Understanding Life and Debt

Judge Napolitano and the USA Constitution

2012-02-21T17:41:00.000Z

Judge Napolitano is one of the most articulate and powerful anti-establishment speakers in the USA. An overt supporter of Ron Paul, he has been dismissed from Fox Business following this speech, which he gave on air.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wqrV2OX4eWk&feature=youtube_gdata_player

This second speech ends with the statement that “When the people fear the government, you have tyranny: when the government fears the people you have freedom.”

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VSEchNZkIT8&feature=watch_response

Brilliantly presented.

For solid constitutional facts see Share the Inheritance by David Abbott and Catherine Glass, and the work of Clifford Hugh Douglas on http://www.douglassocialcredit.com/.

The Grey Gentlemen (2)

2012-02-10T16:40:00.001Z

The Grey Gentlemen (2)

Today we work for, and consume through, a financial system from which real money has been eliminated. Nobody has any time any more, because nobody has any money. All money comes from officially recorded sources. Wages and salaries come from an officially registered employer, while pensions and benefits are paid into registered accounts. Sums of ‘money’ which appear to be registered in cash terms – a pound, euro or dollar – can be paid into savings accounts, and the results withdrawn through a bank. But it is becoming exceptionally difficult for a citizen - as a citizen, not as an employee or ‘owner’ of an officially registered organization – to acquire money from trading or casual work, and to pay that money into a bank account or building society as cash.

As citizens, we no longer control money/legal tender/that which must by law be accepted in settlement of debt. Of course, we can still go to a hole-in-the-wall and take out cash. But where else can cash be obtained? A quibble? The NS&I has just announced out of the blue that it is closing the Easy Access Savings Account on 27 July 2012. In answer to the question, “What if I still want to use an account at a branch or with a cash card?” with the bald statement: “We’re sorry, but from 27 July 2012 NS&I will no longer have any savings accounts that you can use at Post Office branches or with a cash card, so you may want to consider …”

What the options boil down to is that ‘money’ can ONLY be paid in to an account from which you can draw CASH, if it comes from an official source, i.e., some other bank account. It is being made increasingly difficult to put in or take out cash. Our ‘money’ is reduced to blips on computer screens. Yes, we can manoeuver those blips. But only according to the rules of a pre-determined game. We are selling our TIME, our land, our heritage, to the ‘Grey Gentlemen’, to the Machine, to Big Brother. How long before it becomes impossible to accept cash for garden produce, second-hand items, a little cleaning, baby-minding or gardening? Who is making the rules?

Stories like Michael Ende’s Momo (also translated as The Grey Gentlement) may lead us out of the spellbinding maze of the present social order, if enough of us read them, and share them with others.

The Grey Gentlemen (1)

2012-02-09T12:10:00.000Z

The Grey Gentlemen (1)

"What we would like to do is change the world - make it a little simpler for people to feed, clothe, and shelter themselves as God intended for them to do..." (Dorothy Day)

The story of The Grey Gentlemen by Michael Ende is the story of Momo, the mysterious child who mysteriously puts things right when the rest of the world has sold itself to Satan. Written in German in 1973, it has been translated into several languages, reprinted several times, and made into a film. The following review was published in 2001:

Momo

Michael Ende

Reviewed by Sarah Meador in Rambles, 2001

Michael Ende's The Neverending Story is rightly famous as work of fantastic literature. Unfortunately, his other work is almost forgotten. In the case of Momo, there may be a reason. It's easy and popular to give lip service to the idea of imagination, after all, but who wants to be against efficiency?

Like Ende's more famous work, Momo creates myth out of a modern concerns: the duties of life are multiplying, and everyone's trying to find ways to save their precious time. The grey men of the Time Bank offer their customers just that -- a chance to save time, even accrue interest on it. It's easy enough to cut out all the unnecessary diversions of the day, for what purpose do time-consuming distractions like friends, long meals, entertainment or children truly serve? Thrifty timesavers are promised a return of several lifetimes over if they can just be practical for a few years, and none of the converted timesavers realize how their time seems to be disappearing faster the more they save, or how much else in their lives is disappearing with their lost hours.

The only threat to the success of the men in gray is the children, especially a girl named Momo. Time is the only form of wealth children truly have, and they use it too well to try and save it But even the children are soon trapped in the timesaver's world, shuttled into "child depots" where they learn to be effective, timesaving citizens. Only Momo is left free. She has help, from a strange entity and a tortoise, and she has her own special power: that of listening. With only these slim aids, she must save the world, and she has only one hour to do it.

Ende showed his skill at world building in The Neverending Story, and Momo's world is no less rich and fantastic. But the town Momo lives in is like our own, or one we used to know. Its citizens are like family, and even the most fantastic locations may after all be just around the one corner we never thought to explore. The conventions of the timesaver movement are daily realities, from the rush-through diners to the child depots so familiar to anyone ever caught by the school "efficiency" movement. Momo herself lives very squarely in the old suspended world of childhood, where the important things are clearly defined but reality easily reshaped.

The most impressive aspect of Momo's story is how hard it is not believe in. Anyone who has complained about the pace of modern life will find it hard to laugh off the idea of the men in grey, and may soon be slowing down on purpose to frustrate their cold plans. This is only natural. Momo's gift, after all, is to help people take back their time.

In our world today, it is blatantly apparent that nobody has any time. Children, their parents, friends, colleagues, grandparents, all are locked into a system which deprives them of their time. It is, amazingly, four decades since Michael Ende foretold the present plight of humanity if warnings and signs of the times were not heeded. We kept right on working for a financial system which took our lives because it was beyond our comprehension, and hence beyond our control. (To be continued … )

Social Interaction More powerful than Rules

2012-02-02T18:25:00.000Z

Social Interaction More powerful than Rules

Imagine what would happen if you took down road signs and traffic signals. More accidents would surely result, or at least significant confusion and slower traffic. Or would it? The surprising thing is that a number of cities around the world have actually done this, and experienced dramatic declines in traffic accidents.

The idea is based on an urban design philosophy known as “shared space.” When drivers, pedestrians and bicyclists are forced to develop their own natural ways of interacting with each other, goes the thinking, they work out better … read more …

http://onthecommons.org/fewer-traffic-signs-better-safety

Published on On the Commons (http://onthecommons.org/) by David Bollier

Protest at Protesters

2012-01-25T08:51:00.000Z

Protesting at the injustices of the socio-economic system under which we live has almost become a way of life. Whether we take to the streets, or merely mutter imprecations under our breath, the sense of malaise is endemic. Yet the commentators or analysts rarely get to the heart of the matter. Decades ago, Peter Maurin (1877-1949), co-founder of the Catholic Worker, wrote:

Modern society has made the bank account the standard of values.

When this happens, the banker has the power.

When the banker has the power, the technician has to supervise the making of profits.

When the banker has the power, the politician has to assure law and order in the profit-making system.

When the banker has the power, the clergyman is expected to bless the profit-making system or join the unemployed.

When the banker has the power, the Sermon on the Mount is declared impractical.

When the banker has the power, we have an acquisitive, not a functional, society.[1]

Peter Maurin’s “Easy Essays” are freely available to be quoted “for the greater honour and glory of God and the furtherance of the lay apostolate to which the author’s life was devoted”.

They can be found at "Easy Essays". http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/f/fd/Catholic_Radicalism-_Phrased_Essays_For_The_Green_Revolution.pdf . They are also available in hard copy.

[1] Quoted in Far East: Magazine of the Columban Missionaries, December 2010.

Hollie Demands Justice

2012-01-15T17:23:00.001Z

If you follow this link, you will find a story that needs to be followed up by all who would defend constitutional rights in the UK:
http://holliedemandsjustice.org/content/who-really-issued-the-interdict-on-robert-green/

Perhaps you can get to tomorrow's hearing at Stonehaven Court?

Fighting Like the Flowers

2012-01-11T12:27:00.000Z

Fighting the Sexual Revolution – is it Possible to?

In autumn last year I shared a platform with Judith Reisman, bought her book Sexual Sabotage, and reviewed it in the Winter 2011 issue of The Social Crediter, at http://douglassocialcredit.com/resources/tsc/2011_winter.pdf . Later in the year Dr. Reisman addressed the Society for the Protection of the Unborn Child (SPUC) in London: see
http://www.drjudithreisman.com/archives/2011/12/spuc_-_safe_at.html

In her lectures, Dr Reisman introduces a host of complex, inter-related issues, each of which requires study and thought. For the parents and grandparents of today, Judith Reisman’s work is essential reading, revealing as it does an alarming agenda which would otherwise pass us by.

However, so alarming is this information that it could leave us feeling helpless and disempowered. What, after all, can we personally, as individuals, do to protect youngsters from the onslaught to which they are currently subjected from infancy to adolescence?

Far from just happening, the sexual revolution has been deliberately engineered, backed by solid financial interests since the 1940s. A materialistic ‘brave new world’ is the result, where personal gratification over-rules not only morality, poetry and literature, but also all rights of citizenship and responsibilities of parenthood. Poetry is for sissies – real men play football, and expect sex on demand. We cannot fight this with a barrage of moral teaching, still less can we put the clock back. Rather, it is necessary to look in unexpected places for the signs of a new spring. Quietly, underneath it all, something is happening. Over the past century certain men and women have sown vital seeds for the future. If each individual seeks, they may well be surprised to find nuggets of pure gold.

In this quest I was reminded of the work of men and women who have faced challenges in amazing ways. For a random example, the autobiography of Lawrence D Hills, entitled Fighting Like the Flowers, makes reference to the scientific work of Henry Doubleday and Rachel Carson in challenging the pharmaceutical, military- industrial complex by presenting sane alternatives. We need to turn from action packed desperate reactions to the so-well-documented specific ills, ranging from 9/11 mysteries, through GM crops, sexual sabotage, nuclear and financial meltdowns, in order to see how individuals can enable the desert to bloom as in Sekem http://www.sekem.com/english/default.aspx .

Peter Maurin, synthesiser of history, based his teachings on ‘Cult, Culture and Cultivation’ (see blog entry for Friday 2 December 11). Stanley Vishnewski explains:

“By Cult, Peter meant the Liturgical Cycle of the Church with its yearly cycle of festivals and ceremonials.

“By Culture, Peter meant the cultivation of the mind through the study of literature and the great classics.

“By Cultivation Peter meant the return to the soil through the establishment of Community Life in a strongly individualistic society.”

Raw Milk Supplies

2012-01-05T12:25:00.001Z

A news item in a recent edition of the Yorkshire Post (3 January 2012) carries the information that people have been queuing to buy unpasteurised milk from a newly-opened dispensing machine at Selfridges in London. The milk is delivered in a stainless steel tank which slots into the machine. Customers can buy a bottle to fill at a cost of £3.50 a litre or £2 for half a litre. The machine comes from Italy, where there are hundreds like it. The idea is also popular in France.

Steve Hook, the Kent farmer who runs the machine sells thousands of pints per week all over the country from his organic herd of Holstein Friesians, through a courier service. The minimum mail-order delivery is six pints for £13.40.

Mr. Hook said: “We started selling raw milk in 2007. We now sell about 1,800 pints to local doorsteps and about 3,000 all around England and Wales and most of Scotland, plus about 1,000 pints, and cream and butter, at four farmers’ markets at the weekend.”

The Yorkshire Post article, entitled “Expensive raw milk sales put law into question” continues: “The Food Standard Agency commented: ‘The current controls are intended to ensure an appropriate balance between public health protection and consumer choice.'

“The Animal Health and Veterinary Laboratories Agency have asked Selfridges for further information on their sale of raw milk and discussions are continuing.

“ 'Pasteurisation kills dangerous bugs such as E.coli, TB and salmonella, that may be present in raw milk. This is why there are strict rules.’

“A Selfridges spokesman said: ‘We have been through all this with the Food Standards Agency already and we are confident we have good answers to their questions.’

“Mr. Hook said: “I think the law is about right. Our milk has to meet certain standards before we can sell it raw. And people are entitled to a choice.’”

See http://www.hookandson.co.uk/index.html (note lateral thinking on wider issues of food, farming and society, e.g., http://www.hookandson.co.uk/ALLOTMENTS/allotments.html )

The issues surrounding consumption of pasteurised milk are introduced on: http://www.campaignforrealmilk.co.uk/index.html

Readers familiar with the issues surrounding raw milk will be aware that EU law has restricted sales of raw milk as part of a world-wide campaign to control food supplies by denying customer choice on grounds of ‘health and safety’ being for-your-own-good.

Anyway

2012-01-04T08:47:00.001Z

Yesterday, someone in deep despair reminded me of this text. Although it has been around for decades. Yet it is as fresh as ever as Christmas ends and we move on through the New Year.

ANYWAY

People are unreasonable, illogical and self-centred,

LOVE THEM ANYWAY

If you do good, people will accuse you of selfish, ulterior motives,

DO GOOD ANYWAY

If you are successful, you win false friends and true enemies,

SUCCEED ANYWAY

The good you do will be forgotten tomorrow,

DO GOOD ANYWAY

Honesty and frankness make you vulnerable,

BE HONEST AND FRANK ANYWAY

What you spent years building may be destroyed overnight,

BUILD ANYWAY

People really need help but may attack you if you help them,

HELP PEOPLE ANYWAY

Give the world the best you have and you’ll get kicked in the teeth,

GIVE THE WORLD THE BEST YOU’VE GOT ANYWAY

Stepping out of the Christmas Nightmare

2011-12-30T10:43:00.001Z

Stepping out of the Christmas Nightmare and into the New Year

On the second day of Christmas a young man is stabbed through the heart, as shoppers battle for bargains on Oxford Street. Across the country, parents drop exhausted from getting and spending on fashion items, electronic gadgets and software, mindful of the fact that poor children are bullied at school if they turn up without the latest consumer products. To the proverbial visitor from outer space, the collective madness of the consumerist Christmas must appear as a time of very little heartfelt joy.

For so many people Christmas is a time of great sadness. The empty chairs of families separated by premature bereavement, broken relationships and war, show up the getting and spending for what it is – at best a worthless sham. The joy of being together in good company, of giving time, not things, of putting home-made words to home-made music, of sharing sadness and joy with families, friends and community over the twelve Holy Nights: that is what a real Christmas is all about.

Christmas can be a time to start the vital task of “Gardening the Soul”. As Sister Stanislaus Kennedy explains in her book of that name:

“People are tiring of the competitive consumer-driven world we live in. They are starting to ask, What can be done to reverse the trend towards extreme individualism? How can we live our lives caring for ourselves and being supportive to others?

“I believe we can only fill this gap by developing a sense of ownership of the world and times we live in. This is our time and it is up to us to choose our destinies. What happens here, now, is our responsibility. It is not a matter of doing great things: it is a matter of doing or saying small things with responsibility and courage.”

A seemingly impossible undertaking so long as we remain in thrall to the brave new technological world where, we live under the illusion that there is no alternative but to work for an economic system which we do not understand, producing goods and services which we do not really need, whilst longing for Friday, holidays and retirement. “The world is” indeed “too much with us”:

“Getting and spending we lay waste our powers:

Little we see in nature that is ours. …”

Two hundred years after Wordsworth put pen to paper, Sister Stanislaus draws our attention to the solid fact that “NOW is the time to live”, to step outside the make-believe world of work and consumerist desires, so that “we develop a sense of ownership of the world and the times we live in.” It is indeed up to us all individually to abandon protest and wage-slavery, seeking to “choose our destinies” for ourselves. In that way we can, with Sister Stanislaus, encourage others to “Take time to live – it’s what life is for.”

Government Guidelines

2011-12-23T11:59:00.000Z

Government has issued Health & Safety and Equality Considerations for Christmas Songs

23 December 2011

The Rocking Song
Little Jesus, sweetly sleep, do not stir;
We will lend a coat of fur,
We will rock you, rock you, rock you,
We will rock you, rock you, rock you

Fur is no longer appropriate wear for small infants, both due to risk of allergy to animal fur, and for ethical reasons. Therefore faux fur, a nice cellular blanket or perhaps micro-fleece material should be considered a suitable alternative.

Please note, only persons who have been subject to a Criminal Records Bureau check and have enhanced clearance will be permitted to rock baby Jesus. Persons must carry their CRB disclosure with them at all times and be prepared to provide three forms of identification before rocking commences.

Jingle Bells
Dashing through the snow
In a one horse open sleigh
O'er the fields we go
Laughing all the way

A risk assessment must be submitted before an open sleigh is considered safe for members of the public to travel on. The risk assessment must also consider whether it is appropriate to use only one horse for such a venture, particularly if passengers are of larger proportions. Please note, permission must be gained from landowners before entering their fields. To avoid offending those not participating in celebrations, we would request that laughter is moderate only and not loud enough to be considered a noise nuisance.

While Shepherds Watched
While shepherds watched
Their flocks by night
All seated on the ground
The angel of the Lord came down
And glory shone around

The union of Shepherd's has complained that it breaches health and safety regulations to insist that shepherds watch their flocks without appropriate seating arrangements being provided, therefore benches, stools and orthopaedic chairs are now available. Shepherds have also requested that due to the inclement weather conditions at this time of year that they should watch their flocks via cctv cameras from centrally heated shepherd observation huts.
Please note, the angel of the lord is reminded that before shining his / her glory all around she / he must ascertain that all shepherds have been issued with glasses capable of filtering out the harmful effects of UVA, UVB and Glory.

Rudolph the red nosed reindeer
Rudolph, the red-nosed reindeer
had a very shiny nose.
And if you ever saw him,
you would even say it glows.

You are advised that under the Equal Opportunities for All policy, it is inappropriate for persons to make comment with regard to the ruddiness of any part of Mr. R. Reindeer. Further to this, exclusion of Mr R Reindeer from the Reindeer Games will be considered discriminatory and disciplinary action will be taken against those found guilty of this offence. A full investigation will be implemented and sanctions - including suspension on full pay - will be considered whilst this investigation takes place.

Little Donkey
Little donkey, little donkey on the dusty road
Got to keep on plodding onwards with your precious load

The RSPCA have issued strict guidelines with regard to how heavy a load that a donkey of small stature is permitted to carry, also included in the guidelines is guidance regarding how often to feed the donkey and how many rest breaks are required over a four hour plodding period. Please note that due to the increased risk of pollution from the dusty road, Mary and Joseph are required to wear face masks to prevent inhalation of any airborne particles. The donkey has expressed his discomfort at being labelled 'little' and would prefer just to be simply referred to as Mr. Donkey. To comment upon his height or lack thereof may be considered an infringement of his equine rights.

We Three Kings
We three kings of Orient are
Bearing gifts we traverse afar
Field and fountain, moor and mountain
Following yonder star

Whilst the gift of gold is still considered acceptable - as it may be redeemed at a later date through such organisations as 'cash for gold' etc, gifts of frankincense and myrrh are not appropriate due to the potential risk of oils and fragrances causing allergic reactions. A suggested gift alternative would be to make a donation to a worthy cause in the recipients name or perhaps give a gift voucher. We would not advise that the traversing kings rely on navigation by stars in order to reach their destinations and suggest the use of RAC routefinder or satellite navigation, which will provide the quickest route and advice regarding fuel consumption. Please note as per the guidelines from the RSPCA for Mr Donkey, the camels carrying the three kings of Orient will require regular food and rest breaks.
Facemasks for the three kings are also advisable due to the likelihood of dust from the camels hooves.

The lessons learned in Argentina in 2001/3

2011-12-21T09:11:00.000Z

The lessons learned in Argentina in 2001/3 are today being used in Greece, Ireland, Spain, Italy, Iceland, the UK and the USA.)

Exactly ten years ago

Argentina

suffered a full-scale financial and governmental collapse. That was the end-result of over a decade of doing exactly what the IMF, international bankers, rating agencies and global “experts” told us to do. Read on…

http://rt.com/news/argentina-tango-lessons-salbuchi-109/

All this has been on the cards since the short-lived Alberta Experiment (1935), the full story of which is told in Understanding the Financial System: Social Credit Rediscovered.

Over the decades of the twentieth century we have been conditioned to think, live and work within a certain paradigm or world view, so that, very much like O’Duffy’s Asses in Clover, we remain absolutely convinced that as long as we work for our masters, our masters will continue to provide us with our keep.

“Don’t think about it,” we bray in unison. “No need to trouble our heads with rational thought… follow the rules, get and spend your money on the mass markets, be entertained by the mass media, - and all will be well.”

Alternative world views date back to Wordsworth’s day. Some, dating from the days of the guild socialists (Ruskin, Morris, Penty et al), can be found at http://www.douglassocialcredit.com/ . Copies of Asses in Clover can be purchased from the same site.

Routine Vaccination of Children Against HPV

2011-12-19T18:26:00.000Z

At a recent family gathering my thirteen year old granddaughter showed me a small mark on her upper arm where she had been vaccinated at school “against cervical cancer”. She informed me: “You see, Grandma, young people between thirteen and nineteen sleep around these days, which makes them likely to get cervical cancer.” She had been told that the vaccine would protect her.

Subsequent investigation revealed the following facts. The vaccination is probably against HPV – Human Papillomavirus, which is “the most common sexually transmitted infection in adults”. Wikipedia carries the following information:

In the UK the vaccine is licensed for girls aged 9 to 15 and for women aged 16 to 26.

HPV vaccination with Cervarix was introduced into the national immunisation programme in September 2008, for girls aged 12–13 across the UK. A two-year catch up campaign started in Autumn 2009 to vaccinate all girls up to 18 years of age. Catch up vaccination will be offered to:

· girls aged between 16 and 18 from autumn 2009, and

· girls aged between 15 and 17 from autumn 2010.

By the end of the catch up campaign, all girls under 18 will have been offered the HPV vaccine. Women over the age of 18 are not included in the programme as it would not be cost effective in preventing cervical cancer.

It will be many years before the vaccination programme has an effect upon cervical cancer incidence so women are advised to continue accepting their invitations for cervical screening.

The HPV vaccine is licensed for “girls aged 9 to 15”, which means children. It is also licensed for “women aged 16 to 26”, which means young people. It is offered through the schools education service.

When told about the vaccination, and the reasons for it, I was deeply shocked, but did not hesitate to believe the child. At just over twelve years old, I would have had no idea what was meant by “sleeping around”. Could it mean a tramp who had nowhere to live? Or camping out? As I did neither, I would have been mystified as to the need for a vaccination. And my parents, having been asked for permission, would have been outraged. Just think about it – a child of thirteen years old is vaccinated against sexually transmitted disease! What does that tell the child? It is alright to accept an invitation to have sex with a boy? An older man? Who? Do her parents understand why she has been offered to be immunised against sexually transmitted disease?

What is the reaction of the reader? Are you shocked? Do you disbelieve what you are reading? Do you blind me with science, saying that it is just a precaution, but one worth taking in view of the fact that cervical cancer is not confined to the middle-aged and elderly, but is occurring in young people? Do you turn on me in anger, accusing me of seeking to cause unnecessary suffering by protecting children from knowledge of the real world? The subject, when mentioned, raises powerful emotions. It also reveals great ignorance about the fundamental underlying issues, such as the origins of these policy decisions.

In Sexual Sabotage Judith Reisman notes that “there is big money in the collaboration of Big Pharma, Big Pornography and Big Sexology”:

“Not coincidentally, big-business abortion funders (Rockefeller) and pornographers, (Playboy and Rockefeller) initially financed the sexology ‘field.’ … It seems eerie that Alfred Kinsey and his saboteurs launched this brave new world in 1948, the year of Orwell’s 1984. Now it is in full gear and fully financed - by Eli Lilly, Pfizer, Ford, Rockefeller, the pornography industry, and State-supported research, schools and libraries. Thus the SIC [Sex Industrial Complex] is entrenched in our society. …

“To unravel the agenda and outcomes of the pedophile lobby, again, ‘follow the money.’ In 2003, the Kinsey Institute built on tortuous child sexual experiments published Sexual Development in Childhood,[i] a product of the pornography-pharmacology connection. The marketing strategy of this deadly collaboration is to give children legal access to pornography (as in some ‘sex education’ classes today), so that they will have sex with each other and adults, then to vaccinate children for venereal diseases and even pregnancy, thereby preventing unfortunate consequences of such abnormal behaviour. This was – and is – a business partnership made in hell.”

Thoroughly researched and referenced, Judith Reisman’s Sexual Sabotage answers many of the questions asked by a generation of grandparents who feel uneasy at the lifestyles adopted by young people, lifestyles which all too often lead to tragedy and heartbreak.

See also http://www.famyouth.org.uk/ for information on the nature of sex education programmes in UK schools.

[i] John Bancroft (ed), Sexual Development in Childhood, (Bloomington: Indiana University Press, 2003.

Penniless Poets Unite

2011-12-15T09:21:00.000Z

Across the UK, voluntary societies, including churches, are being given Government money to open soup kitchens to feed individuals who fall out of the benefits system. It is now government policy to turn away penniless any individual who does not ‘qualify’ for some form of assistance, benefit or income. The feckless who refuse to work, the mentally and physically sick who cannot work, asylum seekers, victims of domestic violence, can be quite literally thrown onto the streets, even whilst their application for assistance is under review or appeal. It is a fact, not fiction, that, if grand parents cannot or do not step in, the children of these men and women are removed from them into the care of the local authority. And they are powerless to prevent it. That is happening right now in England, and elsewhere in these islands.

“A woman must have a room of her own if she is to write fiction.” The words of the famous woman writer of the 1920s are meaningless today. We live in the machine age’, where bureaucrats are paid to administer a centralised system of laws and regulations which are designed to reduce the individual human being to a mere cog or cipher, to be used by the productive and consumerist machine, and spewed out when no longer of use. Already the remaining smaller hospitals are turning away casualties if the patient is over 65. Both parents are forced into paid employment, so that chronic illness of a child, parent or other close family member can spell homelessness in the long term. The notion of having a room that is one’s own by right, and a sufficiency of income by legal right of citizenship, so that one can be in control of one’s own life-choices, has become a whimsical idea of a long-forgotten past.

A century ago people from all walks of life took a keen interest in matters of political, economic and constitutional rights. Quite ordinary people took it upon themselves to read the original works of leading thinkers in the field (see http://www.douglassocialcredit.com/ ). Many read Marx’s predictions that capitalism would so oppress the workers that they would rise in revolution to create the centralised communist Dictatorship of the Proletariat. Some went on to read Thorstein Veblen’s argument that Marx could be wrong. If the workers became better off materially under capitalism they would remain contented slaves of a centralised system which would supply them with all their needs so long as they followed orders from above. And so it was: the ‘brave new world’ of the centralised welfare state provided jobs for the workers, training to fulfil those jobs through the ‘education’ services, ‘health’ services to produce healthy workers, and a massive leisure industry to keep the workers entertained in their ‘time off’. The notion of an autonomous citizen, with rights but with corresponding duties freely to give service to others, went clean out of the window.

As a result, the mass of the workers are inculcated with the notion that their responsibilities in adult life are limited to earning enough money to keep a roof over their own heads, and caring for their immediate family. They pay taxes so that the government can pay other workers to provide the infra-structure necessary to keep the economy supplying the consumer goods and services necessary to – keep the economy going. The underlying philosophy is that human beings are nothing more than advanced animals, capable of developing a highly sophisticated technology which will sustain human life in some form of artificial intelligence. Bereft of spiritual considerations, a degraded human nature emerges. Programmed to obey automatically, to be good because there is no other choice, the human being becomes an automaton, incapable of taking the needs, feelings or wishes of another as their prior consideration in selecting a course of action.

As Forster’s story, The Machine Stops, demonstrates, the industrial age has transformed the relationship between humanity’s understanding of the natural, spiritual and cultural worlds out of all recognition. For most people throughout most of history, the creation of life’s necessities gave meaning to life. The arts of agriculture and of the kitchen involved in the production of food developed skills, challenges and satisfactions in co-operation with others. As long ago as 1936 Eric Gill wrote:

“It may sound sentimental to our town and factory populations, but it is true to say that even bread may be holy or unholy, and therefore human or inhuman. And when we consider the high art of architecture, it seems obvious that the house is only a machine to live in, if the word ‘machine’ be used as a purely fanciful and literary conceit.” ( Eric Gill “The Leisure State: A Criticism” The Fig Tree, June 1936.)

Whilst Corbusier observed that “A house is a machine to live in”, Eric Gill raises the much broader question as to whether the products of the machine age, the food, clothing, furniture and shelter produced mechanically, are really appropriate for man and women’s use. With Gill, we can follow the argument that reduced hours of work might enable human beings to pursue “higher things” in their leisure time. But with Gill we can observe that “when we consider man’s history”, until the evolution of the Machine Age, it is precisely “the things necessary to him upon which he has expended all his love and imagination and tenderness”. And we can further agree “tenderness is of all his virtues the most characteristically human. And it has been upon the making of what he needed that man has chiefly shown his nature.”

The Machine Age has no use for artists, poets, playwrights, musicians and literary figures, save to provide leisured entertainment for the ruling Davos Class.

The Machine Stops Notes for Today

2011-12-10T09:22:00.000Z

Today, human survival is completely dependent upon a system of production and distribution which is entirely beyond the comprehension, and hence control, of the individual citizen. In every country of the world, complex technologies are used to supply machine-manufactured goods for distant markets. The situation was foreseen by E.M. Forster in his novella The Machine Stops. First published in serialised form in a magazine during 1909, the story reveals much about life in the twenty-first century that might otherwise pass by unnoticed.

Production of basic necessities

When the story was written mass production of the basic necessities of life was in its infancy. Food, clothing, furniture, furnishings, tools, containers and all manner of artefacts were designed, produced and consumed locally. Goods were produced and consumed in common, using resources taken directly from the land, coupled with inherited wisdom and ways of working. As tools and equipment wore out, they were repaired or replaced within the local community. Today, virtually every item of food we eat, clothing we wear, and artefacts we use, has been designed and produced by people unknown to us. All we can do is to select from the range on offer, dumping waste into the local environment. We are being kept in luxury. But we are increasingly powerless to control what is made available to us and our families. Furthermore, legal controls restrict our choices of healthy foods and medicines – for our own good and/or that of powerful pharmaceutical companies.

Transport and communications

Mass systems of transport and communications were yet to be developed in 1909. The idea of flying across the world on a commercial airline in order to visit a relative was pure science-fiction fantasy. A century later it is conceivable that Skype and video conferencing could replace virtually all human contact.

Religion and the arts

Forster’s imaginary nightmare world is dominated by the mechanical Machine. Equal amounts of daily necessities are doled out systematically on an equal basis, as individuals sit in their identical little boxes underground. In the resultant spiritual and cultural desert there is no room for a Supreme Being, no artistic endeavour, no story of human existence. All is scientific, mechanical, devoid of life or meaning.

Child care and education

The most untenable aspect of Forster’s imaginary Machine is the notion that children could be reared in nurseries without love. Had Kuno in reality been removed to a nursery at birth, there would have been no affective relationship between mother and son in adult life. In this circumstance, adults, in the unlikely event that they survived, would be mere automatons, socially and physically brainwashed into their allotted status in the ‘brave new world’ of the Machine, not able to choose for themselves between right and wrong behaviour. When viewed objectively, this is the most terrifying aspect of the situation we face today. As children are removed from the family home from an increasingly earlier age, for increasingly long periods, they are given into the care of relative strangers who pass through their lives like characters on the flickering screen. When taught to respect nobody and to love nobody but themselves, many end up with little respect for anybody or anything.

The political economy

Gone are all notions of citizenship, of consumer sovereignty, of civil rights or of democratic government. In Forster’s story, as is the case in Aldous Huxley’s Brave New World, and in George Orwell’s 1984, the use of money has disappeared. No mention of it is made in any of the stories. Policies are determined by the New World Order of the ‘Committee of the Machine’. The evolution of the ‘Committee of the Machine’, the Controller, or ‘Big Brother’ has been monitored and predicted by many perceptive writers, including contributors to The Social Crediter dating back to the 1930s. In his recent book, Dr. Kerry Bolton draws together the contributions of past authorities, bringing them up to date with the present. In Revolution from Above, he demonstrates that:

“the supposed rivalry between Marxist-inspired movements and capitalism has always been an illusion. Marxism, Communism and liberalism have been and continue to be exploited by the forces of international capitalism to further their global agenda, despite their surface disagreements. Dr. Bolton shows that the ultimate goal of capitalism is to create a worldwide collectivist society of consumers, and Marxism is merely one means of attaining this. He traces this idea back to Plato, through the Illuminati, the Freemasons, the French Revolution, and Communism, and examines the evidence for the existence of a shadowy network of bankers who control a large portion of the world’s political and economic power. He then discusses the various instruments this network uses to maintain control, such as tax-exempt foundations and think tanks. Dr. Bolton also reveals how capitalist governments actually worked closely with Communist regimes and, in fact, frustrated genuinely anti-Communist efforts during the Cold War. He discusses the impact this has had on Western society, resulting in such trends as the sexual revolution and the promotion of drug use. Dr. Bolton then brings us up-to-date by discussing the role of the recent "Arab spring" in these ongoing developments. One will never be able to view modern history the same way again after reading Dr. Bolton’s arguments and examining the supporting evidence.

“K. R. Bolton holds doctorates in Historical Theology and Theology; Ph.D. (Hist. Th.), Th.D. as well as in other areas. He is a contributing writer for The Foreign Policy Journal, and a Fellow of the Academy of Social and Political Research in Greece. His papers and articles have been published by both scholarly and popular media, including the International Journal of Social Economics; Journal of Social, Political, and Economic Studies; Geopolitika; World Affairs; India Quarterly; and The Initiate: Journal of Traditional Studies. His work has been translated into Russian, Vietnamese, Italian, Czech, Latvian, Farsi and French.”

Kerry Bolton Revolution from Above, (Arktos, 2011).

2012

Study reading of the three dystopias (The Machine Stops by E.M. Forster, Brave New World by Aldous Huxley, and 1984 by George Orwell) might help to illuminate the intention and drift of bureaucratic controls over all aspects of life – health, education, farming, travel, news, communications, economic and political affairs. With the introduction of a world-wide system of carbon currency, ordinary people will be relieved of the necessity to make rational, moral choices of any kind (for some information about what is meant by ‘carbon currency’ see article by Patrick Wood reproduced in current issue of The Social Crediter). All will be decided for them. Many individuals living today have been so brainwashed by the educational processes, the barrage of deceptive electronic ‘news’ services, and the all-pervasive in-service training programmes in every trade or profession, that the brave new world of the Machine will seem like a natural evolution into Nirvana.

It does not have to be that way if there are enough individuals who see things differently.

Introducing "Understanding Life and Debt" Blog

2011-12-07T11:52:00.001Z

Introducing the Blog

This blog was originally set up during 2010, but at the time I could see no particular use for it. The Social Credit Secretariat already edits the douglassocialcredit.com website and the quarterly journal, The Social Crediter, back numbers of which can be viewed on the same website. Introducing the work of many talented writers and activists, past and present, these forms of communication are available for consultation whenever the need arises. There seemed very little point in adding to the mass of blogs, email circulars, discussion groups and other messages sent out more frequently.

Recent discussions indicate that the times are changing. Theologians such as Canon Peter Dominey and Dr. K. R. Bolton inter alios, are writing on money, politics, economics and international affairs, presenting an increasingly perceptive analysis of the fundamental underlying causes of malaise.

Meanwhile, much frantic action is accompanying very ephemeral trains of thought. Far too many people are busy trying to re-arrange the deck chairs on the Titanic, deck chairs which are being thrown into disarray as she lurches in her death throes. Millions of man-hours are spent raising money for charity, whilst governments subsidise arms manufacture and the military on a massive scale. Nestle is now Fair Trade, massive supermarket chains stock organic food, and we are encouraged to work more to produce more to keep the economy going. The terminology may have changed, but the fundamental issues have remained the same since the founding of the Social Credit Secretariat by Clifford Hugh Douglas in the 1930s, and the establishment of The Social Crediter.

We recently received the following messages from subscribers to The Social Crediter:

Dear Editor :

Just to say that this issue of The Social Crediter (Vol. 87/No. 4) was superb. Carbon Credits will indeed replace present currency. The banks who create the money supply do control the economy and the politicians; and the memoirs of the Economic Hit-man are on order as we speak.

The present Government is working to old established parameters, with a seeming ignorance of the true state of play. Foreign policy is distancing us from the world of reality. What a mess we live in. Governed by incompetent old boys.

Malcolm (Parkin)

Dear Editor:

The matters of Alfred Kinsey, and of carbon credits, and of bolshevism, bankers, New Left, Old Left, LSD, Arab Spring, etc. are placed into historical context in my recent book Revolution from Above, available from the publishers; also from Barnes & Noble, Amazon, etc: See http://www.arktos.com/revolution-from-above.html

K.R. Bolton

The question is, what can replace the ‘Titanic’, aka the ‘brave new dystopia of rapidly stopping Machine? This Blog seeks to explore the many optimistic signs now emerging with increasing frequency.

How the New World Order is taking over: Part III

2011-12-06T10:03:00.000Z

How the New World Order is coming in Part III

Throughout the

people have been conditioned into thinking that ‘THEY’ are busy passing laws and introducing welfare measures for the good of the people as a whole. Hence you must wear a seatbelt in your own car, whether you agree to do so or not, on pain of financial penalty backed by the force of law. Similarly, you must observe the stated speed limit regardless of your own judgement of the speed appropriate to the prevailing road conditions. You must not smoke in a public space, even in the open air, outside a hospital or on a railway platform. You may not enter a railway carriage without passing through a ticket barrier because you cannot be trusted to be honest, whatever your status or standing in the community.

The pros and cons of each individual issue can be debated until the cows come home. But the fundamental concern, at the heart of many matters to be covered in subsequent issues of this blog, is the citizen’s right to decide what is the right thing to do, and what is the wrong thing to do. That is, in a free society, individuals must exercise their judgement, acting in their own right as a citizen. A population cowed into subservience to a series of legally enforceable restraints, backed by the physical force of the law, is a population of automatons who have been deprived of their God-given right to free will through the exercise of their own judgement of what is appropriate.

The most worrying thing about ‘health and safety’ rulings, is that, without any serious debate on each issue, a large proportion of the population will argue in favour of the measures, on the grounds that people ought to be made to abide by the rules. The blind acceptance of the necessity to remove the citizen’s right to make an informed choice, the willing collusion in enforcing the measures, combined with the readiness to accept an income from the authorities in return for restraining others for breaking the rules, is un-nerving, to say the least. When Big Brother takes over (for our own good, of course), hard-won civil rights inherited from the past (see Share the Inheritance) fly out of the window.

The legal framework underpinning the checks and balances in local communities has changed so dramatically in recent decades that the whistle-blower blows in vain. Nobody has any recognised or recognisable standing in the community which enables them to speak with authority and influence matters. Virtually everybody seems to be bemused. As American researcher Charlotte Iserbyt explains:

“The next time you attempt to discuss with a friend or acquaintance a serious issue (such as illegal immigration, the Iraq War, our loss of constitutional rights under the Patriot Act, or the latest Supreme Court Decision doing away with private property rights) and you get that ‘glazed, blank, mindless, couldn’t care less expression,’ refer back to this article which attempts to explain the cause of that glazed expression: Pavlovian/Skinnerian conditioning, be it through operant conditioning programs in the schools, computers at home or school, the television, radio, music, video games or plain print media. It is important for people to become aware of the effects of conditioning, the brain and soul (conscience) killer, which is silently at work in our society 24 hours a day, 365 days of the year.” (See ‘Revolution in Education … Soviet Style’, by Charlotte Iserbyt, Namaste, Vol. 12, Issue 3.

Charlotte Iserbyt has served as Senior Policy Advisor in the Office of Educational Research and Improvement (OERI), US Department of Educational Research, during the first Reagan Administration, where she first blew the whistle on a major technology initiative which would control curriculum in

America

’s classrooms. She is a former school board director in Camden, Maine, and was co-founder and research analyst of Guardians of Education for Main (GEM) from 1978 to 2000. Her book, The Deliberate Dumbing Down of America, is downloadable at www.deliberatedumbingdown.com/pages/order.htm .

As a growing number of individuals seek alternatives to our ‘brave new dystopia’, it becomes essential to look around for viable alternative social models. This blog seeks to work to that end.

How the New World Order is taking over: Part II

2011-12-02T08:30:00.000Z

How the New World Order is coming in: Part II

The Machine Stops, is shortly to be available in audio form. Written over a century ago, it is an amazingly accurate prediction of our present predicament. The unthinking use of the new technologies of electronic communications could not, however, succeed in cock-up fashion without the development of some centralised system of control over social interaction. In E.M. Forster’s story, the Committee of the Machine determines policy and administration, keeping people in line with those policies – purely for their own good. In their very different ways, Aldous Huxley’s Brave New World and George Orwell’s 1984 demonstrate the potential for centralised power to operate through psychological manipulation and terror. As Chris Hedges has demonstrated, the nightmare dystopias of the twentieth century are emerging as twenty-first century reality.

But what are the alternatives?

Two essentials:

First, it is essential that the group shall have no conscriptive power over the

individual; i.e., the individual must have the power to contract-out of any group in society. Central to civil rights is the ability to contract out of waged or salaried slavery.

Self-Employing Centers

The remedy for unemployment

is employment,

and there is no better employment

than self-employment.

Self-Employing Centers

are small shops

where repairs can be made

and workers can be found

to do work outside.

With the Self-Employing

Centers

could be connected Houses

of Hospitality where the

self-employing workers

could find shelter. This

complicated world is too

complicated to be dealt with

in an efficient manner by

specialized technicians.

Specialized technicians

knowing more and more

about less and less do not

know , how to simplify a

complicated world. We need

fewer specialists and more

encyclopedists, fewer

masters of one trade and

more jacks-of-all trades.

Peter Maurin

Catholic Radicalism (1949)

NOTE: This book is available to be downloaded from the internet, but I have failed to make the link work on this blog.

Second, maximum decentralisation of initiative is essential for human welfare. This is not devolution of power from a central power to the people living and working locally. On the contrary, it is a taking back of power over decision-making by the people creating and consuming the goods and services at local level.

Cult, Culture, and Cultivation

When the Irish scholars

decided to lay the foundations

of medieval Europe,

they established:

Centers of Thought

in all the cities of Europe

as far as Constantinople,

where people

could look for thought

so they could have light.

Houses of Hospitality

where Christian charity

were exemplified.

Agricultural Centers

where they combined

(a) Cult—

that is to say Liturgy

(b) with Culture

that is to say Literature

that is to say Agriculture. "

Peter Maurin

Catholic Radicalism

The origins and implications of these quotations will be explored in the course of this series of blog entries.

How the New World Order is taking over: Part I

2011-11-30T15:57:00.000Z

http://www.wat.tv/video/papandemonium-nwo-chokes-world-4heb3_31wod_.html

http://naturalsociety.com/un-bill-gates-foundation-push-deadly-hpv-shots-on-poor-nations-under-gavi-alliance/

The first video was broadcast by Russian TV. It shows how, having placed disreputable politicians in positions of power in certain countries, and brought politics into disrepute, the next step is to remove all pretence of constitutional rights by replacing politicians with bankers and bureaucrats who will sort out the economy by dispensing with politics altogether. That way, we can all get on with working to maintain the system, machine, call it what you will, without bothering our heads about policies and human rights.

The second link will take you to a video of a talk by Bill Gates, where he prepares the ground for total centralised control over energy. What he says is shot through with lies, illusions and false, unscientific statements that it has to be heard – critically – to be believed. Of course, you can just let it flow over you and accept, as is intended, that sterling measures are necessary to combat the effects of man-made global warming because fuel shortages and high prices impact upon the poor. Measures include massive sums of money to be spent on Research and Development of some alternative form of nuclear energy underground, so that mankind will have enough energy to last as long as the earth lasts. The measures are to be paid for by the people. No mention is made of cutting back on air travel, commuting to work, wars, packaging, production of gimcrack rubbish etc, let alone sane local farming projects.

In due course, we will be tagged to receive an allotment of “carbon currency” non-transferable coupons in a cashless New World Order. The age of total subservience to THE MACHINE is just around the corner.

There is no doubt about it, we are being drawn into reacting to a very well planned agenda. The New World Order is taking control of material resources, so we need to be pro-active.

If we do not want our lives to be controlled by the NWO, we must ourselves take control of our own lives.

That is, we must reclaim our constitutional rights as citizens. These rights include the citizen’s right to counsel, habeas corpus, protection from state coercion, the right to a fair trial and above all, the right to Constitutional Government. The obligation to be coerced into working-for-money is not part of the citizens’ agenda.

Many thanks to a number of individuals for gathering this information.

You Have Two Cows

2010-07-05T11:22:00.000+01:00

Oppression, injustice and disasters have existed since times immemorial. Nevertheless, in the bad old days it was always possible to identify the sources of each individual problem with a view to taking appropriate remedial action. The world-wide money economy has given rise to systems of mass communication, so that daily we receive news of individuals and groups in dire need of support. One can, at best, offer financial support or signatures to shore up a selected number of the plights brought to one’s attention by friends and colleagues. But the attempt to view the bigger picture is so mind-boggling that we shrink back into our private comfort zones, seeking to carry on as normal with the sticking-plaster approach.

Realistically, what can be done? Well, you are currently reading a ‘slow read blog’. You are invited to take a little time out to look at the bigger picture by assessing the nature of the world political economy of the second decade of the twenty-first century. The term ‘slow read’ was coined by Tom Raines, editor of the anthroposophical quarterly magazine New View.

In the early twentieth century, would-be statesmen and politicians were sent to study economics at the newly-founded London School of Economics (LSE) so that they would not fall into error by threatening big business and financial interests with ‘uneconomic’ schemes. In the introductory course, students were taught the value of money as an invention. Illustrations featured a farmer in a moneyless society who uses the cattle he owns to trade with his neighbors. A typical example is: "You have two cows; you want chickens; you set out to find another farmer who has chickens and wants a cow". These examples were meant to show the limitations of the barter system, leading to the brilliant invention of money and the financial system. By the early twentieth century it was apparent that without the institutions of finance, the modern political economy could not function. Money has made it possible for ‘you’ – Rational Economic Man – to exchange your ‘two cows’ – the land, labour or capital (plant or finance) – for money. That money will be accepted in exchange for any goods and services you require. Nevertheless, we ordinary individuals often find it very difficult to comprehend the complexity of the institutions governing the political economy under which we live. The following ‘two cow’ parodies, which circulated in the 1990s, demonstrate the dilemma we face in seeking to understand the man-made system under which we all live.

FEUDALISM: You have two cows. Your lord takes some of the milk.

FASCISM: You have two cows. The government takes both, hires you to take care of them, and sells you the milk.

PURE DEMOCRACY: You have two cows. Your neighbours decide who gets the milk.
REPRESENTATIVE DEMOCRACY: You have two cows. Your neighbours pick someone to tell you who gets the milk.
BRITISH DEMOCRACY: You have two cows. You feed them sheep’s brains and they go mad. The government doesn’t do anything.
AMERICAN DEMOCRACY: The government promises to give you two cows if you vote for them. After the election the president is impeached for speculating in cow futures. The press dubs the affair ‘Cowgate’. The cow sues you for breach of contract.
EUROPEAN DEMOCRACY: You have two cows. At first the government regulates what you can feed them and when you can milk them. Then it pays you not to milk them. After that it takes both, shoots one, milks the other and pours the milk down the drain. Then it requires you to fill out forms accounting for the missing cows.

TOTALITARIANISM: You have two cows. The government takes them and denies they ever existed. Milk is banned.
CRONY CAPITALISM: You have two cows. You leverage a hefty campaign contribution to a seat on the State Dairy Board. There you pass a regulation guaranteeing that no one can sell milk in the state cheaper than you. Your son becomes the most influential lobbyist in the State.

COMMUNISM: You have two cows. The government takes them and puts them in a barn with everyone else's cows. They are cared for by ex-chicken farmers. You have to take care of the chickens the government took from the chicken farmers. The government gives you as much milk and eggs as the regulations say you should need.
IDEALISED COMMUNISM: You have two cows. Your neighbors help you take care of them, and you all share the milk.
LENINIST COMMUNISM: You have two cows. Actually, the state owns them, but you have to take care of them. Most of the milk goes to the Revolutionary Vanguard.
STALINIST COMMUNISM: You have two cows. The state kills them and you. Your children and neighbors starve to death waiting for the state to replace the two cows. The state denies you ever existed.
BREZHNEV COMMUNISM: You have two cows. You bribe the local Party Boss to let you sell some of the milk on the black market. With the profits you buy Beatles albums and used Levi jeans.

ENRON CAPITALISM: You have two cows. You sell three of them to your publicly listed company, using letters of credit opened by your brother-in-law at the bank, then execute a debt/equity swap with an associated general offer so that you get all four cows back. You take a tax deduction for five cows. The milk rights for six cows are transferred to a Cayman Islands company secretly owned by a majority shareholder, who sells the rights to all seven cows' milk back to the listed company. The annual report says that the company owns eight cows, with an option on one more. Meanwhile, you kill the two cows in order to report lower overhead and project higher profits. Your stock soars-for a while.
MODERN CHINESE COMMUNISM: You have two cows. You bribe the party boss, sell the milk on an open market, buy a nightclub, deal drugs, and live well so long as you never speak your mind.
SURREALISM: You have two giraffes. The government requires you to take harmonica lessons.
With thanks to the various contributors of entries to these lists, available on the internet.

For an exploration of economic thought see The Archaeology of Economic Thought

Money Truth

2010-06-14T17:30:00.000+01:00

Money may finally curb science, if money is not curbed. … Money has made goods so plentiful that there is a revolutionary thought knocking, knocking, knocking for admission to the mind and heart of man. It is the thought that if goods are easily come by, should not money be come by as easily – money which is the arithmetical symbol of the goods? It is the thought that if Science, which is man, can make goods so easily, cannot man, who is Science, make ‘money’ with as little effort? It is the disturbing, the perplexing, the embryonic thought, that money is perhaps after all not a ‘natural’ phenomenon. The thing that gives money its frightful power – the black magic of it – is just the assumption, imbibed by us with our mothers’ milk, that Money is a natural phenomenon – the one really natural one in a naughty world. Now, once the suspicion that this is not a fact finds tendency in man’s mind, the Money Power of today is in danger, unless, of course, Money succeeds again as in the past in the establishment of a financial inquisition frightful enough to terrify man out of his heresy.
Extract from Artist Among the Bankers
Will Dyson, (J.M. Dent, 1933)
These prophetic words were written before the Second World War ‘solved’ the economic problem of the depression years.

Welcome to our Blog

2010-06-10T14:44:00.010+01:00

Understanding the Financial System is the latest in a series of books published over the last hundred years on the subject of the role of finance in society. All of these books have been studiously ignored by career academics, for reasons explained in Understanding the Financial System.

In this blog I argue that the very exercise of studying these texts in order to spot the flaws in the reasoning must be helpful if sound alternatives to the present chaos in political, social and economic affairs are to be found.