Over the past century and a half countless fundamental questions about the social order of industrial capitalism have been asked far and wide. Why are we waging wars against each other and the life support systems of the planet? How is it that scientific and technological 'progress' give rise to poverty amidst plenty, ugliness and waste on an unprecedented scale? As individuals we may ponder on these questions for a while, perhaps making minor adjustments to our lifestyle, but never seeking to understand, still less challenge, the basic premises upon which the system operates. Unless and until we take the time out with others in our own locality to discuss the fundamental issues of our times, we will continue to be the cause of the world-wide malaise that threatens to destroy humanity.
The plain fact of the matter is that we are absolutely dependent upon a system that is rotten to the core. Failing to recognise this fundamental truth, we have allowed our time, our talents, our lives and our possibilities to become the property of others. "We are the tools and vassals of rich men behind the scenes. We are jumping jacks. They pull the strings and we dance. ... We are intellectual prostitutes." Since those words were spoken by a prominent New York journalist in the 19th century, we have continued to play the roles assigned to us, and we have brought up succeeding generations to do likewise. As a result, as consumers, depositors, investors we support the private banking and corporate interests that dominate our governments. It is time to recognise that it does not have to be that way. All we have to do is to start asking some challenging questions about the social order of the 2020s. As Eric Fromm noted in The Forgotten Language:
"If it is true that the ability to be puzzled is the beginning of wisdom, then this truth is a sad commentary on the wisdom of modern man. Whatever the merits of our high degree of literacy and universal education, we have lost the gift for being puzzled. Everything is supposed to be known – if not to ourselves then to some specialist whose business it is to know what we do not know. In fact, to be puzzled is embarrassing, a sign of intellectual inferiority. Even children are rarely surprised, or at least they try not to show that they are; and as we grow older we generally lose the ability to be surprised. To have the right answers seems all important; to ask the right questions is considered insignificant by comparison."
In creating the Brer Fox version of the Landlord's Game just before World War I, a group of people in Scotland raised the fundamental question of the role of finance in the political economy of their day. Since then a host of waged and salaried workers have continued to be on the payrolls of state and private bodies promoting war, poverty and environmental degradation. Across the board politicians, scientists, health care professionals, accountants, academics, educationalists, truck drivers, employees in supermarkets, chain stores and packaging companies, defence, military and police, i.e., all paid workers, have continued to sell their labour-time to a financial system founded on organised crime. The system is fatally flawed, beyond repair or reform. In these circumstances, a complete re-think of the culture, politics and economics of the social order is essential.
NOTE: See The Social Crediter, Spring 2008), Down to Earth, and March 2022 Blogs for more information on the text outlined in this Blog.
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