Ooh, I wrote and sent this 3 months ago, still no reply…
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Re. Capitalism lies in shambles, and the left has gone awol
Let me start by assuring you that I am an atheist (thank God) and that I am not a member of any political party, interest or pressure group, nor of any cult or club. An important point here is that I realise that our money and financial systems are entirely human constructs, not God-given. After earning £1 billion by betting on the devaluation of sterling on 24 October 1992, George Soros said that if people like me can bring down governments, it means something is wrong with the (money) system.
The trouble with our debt-based financial system transends matters of left and right, traditionalist and progressive. It is more to do with a gross form of financial illiteracy. There are clear solutions which will benefit people, the economy, the environment and the international community (but not, perhaps, politicians, economists and the capitains of industry):
1. The state should issue a safe, secure and debt-free (equitable) form of money and restrict the free-market production of debt. As debt is reduced the state issues more (debt free) money. A citizens income might help. Here’s Abe Lincoln in 1865: The privilege of creating and issuing money is not only the supreme prerogative of government, but it is the government’s greatest creative opportunity. If only we had a fraction of that understanding!
2. To phase out debt, banks should be very tightly regulated, with strict liquidity ratios phased in over time. Usury laws should be reintroduced (surely the Bible and the Q’ran agreed on this very moral and ethical principle for good reason?) and the charging of interest capped.
3. Ideas for tighter regulation of the banks include the phasing in of policies that restrict the length of loan/mortgages. House prices will fall over time as the maximum mortgage falls to 10 years. The aim should be to return to, or close to, the historically stable (200 years or so) equation whereby average house price = 1.5 times the average annual salary.
4. Financial instruments for productive investment should be based on on a share-dividend system whereby financial profits and losses are genuinely shared by investors. This will create a much more positive (and co-operative) relationship between investors and entrepreneurs as they would share exactly the same goals: no debts, just repayment of money invested plus (or minus) share dividend.
I could go on, but I appreciate that most people, experts included, will have glazed over by now. This is a shame: if only we understood the nature of money, we could create a beautifully safe and just system for the production and distribution of goods and services in which money will cease to be the master and become the servant of humanity as Abe says. Those of us who understand and agree with his insights – and we are many – still hope that one day we will see democracy take charge and subdue the money-grabbing minority who profit at our expense. Imagine!
