Clearly, Bill had topics in mind. The visitor sat quietly and waited. It was early morning and the weather quite beautiful as was normal for the southern tip of Vancouver Island.
His friend sat in serene contemplation as he gazed out to sea. Bill felt a strong mind -connection, which cleared all feelings of doubt or anxiety. He was focused as he realized that this could be a chance of a lifetime. He had lived with these questions for too long .He must find answers. The friend started the conversation.
“I know that you have many questions, but first keep in mind that only a correct answer can follow a correctly stated question. When you ask your question correctly you will often find the answer within the question. Always be prepared to define your terms. I will only answer the questions as they are presented”. He smiled and Bill felt comfortably challenged.
Bill started with the subject—Economics. “Why in this age of enlightenment do we still live in a world of poverty, greed, crime and war. Is it human nature or conditioning or circumstances over which we have no control that forces human decisions?”
The visitor smiled approvingly. “Your question is well asked. Decisions are generally the result of conditioning. Conditioning is the product of institutional education and the institution in this question is economics. Economic policies determine distribution of goods and services and in turn is controlled by the basic principle of the money system. Money was invented over two thousand of your years ago with the minting of the first coin. Money was invented as negotiable token to represent the distribution of goods and services. The invention of money is what you refer to as a paradigm shift. The smooth and efficient flow of money enabled a smooth flow of goods and services. Money flow has been successful for the development of modern industrial societies. Money, like commodities, has value due to its scarcity. When goods were scarce, as in primitive societies, money flow and commodity flow was successful in maintaining social growth. Today, modern society with its high level of mass production is now producing abundance. Here you have a contradiction. A scarcity token can not represent abundance.
Industrial societies are now creating artificial scarcities in order to maintain money flow. Business must continue to modernize in order to maintain a profit margin but further modernization results in further exponential growth. Automated factories produce more with less labor and increasing unemployment results in less purchasing power so the cycle perpetuates. Inventories build up and must be dumped or destroyed in order to maintain the essential scarcity.
Periodic wars followed by give away rebuilding programs are the quickest way to maintain artificial scarcity. Wars are an essential part of the business cycle. Service programs also require a growth supply of money in order to maintain employment. As the money supply grows the scarcity of money continues to drop carrying with it a drop in value. A devalued money token is called inflation’s industrial modernization expands inventories grow resulting in a loss in profits due to the need to reduce prices in order to make sales. This is called deflation. Deflation leads to market saturation and further unemployment. As money velocity approaches zero industrial society moves towards total shutdown. The end!
Bill was shaken and dumbfounded. Industrial society could not possibly be victimized so easily, could it? Bill composed himself then responded aggressively with the statement. "You have described a disastrous scenario". Now to test your own problem-solution model. ”In order to arrive at a correct solution the problem must be correctly presented with carefully defined terms then the solution may be found within the presentation”.
"You present our industrial society’s economic problems to be nothing other than money." "Money you say is the common denominator for the distribution of all goods and services. What then, according to the money definition is the solution to our economic problems?" Once again the serenity of the visitors composure restores Bill’s calm. He-she answered as if the question was elementary. Since evolution is change and since the only factor without change in the last 2,600 years is money then does it not appear obvious that the use of money has reached the end of it’s usefulness? "Yes", Bill answered, "but isn’t the only alternative barter which money has successfully replaced?" Not at all he-she answered. What is it that industry requires for manufacturing? Well Bill answered, "industry must have energy." Of course he replied. Energy is the common denominator for all production, distribution, and consumption. Industry manufactures with energy and consumers consume energy. Energy is measurable in units of kilogram calories or kilowatt-hours. Does it not follow that a system of bookkeeping could successfully maintain a balance between production and consumption? Bill replied with complete surprise. "Our credit and debit cards maintain our credit balances, so we are already functioning with money balances." Yes she replied but since the money system is coming to an end your cards will have to be converted to energy cards. The conversion is quite simple.
Bill was excited. Yes, the conversion from a money system to an energy system is the obvious answer! Economics become history.
Bill now asked to talk about the institutions of economics, politics, and government. Politicians are always involved with economics; their promises are always of an economic nature. What happens to their political platforms and agendas of special interest groups when economics come to the end? He-she answered with amusement you have just answered your own question. You see how simple the answer becomes when you ask the question correctly. Specialized directors and economics will replace politicians and commerce will no longer exist. A self-adjusting dynamic balance will maintain a uniform energy distribution between consumption and production.
Bill then asked the next obvious question. “Incentive, what happens to the incentive to succeed, or strive towards excellence when the profit motive is gone? “Incentive” he replied, “will be built into the social design, starting from a basic standard of living which includes food, shelter, clothing, education, transportation, communication and healthcare, which are the basic rights of citizenship. There will be a built in sequence of achievement stages, which will be rewarded with enhanced standard of living. This living standard will remain after retirement. Education will be of the highest standard for all citizens. Early retirement from responsibilities will be voluntary but flexibility of careers will be encouraged.
Democracy will be of the highest standard of the truest meaning of the term. In this democratic design directors will be elected from their peer group. Three candidates will be elected from colleagues or co-workers. From these three one will be appointed from above as the group director. This process will pyramid up to the final director who will be appointed by the final committee, of which he or she is a member. Selection from below and appointment from above will be repeated approximately every two years.
The beauty and simplicity of a pure democratic process astonished Bill. No longer will there be clash between individuals and special interest groups striving for personal power or wealth. Mind control from above would be impossible. Bill then burst forth without hesitation in a flurry of description, which automatically fell into place from such a society. He said, “Do you realize such a plan would automatically end the social problems of crime, corruption, poverty, environment destruction, pollution, and also the economic need for wars to unload overloaded inventories! These so-called problems are not problems at all; they are symptoms of problems. The social problem is MONEY.”
The visitor smiled with approval and amusement at Bill’s outburst of wisdom and insight He quietly added, “Always strive for simplicity. Beauty and truth will emerge.”