The Real Source of Prosperity is the Human Soul
Since I began to write on economics and monetary policy I have argued that we should abolish our bank-centered, debt-based monetary system and replace it with a system where credit is viewed as a public utility. This would lead to money controlled by the people’s elected government and issued both for common needs, such as education, health care and infrastructure, and as a citizens’ dividend reflecting our fair share in the bounty of our producing economy.
With such reforms a decent living could be assured for everyone on the planet. But neither this nor any other reform would be the cause of our prosperity. Rather good public policy can only be a reflection of the goodness, faith, honesty, commitment and trust of the virtues that lie within the hearts and souls of “We the People.” From an economic standpoint, the monetary system should reflect the productivity of the economy, its ability to produce goods and services, and the need to move those goods and services in trade. But even this productivity originates with the creative spark within ourselves.
If we manifest positive qualities, we will naturally create systems and institutions that assure our sustenance. If, on the other hand, we are selfish, mean-spirited, and wracked with greed and fear, we will create dysfunctional systems and institutions like many of those we are afflicted with today. We will create a world where the biggest and most ornate building in town is a bank run by officers and shareholders who make their living through usury and debt-extortion. Surrounding the bank will be a police station, a prison, and a military base. The finest homes in town will belong to the executives of these institutions. The rest of the population will be ranked according to their usefulness to the system with an unemployed underclass available to fight society’s wars.
But if we want the world to change, we all need to work at being better and more complete and balanced people. Only then will we have a right to hold others to account. And I do mean work. We need to find those qualities within ourselves that reflect light, peace, harmony, and love, then bring them to birth through action. As Jesus said, we need to “love our neighbor as ourselves.” But he also drove the money-changers from the temple. He stood for both peace and justice.
Who then is this “ourselves”? It is who we really are. Our primal being. It is that naked sense of peace and goodness that comes from living in the Now, as Eckhart Tolle describes it. That is where our real prosperity comes from. The feeling of happiness just to BE, not lost in regret for the past or worry about the future, is what counts on a day-to-day basis. When we experience this state, we will want others to experience it also. Then the world will change once and for all. Then we will have Heaven on earth. Economic and monetary reform will then take place naturally without any kind of struggle. Credit viewed as a public utility will be part of any such reform because it corresponds to natural law, the law Jefferson referred to when he wrote the Declaration of Independence. Another key aspect of natural law is that human beings can only reach their potential in an environment of social, political, and economic freedom.
Some readers do not like spiritual references when reading about economics. If it bothers you, I apologize, and I in no way intend to demean the numerous good works of secular humanists. My own personal belief system is similar to our Deist Founding Fathers’: man is above all a spiritual being, not just a thinking animal. Of course we must all continue to promote social and economic reform so people will understand there is a better path to justice, and not be discouraged or seduced by the antics of the evildoers.
Here’s a quote from Eckhart Tolle’s The Power of Now: “For example, many people are waiting for prosperity. It cannot come in the future. When you honor, acknowledge, and fully accept your present reality—where you are, who you are, what you are doing right now—when you fully accept what you have got, you are grateful for what you have got, grateful for what is, grateful for Being. Gratitude for the present moment and the fullness of life now is true prosperity. It cannot come in the future. Then, in time, that prosperity manifests for you in various ways.” (p. 86-87)
