Goods and Services
The Theory of Economy
This summer I had the mixed pleasure of reading a course in Microeconomics and International trade. In microeconomics the primary focus of the researchers is to establish ‘What is the market really doing and why?’ – and this is attempted to be done utilizing mathematical formulas; primarily utilizing the famous graph where two lines cross each-other, the one line sloping downwards (demand) and the other sloping upwards (supply) – and where they meet each other = that’s apparently the optimal price for the product and the optimal quantity of that product in that given market.
What first struck me as being fascinating about these theories was that they seldom predicted how the market would behave in reality, and neither could they be verified with empirical evidence – and most of the time the authors of the my books where busy trying to find reasons and various viewpoints as to why these theories wasn’t working “as they should” – and how they probably did work but it was just that the inventors missed to take into consideration some important factors and variables.
Though, what was the most fascinating about this entire area of research, was how there was this complete worship to the idea that lower prices = higher consumer satisfaction; and that apparently for a market to be functional, what is required is that we produce as many products as possible, to the lowest prices possible, because then the consumers are able to buy as much as possible, and then we’re apparently okay, happy, and have a fruitful existence here on earth.
Obviously, when I looked at these ideas, I silently chuckled – because the logical flaw of this assumption is glaringly simple = the producers are the consumers! YES – that’s the secret of economy and the reason why we’ve got so many unemployed in this day and age is because we’ve failed to understand that when a product is cheaper, someone at the other end gets less money, which in turns means that a (employee) consumer gets less money, which in turns means that the producer gets less customers = and it all ends up in such a way that most lose but a few that manage to reap the monopoly profits of those very low-priced products – because they’ve priced out everyone else.
It’s clear that we have to develop a new way of looking at economics, and that mathematics and statistics isn’t the way to go – no – we actually require to look at the actuality of what is going on. For example, poverty, what is the actuality of poverty? Why does poverty exist to begin with? It’s not a matter of mathematics, rather it’s a matter of seeing what is behind everything in this world – and that is MONEY – money that in itself is a completely innocent creation meant to be but a way of distributing goods and services to where they are required and wanted the most; but in our current system – money has become a point of control – where those that are already rich and on top of things with all possible means make sure the keep those stricken by poverty in place – else we wouldn’t anymore have a functional slave labor force that can produce all of our various gadgets and other mechanics of entertainment.
Thus, what we must ask ourselves, and economists more importantly, is why have we never used our knowledge to produce a sustainable system where all of us are able to create a life that is dignified, cool and enjoyable? What is required for us to do that? MONEY – and what do we need to bring through such money into this world? Resources – so what is then the solution – the real economic master plan as to how to create a world that would be sustainable and practical for all its inhabitants? To agree that we share the resources – at least the basic and most essential resources – those that we MUST HAVE in order to live.
Thus, I stand behind the Living Income Guaranteed – which is a functional, effective and sustainable way of creating a new world for all people where money will be shared – and for those economists that want to make a difference – I suggest that you investigate this concept and bring your knowledge to the table and help to create something from which we can all benefit!
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Colonialism: Problems and Solutions
By Barbara Stängl
The Problem with Colonialism
“Colonialism is a practice of domination, which involves the subjugation of one people to another.” Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy.
Colonialism is frequently used interchangeably with imperialism. This is not actually correct, even though both involve political and economic control over a dependent territory. In colonialism, population is oftentimes transferred to a new territory as settlers who maintain an allegiance to their home country, whereas imperialism denotes the power and control factor one ruling country has over the other. However, the starting point of increasing profit and expanding power is the same.
The trick was to disguise the profit and power motive, in fact the exploitation that is be executed through colonialism, as development – with an argument known as the mission of bringing civilization to under- and undeveloped peoples, which was used to justify the intrusions and devastation of the land. So, internal decisions of the respective countries were influenced, financial and intellectual support arranged, the money for infrastructure projects lent, where around a fifth of the loan would be the actual money received, ensuing a tie-up of 80 percent in deposits in London, that would enslave the respective third world countries’ population. ‘Call in the loans’ is basically how the word colonialism is lived and manifested today.
Despite the fact that oftentimes the respective countries that had been targeted for ‘development’ fought for and received independence of the capitalist country, this revealed to be deceptive, as the status ultimately amounted to that of an informal colony. Besides, any obligations given up by them had to be taken over by befriended countries that were tied into such agreements by ‘legal’ coercion.
The idea or ideology of colonialism is nurtured by capitalist nations throughout the world with the enforcement of political, cultural and economic control over the weak nations of the world, in order to exploit them for pure self-enrichment – looking for trade, but basically sucking out the wealth of the countries it has pre-ordained for its dealings. So colonialism it is a major part of capitalism for the purpose of securing financial, economical and power interests. To this end, also, billions of slaves have been trafficked to the Americas, for instance, to have cheap human resources as laborers on the plantations that were set up, in its wake raping nature and natives alike of a balanced relationship with the whole as here as pre-established, causing warfare at all levels, resulting in genocide and complete agony for all life.
Colonialism also took on horrific extents in Malaya and Kenya, for example, where whole villages were punished in 1952, the states turned into a police state with a shoot to kill policy, detention camps were established with forced labor and hangings and any attempt to thwart British revenue demands were brutally oppressed. Hereby the UK gained immense military and industrial strength. Again motivated by material, economic and strategic interest, and, promising independence, GB continued following this ideology of colonialism in the Muslim world; the war on Iraq was spurred dividing the area into weak states, creating Iraq for the oil it needed for the Royal Navy – exchanging rulers and gassing and bombing the nation.
Colonialism sees exploitation and inhumane treatment of people with attacks against insurgents by systematic abuse, such as sleep deprivation, hooding, sexual degradation and starvation. Afghanistan is another example that is well-known, also Israel, established as a settler colony as an outpost of European capitalism, fostered in particular by British imperialism along with the creation of other states to ensure their influence. The list goes on.
One can easily see where this is going: the exploitation and devastation of the earth’s resources and enslavement of all but very few, the Elite behind it all, though even they are subservient to their greed and fear of sinking below the obtained standard trying to hold what they have made themselves believe they’re entitled to.
The solution
Since the driving factor is capitalism and within this profit and power and thus the starting point is existent of desire for More, which comes in form of economic control over those nations with rich resources, in the wake of which immense suffering is created for life on all levels, the solution is to limit the control of the corporations. They should not own natural resources and be allowed to mine them for profit of the very few without taking environmental consequences into consideration within responsibility and in regard to sustenance of an overall natural equilibrium. The resources will be handled in a way that is best for all.
It is necessary to take the capitalistic factor out of the equation, namely by implementing a system of equality with each and every living being on earth, where each being is entitled to an income from birth on. Thus each will have enough to stop the struggle for survival and coerced cooperation into a situation of compromise and devastation will be able to be immensely limited. Fear will be taken out of the equation to a great deal and the basis for self-investigation will be established.
The primary steps toward this solution would be to educate people on what equality actually means and what the consequences of implementing such a life principle into and as our practical living would look like to let people eventually see, realize and understand that fearing financial equality is quite ridiculous.
Establishing a party that each can actually vote for is essential as history has proven that acts of revolution give rise to a turnover with the ultimate effect that the same system is implemented only with a different person at the top, not to mention the brutality that is accepted by opting for violent and aggressive measures. The aim of the party would be to reallocate and nationalize resources and redistribute the responsibilities for these and their respective processing to people who are actually competent to handle such a task ecologically with responsibility.
Of course a new financial system will require substantial changes in the administrative structures and tasks and a consequent slimming down of the present extortions of these offices. On the other hand, there will be a need for people to evaluate, forward and implement improvements and suggestions thereof and people will have to be supported and educated to be able to participate with common sense, which will require the directive and clarity of insight of the respective persons to be the peers in this matter, thus after a slimming down there will be stable foundation to be set up and new expansion with regards to various novel fields, for example of science and research, that will need to be supervised will be possible.
Media will have to have a completely reversed focus point namely not to misinform and influence to the disadvantage of the people, but to inform and open up problematic points to impulse some stroke of genius or simply common sense toward solutions that support the common good and forward real growth for humanity.
On the long run the education system has to be totally reorganized and revised, pertaining for one to the contents and basically to the starting point of education as such, where not competition is being fostered to later ultimately cater to the corporate greed – the profit and advantage of the 1% -but but to ‘pick up everyone where he’s at’ and direct toward a re-establishment of common sense and actual know-how as to how things function in this world, what is here and how to create and move toward solutions that are best for all in a team.
The reward, as benefits, is obvious:
No being will have to suffer. Everyone will have food, water, shelter, education – a life. There will be no wars for resources. Fear will be on a personal level as a part of the mind consciousness system to be directed but not reinforced by the economical and financial system and so more easily handled and stopped.
School will be something very interesting without fear of failing in the system later due to bad marks, because competition will not be lived as ‘me against you’ within a superiority/inferiority paradigm, but wanting to excel in and as a team, because one will want to participate with one’s self-expression and not as a matter of surviving in the system.
There will be peace and a possibility of real self-expression without fear.
There will be a great mess to be cleaned up, but there will be a co-operation that establishes itself as everyone has enough for himself and is free to actually work together.
The Living Income Guaranteed integrates these principles in The Proposal, it is in our best interest to end foreign interventions for the sake of profit making purposes and instead, be able to focus on strengthening our own nations economy as well as developing trade within fair terms that benefit both sides.