Collective Survival Trumps
A couple of days ago, I posted about Saturn in Libra getting all set to whine about the unfairness of the steps taken to bail out mortgage holders facing default. This trend seems to be picking up a bit of steam already, and, in line with Saturn as the planetary voice of conservatism, it is the conservatives who seem to be most concerned. I have heard it framed as a moral issue, that it’s not morally good to reward people who have been irresponsible in their choices.
This is a fair and legitimate argument under most circumstances. The human thirst for justice is part of what keeps society functioning. But Saturn is going to be facing Pluto soon, as I mentioned, and Pluto (dwarf planet or no) just blows Saturn out of the water. In a head to head contest, Pluto is more moral than Saturn. And Pluto says that collective survival is more moral than temporary fairness.
Pluto thinks our entire civilization is at stake, and by that he doesn’t mean the American standard of life. He means the carefully crafted standards of democracy and functioning systems of cooperation that have made Western civilization do pretty darn well for a long time. Pluto thinks that if we don’t address the collective needs for survival in rough times, the consequences will be far worse than if we let a certain portion of the population get away with unfairly taking advantage of the over-riding needs of society.
In other words, Pluto knows that some people will get an undeserved bailout even if they are people who caused the problems (cough, cough–bankers). But he doesn’t care, because getting through dire times is more important than apportioning Saturn-like responsibility.
This harsh Pluto stance is going to get harder and harder to swallow, and I imagine a lot of us will be gagging before the next couple of years are through. It’s a tough lesson humanity is going to be learning in the years ahead–but that’s material for another post.
