Economism

July 24, 2024

Examining, “Economism”.

   ( A new word for an old prejudice )


     We all know what racism, sexism, nationalism, ageism, (to name a few) are, but what about “Economism”?


Prejudice based on income. Historically, it has been referred to as “the class system” and has been practiced in all nations of the World to varying degrees. We are assured, in our constitutions and religions, that we are created, born, equal. Anyone who has held a baby or watched very young children at play can witness our equality, vast potential and undiluted humanity. We are all equal at the opening of life and that feeling of equality and potential we never forget. We carry it through our lives, indelible.


     What happens to this feeling? Why is it enhanced in some and suppressed in others as time passes?


The environmental and hereditary influences are complex and continue to be studied by experts. (I refer you to the YouTube video “Zeitgeist Moving Forward”, that is posted at the end of this website.) But one influence that everyone contends with and has an oversized and decisive impact, way before a child is aware of it, is economics. Their parents have either benefited or not from their economic status to various degrees. They have been able to provide basic substance or more or less. All these levels provide challenges and hardships but more economic advantage generally makes access to money and influential contacts and quick recovery possible. The more economically disadvantaged a person is, recovery from setbacks and hardships is more difficult and less complete. “Pulling oneself up by the bootstraps” is impossible, just try it, and was meant as a dismissive joke, (or at the very least, a form of magical thinking).


     Equality is considered favorable by a country when it is young and training its population for skills that provide social necessities like food, roads, vehicles, homes, education, healthcare, etc. The American education system beginning in the 18th century with “common schools”, students of all ages with one teacher in one room, was responsible for 80 percent literacy in males and 50 percent literacy in females by the end of the Colonial era. By 1900 the United States had begun to educate for free at the secondary level with the effect of boosting income for most people and lowering inequality. Setting up the US to become the richest nation in the World. But another result of public education was that the small population with historic privilege who had sent their children overseas for education or hired tutors were not the only ones who could go to college. More college graduates meant that they were no longer an elite group. The wage premium they had earned was spread among a larger population.


A close up of a man 's eyes on a dollar bill.

     Economic competition; elites were not used to this and feared it. But it took till President Reagan's administration for educational equality to begin to reverse. The idea was to protect the economically advantaged, (the donor base and source of reelection), by slowing or stopping “ trickle down” of income and social economic mobility. The top rate for national income tax had reached 94 percent in the US in 1945, for incomes over $200,000. Taxes that grew the public education system and infrastructure, empowered the people and grew the country. During Reagan's administration the rate dropped significantly and presently rests at around 32 percent.


     After Vietnam, loss of confidence in government competence was prevalent. It was met, also around the 80’s, with regulators allowing companies to grow much larger through mergers and the government becoming hostile to labor unions, (the air transport union strike was broken by Reagan). This began the decline of unions in the US and created more opportunities for companies to seek low wage workers and ship production overseas, resulting in closing of stateside factories, layoffs of workers and defaults on retirement contracts. This ushered in the economic collapse of many manufacturing hubs like Michigan and Ohio and the stresses and symptoms of reduced incomes and opportunities. These stresses are affecting the present in the US and Worldwide. The original foundation has shifted or disappeared and has not been replaced. And this has intensified “economism”.


     A secure base. How do we create it?


With a secure economic base designed so that everyone can access basic needs, it becomes possible to build a more economically equal society. Progress towards economic equality is desirable because most indicators of social well-being and productivity are influenced greatly by economic standing. Also, this would result in fewer wars, less migration, less starvation, healthier populations, more educated and innovative populations, creating greater equality and happiness. A parallel currency, Energy Currency, dedicated to only basic needs; food, shelter, education and healthcare, is a secure economic base from which to pay for and distribute these needs, without creating inflation,

(a detailed description of the parallel, Energy Currency, can be found in previous blogs).


     Energy Currency would function in harmony with and parallel to existing market economies, humanizing the “Economic Belief System” of Capitalism and market competition. Every person, from birth, could use the benefits of the parallel currency when needed, at any point in their lives, while simultaneously taking advantage of existing market currency to improve their material holdings and lifestyle through their own work efforts.

This is not a give away of a set sum of money, like UBI (Universal Basic Income), that only results in short term stimulation of the existing market economy. Energy Currency is lifetime access to basic human needs; every human's right.


     Humanity began its journey cooperating; protecting and lifting each other. This resulted in survival, thousands of years ago, of small scattered and vulnerable human populations that has resulted in around 800 billion people living Worldwide today. During these many thousands of years the present debilitating symptoms of modern market economies have been in effect for a fraction. We know better and have done better. We now have the opportunity to make, together, an inspired leap into a future of human equality.

Chapter 6: Cruising Around the World

June 9, 2025
At Sea

Chapter 5: Cruising Around the World

June 2, 2025
Mexico, 5/5/25.

Making up for the sins of Capitalism

May 27, 2025
“It is soulless, exploitive, inequitable, unstable and destructive, yet also all- conquering and overwhelming.” Capitalism and its Critics: A History from the Industrial Revolution to AI By John Cassidy This is one of the best descriptions of Capitalism I have read recently. The only thing it leaves out is that Capitalism regularly destroys itself and has to be rescued with huge infusions of human labor (money). But Capitalism is so appealing to humans that it is allowed to continually transform and conform to new demands and circumstances, even though it is inherently unstable and destructive. Like the charming self destructive uncle who is so entertaining with his stories and wild money making schemes, no one wants him to stop. It is so much fun! For a few people. And all it takes is a few people to keep Capitalism going, approximately ten percent of the World population, the richest ten percent. That Capitalism has lasted and spread is testimony to its ability to keep adapting and improving on its main strengths: soullessness and exploitation. As a species we have become, over approximately 500 years, completely adapted to Capitalism. No matter what it distorts, destroys or lays waste to, it has captured our imaginations like a religion. We won't be saying goodbye to it anytime soon. But there is an antidote. We can make up for some of its most destructive symptoms with a Parallel Currency that is used only for basic human needs, food, shelter, education and healthcare, Worldwide. Some countries are already trying to do this with their tax structures and laws but a Parallel Currency would do this without taxation or inflation. It is a separate currency that can only be used to provide basic needs and is destroyed when it reaches a bank; it will not create inflation. It also will not inhibit the positive capabilities of existing currencies. They will continue to function as they usually do. The Parallel Currency is a closed loop created for the dignified survival of humanity. Freedom of speech, freedom of religion are not enough. A government by the people and for the people must also guarantee freedom from starvation, ignorance and curable illness, all things as a human species, over thousands of years, we have developed remedies.

Chapter 4: Cruising Around the World

May 20, 2025
Preface

Chapter 3: Cruising Around the World

May 13, 2025
Columbia, Cartegena, Columbia 4/21/25
A black and white pencil drawing of a little girl in a dress.

Chapter 2: Cruising Around the World

May 6, 2025
“The path of least resistance.” (The path of the most loot.)  Bonarais 4/13/25 “Island of the giants,” was the name the Spanish gave to Bonarais in the 1400’s because the native people were so tall. The prehistoric people of southwest Florida, the Calusas, were exceptionally tall also. Maybe the earliest sailing explorers? We are watching as they are unloading a container ship on the finger dock near where we are tied on. Four people halt its sway as it dangles from a crane and approaches the ground. A flatbed truck is already there, the container is placed and driven away. Repeat, repeat, again, again. An island has to import most of its needs. Bonarais is like a village of beautiful doll houses. The Dutch who were historically of colonial dominance, after they drove the Spanish out, and still maintain significant influence, designed the buildings with color and form that reminds them of their homeland. Pastel orange, yellow, and turquoise structures with contrasting gingerbread eves, cafe's where locals sit outside with coffee and converse in Dutch. The children eat ice cream. Very civilized, unhurried, no garbage.

Chapter 1: Cruising Around the World

April 25, 2025
The question is not, “ How do you pay for it?” The question is, “ What do you want to pay for?” We finally boarded the ship in Barbados 4/7/25.
A woman is holding a baby and a little girl

The Role of Women in the Economy and the Need for a Parallel Currency

March 13, 2025
Explore women’s impact on the economy and the concept of a parallel currency. Learn how these ideas shape sustainability and equitable financial systems.

A Government is not a Business

March 7, 2025
The purpose of government is not to make profit, it is to protect and defend its citizens. Government is not a platform from which a business deal is made. It is carefully structured to sleuth out the most important needs of all its citizens and provide for them. When it operates as it is built to do, its citizens are generally content. When it is gamed, in bad faith, for personal power and wealth, things fall apart and the government and its citizens have to move to defend themselves. The necessity to do this should never have evolved. But a well functioning government depends on people working in good faith, who are honorable, who seek truth and have guiding morals. As we know, sometimes people get into positions of power who don't have these qualities. The unfortunate development of political positions being won by individuals who have the most money to spend has placed a significant number of people in Congress and some Presidents in the White House who have no moral compass. We see the influence of unimaginable amounts of money on campaigns. Made worse when corporations were found to be citizens. Let's dive down the rabbit hole of history. In 2010, when Obama was president, the Supreme Court found in the case called Citizens United v. Federal Election Commission that corporations have 1st amendment rights to free speech and political spending. They named this “ corporate personhood” which holds that corporations are associations of people and have certain constitutional rights. This allows, among many other things, corporations to make independent political expenditures and allows corporations to spend unlimited funds on elections. Also, a corporation is allowed to exist in perpetuity. Even Voldemort would have envied this! So, here we are. Both Democratic and Republican administrations have pushed more and more power and wealth into the hands of the few and in turn the recipients of this largesse have shown their gratitude by paying into more and more autocratic governments that will continue to protect their economic and business advantages. This is not hard to see. It is very hard to live through. And even harder to reverse. But this has been done before and can be done again. Good government is not a given. It has to be watched carefully (thank goodness for bureaucrats). But everyone needs to play a part and feel they can be effective. At Renew the Earth, renew the-earth.org, we have been developing over the past 20 years a concept that allows choice within our World Economic System. We call it a Parallel Currency. This separate currency can only be used to provide basic human needs, food, shelter, education and health care. It cannot be invested or hoarded and will not cause inflation because it is destroyed when it reaches a bank.  Susan Caumont, President, Renew the Earth

Making the World safe for Gangsters

February 28, 2025
David Brooks made this statement in reference to recent events that may threaten the existence of our democracy. Is this where our country is going? Or are we going to stand up for our “inalienable rights”, Life, Liberty and the Pursuit of Happiness? “To secure these rights, governments are instituted among men.” Governments guided by laws and run by Bureaucracies. When we look at our “inalienable rights” one at a time, we understand the profound intention of our Constitution. Life. All people are created equal and have the inalienable right to life. To have life, each person has to have the elements that sustain life; food, shelter, education and health care. Liberty. Freedom of movement. “Free from oppressive restrictions imposed by any authority on one's way of life, behavior or political view.” Pursuit of Happiness. Not just to try to be happy, but a guarantee of happiness. This is an “inalienable right” not just a quest or pass time. We negotiate the inevitable disappointments and tragedies of living but also experience the joys that keep us alive. And the resulting happiness, in its fullest reveal, is a good life. This good life also depends not just on the happiness of one person, but all citizens, including immigrants and refugees. We suffer and rejoice together. Government must ultimately guarantee basic needs to all citizens; food, shelter, education and healthcare. Most World Constitutions include these guarantees, but cannot afford them. There is a way to pay for all human basic needs without creating inflation and debt using a Worldwide Parallel Currency dedicated only to the basic human needs. You may ask, “How do we provide basic human needs to 8 billion people Worldwide?” “Is it possible?” If a majority of people agree that this is something that needs to happen in order to preserve our survival on Earth, it can be done. We already have invented all the tools necessary. We need more than a patchwork of aid that can be interrupted by a statement from the president. We must build a permanent infrastructure that conveys efficiently and consistently the human right to live in the form of basic food and shelter, education and healthcare. Efficient systems that get needs where they have to go can be designed by already existing computer intelligence. How much, where it needs to go, what kind of transportation is available, how long it will take per shipment, all these things are calculable and apply to food and medicine and building materials. Education needs shelter, and schools will be built where they are needed. We can do these things on a “small scale”. We know how to do it. We do this in our Military. Now, we must think Worldwide and ramp it up. This is where AI can become a hero! Ultimately, we do live in a “Small World”. As Bucky Fuller once put it, we are living together on “Spaceship Earth.” We glide through the dark in the company of stars, our orbit warmed by the sun and encouraging life. We are connected by visible and invisible strands, tracks and roads. A thread is plucked somewhere and reverberates Worldwide. Our fates depend on each other.
More Posts