Mar 19, 2015
The United States was founded as a covenant society – a society held together by a covenant with God and between citizens. This notion was uppermost in the minds of the Founding Fathers. Social institutions were to be inspired and directed by the concept of covenant.
Recent social commentators have lamented the break-down of this conception of society and the general social malaise it has wrought.
One of the most problematic trends that kills the notion of covenant is the industrialization and commercialization of social institutions. By this I mean that everything is viewed in commercial terms and evaluated by its worth in the market place.
If we pay attention to the growing use of the word “industry,” we will see how all-pervasive this trend is. We speak today of the health care industry, the funeral industry, the arts industry, the farming industry, the music industry, the entertainment industry. The list is endless.
The problematic results of commercialization and industrialization have become evident in the reorganization of the legal and medical professions according to industrial models.