Almost No Matter What

Abstract

"Almost No Matter What" is a work of autotheory - according to Stacey Young, a mode of writing "personal experience within political contexts" - in the emerging discipline of post-capitalist pastoral theology. Aware that critiques of capitalism have so far failed to shake us of its spell, "Almost No Matter What" represents the author's assessment of the damage capitalism has wrought on his own relationships and inner life. If Bruce Rogers-Vaughn (who coined the term "post-capitalist pastoral theology") is correct in his view that capitalism enacts a kind of soft trauma on the human psyche, then theory and academic discourse alone do not suffice to bring about healing and transformation; we must bravely examine our own wounds, notice our patterns, face up to our coping mechanisms, and find our way toward new choices. Proceeding from our collective right to "need recognition" - to being seen as ones who need - "Almost No Matter What" takes careful stock of the author's own dwindling spiritual resources in the era of neoliberalism, an aggressive form of capitalism that came of age alongside him. It addresses the reader directly, in a sense saying, "I feel this; do you feel this too?" Insofar as the answer is "yes," the solution becomes ours to forge together.