Reweaving the Soil of Capital: A Response to Organic Finance by Atul K. Shah

Artist – Frank J. Miles, New York

 In Organic Finance: Building a New Sustainable and Inclusive Framework
from the Ground Up, Professor Atul K. Shah does nothing less than sow
 a revolution—quiet, rooted, and resolutely moral.

With the urgency of a world scorched by extractive systems and the grace of ancestral
memory, Shah challenges the “science” of modern finance, unmasking its cultural flatness and ecological indifference. What he offers instead is a symbiotic, pluralistic view of value: one that listens to forests
 and farmers, elders and ecosystems, and holds trust, tradition, and care as central currencies.

 Rejecting anthropocentrism and economism, Shah’s interdisciplinary method is not only critique but creation. His vision uplifts indigenous worldviews, spiritual ethics, and communitarian practices
as foundational to a viable financial future. This is pedagogy as planting, finance as forest, economy as ecology.

In Shah’s hands, finance becomes not merely reformable, but transformable—a deeply human and ecological craft. Organic Finance is not just a book; it is a seed for reimagining the world’s most
 powerful systems. Let us read it with the reverence of gardeners, ready to tend something truly new.

Frank J. Miles, residing in Downtown Manhattan, is renowned as an
artist of great acclaim. His fame extends across the globe, with art
exhibitions gracing four continents. Miles’ artistic focus delves into
profound themes: atheism, mortality, competition, interconnectedness,
density, and the utopian society. He also leads the creative think
tank known as Communitas, an intellectual haven where diverse cultures
and philosophical pursuits like Decolonialidad, Creolité, Ubuntu, and
Wahlverwandtschaften find exploration. Presently, he dedicates his
energies to the creation of his inaugural art tome, “Blood Philosophy:
Football — The Cool & The Delight.” A prolific writer, he has lent his
voice to esteemed brands associated with President Bill Clinton, New
York Magazine, The Huffington Post, Yahoo Finance, The Philadelphia
Inquirer, Hyperallergic, and CRUSHfanzine. Miles possesses a diverse
array of interests encompassing sports, technology, military affairs,
geopolitics, the essence of Manhattan life, and matters concerning
very important figures (VVIPs). His academic journey includes a B.A.
from Rutgers College and an M.A. from Columbia University. In sum,
Frank J. Miles, as a Culture Man of the Cognitariat, embodies
unwavering dedication to his artistic craft, ceaselessly traversing
the world’s tapestry while delving deeply into the intricacies of
existence and the cosmos that surrounds him.

About the above Artwork by Frank Miles

This artwork is a layered digital collage that speaks powerfully to
themes of history and decolonization. It juxtaposes photographic
realism with sketched forms to convey a visual narrative of burden,
resilience, and reclamation.

At the center of the composition stands a contemporary Black man in
profile, deep in thought, in contemplation. He is positioned on a
pedestal that supports a classical-style statue of a nude Black male
figure, whose body language echoes Greco-Roman idealizations of the
human form. Draped casually over the statue’s forearm is a tattered
American flag—a symbol loaded with complex meaning, suggesting a claim
to belonging.

Beneath the pedestal is a sketched, kneeling figure, rendered in
grayscale pencil strokes. This crouching body appears to strain under
the weight of the platform above, symbolizing historical subjugation
or the unseen labor that supports the present. The layering of
styles—photographic, painterly, and sketched—emphasizes temporal
complexity: the past beneath, the present in the middle, and an
aspirational reimagining above.

The contrast between the noble upright stance of the statue and the
oppressed posture of the sketched figure underscores a movement from
erasure to empowerment. The artwork invites viewers to question
inherited cultural values, Western art history, and the visual systems
that define beauty, power, and memory.

Overall, this piece is a bold meditation on legacy and the symbolic
architecture of liberation.