top of page

God and the Economy

Updated: Jun 5, 2020

South Park's episode, Margaritaville, shows how the economy functions as a godlike figure similar to the catholic religion.



Randy Marsh preaches his anti- consumerist doctrine similar to how Martin Luther preached his religious beliefs to large crowds in 1520

South Park released Margaritaville a year after the 2008 financial crisis. This event forced Americans to scrutinize the economy and how it operates. Through this scrutinization, the complexity of what exactly the economy is and how it functions comes to light: While the idea of the economy is an accepted term and concept, it lacks a physical form and only exists as a shared belief in our imaginations.


This acceptance of the economy, that does not exist in a physical form, reflects the same qualities to a God, where Gods exist as a shared belief in people’s imaginations. With this similarity, Margaritaville explores religious concepts that reflect 21st century issues.


The Crash


The episode starts with a news crew interviewing families and how the economic recession has affected them. The Stotch family explains that they could lose their home, and a group of men complain that they will lose their jobs. This economic disparity carries into the next scene where the Marsh family complains about having to eat hotdogs and tomatoes for dinner again. The son, Stan Marsh, asks why there’s suddenly no money, in which the father, Randy Marsh, replies,


“I’ll tell you what happened son, see there’s a bunch of idiots out there that were not happy with what they had. They wanted a bigger house and materialistic things that they didn’t even need. People with no money who got loans to buy frivolous things they had no business buying.”



Randy Marsh complaining about materialistic spending

Randy Marsh blames the economic recession on frivolous spending and materialism. In his mind, the desire to purchase material objects has led to this economic depression. The irony in this scene lies in Randy’s hypocritical comments where he criticizes material goods, but yet he owns a Margaritaville Margarita Maker- the epitome of frivolous and material spending.


The Sin of Materialism


The religious analogy takes shape when Randy warns his family about the wrath of the economy due to this materialistic spending,


“With all of this frivolous spending they were mocking the economy and they made the economy very angry, we’re all feeling the economy’s vengeance because of materialistic heathens who did stupid things with their money.”



Christian history is full of accounts where priests and religious leaders warn people about God’s punishment and that sins will result in God’s devastating wrath. Floods, invasions, and plagues were typical examples of God’s punishment due to immoral behavior. Margaritaville uses this idea with Randy Marsh believing the economy has been irked by pointless spending and is now upset. Due to this frivolous and materialistic spending, the economy will strike down upon those who spend money unwisely.




Randy proves a convincing orator with his anti- materialist doctrine


Martin Luther & Anti- Materialism


A few scenes later, Randy Marsh is seen speaking to a crowd, preaching his theory about materialistic spending,


“To repent we must stop frivolous spending, instead of paying for cable, let us watch clouds! Instead of buying clothes, wear but sheets from thine beds. Cut spending to only the bare essentials”


Randy argues that anti- materialistic behavior is the answer to the economy’s wrath. In fact, Randy’s anti- materialist and bare essential teachings reflect core tenets of the Protestant Reformation. Protestant religions that formed in the 16th century led by Martin Luther, stressed humble living in order to restrain any form of sinful behavior. This humble living included the banishment of games, music, drinking, and swearing, while plain outward appearance was of utmost importance.


Religion as Ideological Control


Randy’s beliefs persuade the south park community to follow him and his religion. Once he is in power he takes over as a totalitarian ruler who enforces his anti- materialist beliefs,


“I have assembled this committee to make sure that everyone sticks to my new plan, We’ve got guards posted at the malls to make sure nobody gets tempted to buy dumb stuff… and Pat Salzman is doing house checks to make sure nobody’s ordering anything stupid on line”



Cloaked in toga- esque attire, Randy reflects a Roman emperor

Randy Marsh enforcing a uniform religion is a key element to Western religious history. A nation under a single religion cements control for those at the top, and anyone who practices a religion that runs counter to the accepted belief system threatens this hierarchy. Once Queen Mary of England declared Catholicism as the official religion, hundreds of Protestant followers were executed as heretics.


The Threat of Heretics


Therefore, once Randy Marsh hears about a preacher, Kyle Brovlofsky, who believes that people should be spending more and not less Randy must immediately silence this dissenting view. Specifically, Kyle says,


“the economy is just made up of people, and people have just lost their faith in it, what people really should be doing is spending more”


Kyle preaches the belief that people should be spending more and not less. This runs counter to Randy Marsh’s doctrine of spending less which thus undermines the dominate belief system established by Randy. In order to sustain his power, Randy must make a dramatic decision in which he says,


“Well, then there’s only one option, we have to kill the jew.”



Threat to Power


Kyle’s threat to established power reflects how Martin Luther’s beliefs undermined the Catholic Church and Papal authority. The Pope was believed to be an intermediary between earth and heaven so therefore held the power to grant salvation. In order to reach heaven, Catholics needed to purchase indulgences from the Pope in order to be accepted by God upon death. The Pope leveraged this belief to finance construction projects and cement himself as the supreme leader of Catholicism.



Portrait of Martin Luther c.1533

Martin Luther threatened this position by preaching the belief that all humans have direct access to God without the assistance of an intermediary. Luther’s 95 Theses reject the idea of indulgences and the authority of the Pope. This belief system, eventually known as Protestantism, directly undercut the power of the Pope and resulted in Martin Luther being declared a heretic.


While Kyle’s beliefs reflect history’s contrarian thinkers, his final epiphany reflects the important lesson of the economy.


Kyle’s Epiphany


Reaching the climax of the episode, Kyle exposes the eerie similarity between religion and the economy,


“The economy is just an idea made up by people thousands of years ago. The economy is not real and yet it is real. Nowadays they’ll give credit cards to practically anyone who applies for them I applied for this yesterday to prove a point. It is an American Express platinum card. It has no spending limit. Do not be afraid this is only plastic. Its just something made up by people. Truly meaningless until we put our faith in it. Faith is what makes an economy exist. Without faith it is only plastic cards and paper money.”


If no one believed that the economy existed, objects such as money and credit cards would have no value. At their most physical composition, money is only paper and credit cards are only plastic. However, through the collective belief in something imaginary, pieces of paper and plastic are given qualities beyond their physical appearance.



Kyle explaining credit cards are only plastic, and the economy only exists in our imaginations

Everyday, newspapers and analysts discuss the economy through a variety of financial metrics such as interest, unemployment rate and cash flow. People are emotionally tied to these measures despite the fact that they are completely imaginary. Even colors have harnessed our inner consciousness where the constant battle between green vs red causes people to teeter between happiness and despair. It is hard to believe that religious differences continue to cause bloodshed and violence, yet one can begin to understand given the unquestionable legitimacy, “Gross Domestic Product”, holds in our conscience.









61 views0 comments

Recent Posts

See All

Comments


bottom of page