[GJM] Is Money Obsolete

[Steve Consilvio]

Dan,

What is described as Binary Economics is not very different than the  
concept of "Income Balancing" which I wrote about a few years ago in  
a thing I called The Contract for Mutual Responsibility (as part of  
 From Slavery to Utopia.) Essentially, like ESOP's, and what Ben &  
Jerry did with their 12:1 income ratio, it creates more wealth parity  
within an organization. Unfortunately, this idea doesn't work,  
because it is actually ONLY a political settlement within an  
organization, rather than a change in economic relationships within  
society. The relationship with vendors and customers remains  
unchanged: Buy Low, Sell High. As such, inflation and the division of  
wealth will continue to occur, although the effect may be slowed  
somewhat. A kinder gentler capitalism is still capitalism, where  
people's value is converted into a number, and the primary motivation  
is to create "profit," rather than goods to share that we all need.  
As such, it really isn't a change at all.

To create balance and harmony we need to reduce the importance of  
numbers themselves. Currently, all three Empires (religious/non- 
profit, government and business) focus on the numbers primarily and  
the ill-effects of the "other," rather than themselves. All three  
Empires are structurally, intellectually and financially the same.  
Even if something like Income Balancing worked for businesses, there  
would still need to be a rethinking in politics and religion for it  
to occur. All three Empires are intimately related, and any change in  
one effects the other two. A workable theory of reform must deal with  
all three issues simultaneously. (I sometimes joke that I am a  
religious libertarian communist.)

I apologize that my ideas are not better presented in this area. I  
haven't written the rebuttal to my previous ideas, but the video Big  
History at my website does scratch the surface of what I am  
describing. Regardless of how we rank the Empires in importance, we  
are subject to the same indoctrination. Religions build churches,  
governments build legislative and military facilities, businesses  
build factories and stores. In all cases the individual is expected  
to serve the Empire, and not each other. In all cases numbers (money/ 
accounting) are the determining factor of "good and evil," and the  
determining factor of what can or cannot be accomplished.

To put in in terms of The Matrix, we are not enslaved by machines or  
numbers or agents, we are enslaved by our ideas about the value of  
money. Tea is tasty water, gold is colored dirt, dollars are green  
paper, stocks are electronic digits. None of it is "real." Money is  
an intellectual agreement and the farce endures because we make it so.

There are news reports that there will be a record number of  
foreclosures this year. That shouldn't be a surprise. Just like in  
the game of Monopoly, the board is full of houses and hotels that  
nobody can afford to live in. Henry George was on the right track,  
but profit and interest play the same role as rent in the economy,  
which he missed. The desire to "pump money in" (Keynes) like at the  
beginning of the Monopoly game, gives the appearance that everyone is  
getting rich, when in fact they are getting in deeper. The more money  
in the system (inflation, etc) the poorer everyone eventually  
becomes. The swings become wider and wider. From 2+2=5 (boom) and 5=2 
+2 (bust) to 2+2=10000000 (Boom; overnight billionaires) and 1000000=2 
+2 (Bust; Enron, WorldCom, etc)

Kelso's theories have not solved the reason why wealth divides or the  
reason for cycles and inflation any better than my old theories did.  
Both were an attempt at correction, not at explanation. Inflation is  
the key problem. As numbers grow everyone gets poorer. All three  
Empires conspire to create inflation. Why are the three Empires  
important? Because the three easiest things to sell are fear, pride  
and advertising. The world economy is based on all three. To change  
the world economy, then you need to address all three roots.

peace,
steve consilvio
www.behappyandfree.com


On Mar 12, 2007, at 8:39 AM, discussion- 
request at globaljusticemovement.net wrote:

> Steve, if you checked the link I sent with the my last
> post, you will see that many are working on such things
> as you reiterate; and at a comparitively advanced level.
> Rodney Shakespeare and Peter Challen at the organization
> hosting this forum are doing likewise (i.e. in their
> book that includes binary economics).
>
> Automation, Bucky Fuller's concepts and so on move
> on far past the idea of organized labour.
>
> Also, for a global approach, the BIS might be a better
> institution to focus on rather than the Federal Reserve (i.e.
> many individuals on this list do not get their money
> after it flows out of the Fed and through an institution).
>
> I will be getting busy this week, and so would not have
> time to continue this discussion, but would encourage you
> to read The Seven Steps to Justice by Rodney and Peter
> as above, or other works on Binary Economics.
>
> Regards
> Dan Parker

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