Wow. Hugh Nibley hits the mark.....

[exUte]

Hugh Nibley answers this question in what he calls the "sequence of folly." He said, "The Prophet Samuel the Lamanite sets forth the interesting rule that when "the Economy" becomes the main and engrossing concern of a society-or in the routine Book of Mormon phrase, when 'they begin to set their hearts upon their riches"-the economy will self-destruct. This is how he puts it: 'Ye do always remember your riches;...your hearts are not drawn out unto the Lord, but they do swell with great pride,...envyings, strifes, malice, persecutions and murders, and all manner of iniquities' (Helaman 13:22).

Note well the sequence of folly: first, we are well pleased with ourselves because of our wealth, then comes the game of status and prestige, leading to competitive maneuvers, hatred, and dirty tricks, and finally the ultimate solution. Where wealth guarantees respectability, principles melt away as the criminal element rises to the top: 'For this cause hath the Lord God caused that a curse should come upon the land, and also upon your riches, that they become slippery, that ye cannot hold them; and in the days of your poverty ye cannot retain them' (Helaman 13:31). 'And then shall ye lament and say...our riches...have become slippery that we should lose them; for behold, our riches are gone from us. Behold, we lay a tool here and on the morrow it is gone' (Helaman 13:32-34.) 'Yea, we have hid up our treasures and they have slipped away from us, because of the curse of the land,...for behold the land is cursed and all things are become slippery and we cannot hold them. Behold, we are surrounded by demons' (Helaman 13:35-37). It ends in utter frustration and total insecurity as morals and the market collapse together and the baffled experts surrender."