his innovative spirit. For example, he started overproduction instead of first building a miraculous railway traffic. Now he himself doesn't know how to make things right, for everything he has produced is thoroughly worthless. His miraculous abundance has only been a way of badly goofing. Second of all, his mysticism has brought chaos among the authorities and has disturbed the entire administrative system of which he is badly in need right now, so as to maintain order. One can have a revolution anywhere except in the administrative system; if one were planning the end of the world, in order to succeed, they'd have to destroy the Universe first and only then the public authorities. Yes, Bondy, that's the way thing are. Third of all, he started, like the most naive of the comunist theorists, to supress currency, thus suddenly paralysing the circulation of the products. He had no idea that the market laws are more powerful than the divine laws. He didn't know that production without commerce is nonsese. He didn't know anything. He behaved like a... like a... Well, he behaved like he was about to destroy with one hand all that he was about to create with the other hand. So that now we should have a miraculous abundance and at the same time a catastrophic crisis... He is almighty, and yet he has brought about nothing but chaos. You see, I really believe that once upon a time he made the laws of nature and the dinosaurs and the brontosaurs, and the mountains, and anything you can think of, but commerce, Bondy, our modern commerce and our modern industry, I guarantee he didn't make them, simply because he's no good at these things. No, Bondy, commerce and industry do not come from God...

Saturday 22 July 2006