The Steady State Blog

Debt-money creates competition and scarcity

Money. We use it everyday yet our concept of it is limited. When we talk about money, we talk in terms of what it does, not what it is. Despite our ignorance of money it rules most of our lives. I recently finished a great documentary about money that I would like to share with you. “The Money Fix” goes into the detail of money and describes how our system creates money out of thin air, embeds each of us with a “scarcity complex” and incites competition instead of cooperation.

I described in a previous post how money is created by banks out of thin air. We exist in a debt-money system, using bank account ledgers more often than paper money. The way I had previously explained the concept of money creation the banks create money out of thin air through interest on debt. “The Money Fix” describes this differently. The money of the loan is created – all of it, be it $500 or $5 million – while the interest is “earned” money. When the loan is paid back the created money is canceled by the payment on the principle. But where does the interest come from? More debt.

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Greedy Banks Create Inflation

Our money was once valued by the worth of goods, but today it is our goods that are valued by their worth in money. Banks create money out of thin air by loaning it into existence. Increasing the money in the market creates inflation. This also means the system is required to continually grow in order to offset this inflation.

Money is not a real object, its value is abstract, and controlling large sums of it is imaginary wealth. We have given the power over our currency to private companies – they are greedy black holes, constantly starved for more. The good news for them is they can create more money. The bad news for us is that they can create more money.

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CASSE is in the running to receive valuable help for our efforts to spread awareness about the steady state economy. Free Range Studios is an outstanding online marketing group that specializes in progressive causes. They are the makers of the online video, The Story of Stuff. Voting is now open for an organization to receive $15,000 worth of marketing services from Free Range. CASSE is one of 400 candidates, and we can become a finalist by “winning the election.” Each person who signs up can cast 3 votes. It takes several steps to vote, but only a minute or two.

Here are the steps:

• 1. Go to this URL: http://youtopia.freerangeproject.com/
• 2. Click on Vote Now.
• 3. Click on “Sign Up” in the upper right corner.
• 4. Click on “Signup” at the lower left.
• 5. Enter your information, check the “Accept terms of service” box, and click the Sign Up button.
• 6. Click on Sustainable Living in the list of categories on the right.
• 7. Find “Grow better, not bigger!” in the list that appears.
• 8. Click on “Vote”.
• 9. Click on 3 to answer “How many votes?”

If you are inclined, please cast your votes for CASSE now, and encourage your colleagues to do the same.

Click here to go to the voting website.

A couple of Seattleites (myself included) have banded together to host a screening of the No Impact Man documentary sometime during the two weeks of Copenhagen Climate Conference (December 7th through 18th). This great event was organized by the No Impact Project and the Center for the New American Dream to have community hosted screenings around the country. If you live in the area or know anyone who does, be sure to let them know about this great flick and how they can win a pre-release DVD or No Impact Man book! If you’re not in the Seattle area, check out the event site to find a screening near you.

We’re hosting a showing on Dec 18th at the Greenwood Senior Center at 7pm (one month from today). The 90 min film will be followed by a short discussion period and activity. Snacks and drinks will be provided and we are asking for a donation of $5 or 3 cans of food for the local food bank. All (monetary) proceeds will go to the No Impact Project and with every donation you are entered into a raffle to win one of 2 pre-release DVDs or 2 No Impact Man books!

More information:

• Movie Press Packet
• Movie Spectacular Flyer

Here are two lists for the post-growth, steady state economy. The first list is for those of you who haven’t done much reading or are new to the topics. I would suggest reading them for an introduction into steady state concepts and then move on to the more in-depth list. The second list is what I consider (so far) to be the top books/articles – the “must haves” on your post growth reading list and is an expanded companion to the introduction list.

If you only read 5, 10, or 16 books/articles about sustainable economics and post-growth thought these are my suggestions:

Introduction to Post Growth, Steady State Economics

1. Shoveling Fuel for a Runaway Train, by Brian Czech
2. Thought Control in Economics, Adbusters Issue #85
3. Deep Economy, by Bill Mckibben
4. Prosperity Without Growth, report by Prof. Tim Jackson at the SDC (now a book)
5. The Great Transition, report by New Economics Foundation

Further Post Growth Reading

• Ecological Economics: Principles and Applications, by Herman Daly & Joshua Farley
• Small is Beautiful: Economics as if People Mattered, by E. F. Schumacher
• Peak Everything, by Richard Heinberg
• Managing without Growth, by Peter Victor
• Something New Under the Sun: An Environmental History of the Twentieth-Century World (Global Century Series), by J. R. McNeill
• The Lorax, by Theodor Geisel (aka Dr. Seuss) – this is Rob Dietz’s pick.
• Life in the Land Without Growth, special report from New Scientist
• The Economics of the Coming Spaceship Earth, by Kenneth Boulding
• The Costs of Economic Growth, by E. J. Mishan
• The Affluent Society, by John Kenneth Galbraith
• Beyond Growth: Economics of Sustainable Development, by Herman Daly
• New Economy, a collection of articles by Yes! Magazine and David Korten

There you have it. There are many other books/articles/blogs out there and I would definitely recommend you read as much as you can on anything that interests you. My problem usually lies in having more books to read than I have time to devote to them. I’m sure there are worse up-hill battles to be in, though.

The Wall Fell, But We Didn't Learn

The fall of the Berlin wall was a monumental event in history. Interestingly enough it acted as the end of a large-scale governance/economic experiment. Here we have two societies, each with similar backgrounds, but each with drastically different views of government and economics. On one side was placed a highly controlled society and on the other was placed a free market society. The prevalence of the capitalism in this instance was taken as proof of its superiority and also acted to secure it in our minds as they way for the future. However, there have not been any others to step up in competition – even if they would have been allowed socially.

So we are still locked in the same debate – capitalistic democracy or communism/socialism. Note how it is one or the other in this debate; no one seems to question that perhaps neither is the correct form for human prosperity. Given that the two extremes are both unsustainable, and the incredibly unlikely (and perhaps socially unwanted) possibility of a green, benign dictator coming to our rescue, we are ultimately left to our own devices to re-envision government So how do we make this change in the bureaucracies we have established and entrenched in unsustainable growth? How do we transition to a truly beneficial and socially just form of governance?

I would suggest we first ignore the initial pessimistic view (however likely it might seem to be) of a collapse of society in favor of an optimistic view of successfully transitioning without collapse. Why bother? Because the latter option gives us a challenge to work towards while the former option encourages laziness (and, in my case, would significantly increase my drinking habits in order to cope).

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Copenhagen Needs Some Help

The countdown is on with now just about a month until the much anxiously awaited Copenhagen Climate Conference where world leaders (we hope it’s the leaders, not delegates) will work on drafting a follow-up to the Kyoto Protocol that expires in 2012 (and a serious agreement is needed).

Nations know that there is no excuse for waiting, binding action must be taken at Copenhagen. Not only to maintain a decent standard of living and healthy planet for ourselves, but for our children. However, in order to realize this green dream we must recognize the inherent problems with our current system. Otherwise, we will continue to feed the growth machine without making ourselves happier and while making the world worse for our children.

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Impact Climate Action

We’ve been in the process of moving and I have also ramped up my studying for the professional engineers exam (taking in 3 weeks), but we did manage to break away last Friday to see Colin Beavan’s book signing at our local bookstore. It was quite illuminating, here are my thoughts on his book No Impact Man.

It is pretty easy to fall into habits that we know are bad but we do them anyway. Maybe yours is coffee or alcohol or TV. It doesn’t really matter, in the end these things provide escape from “the daily grind” or the all-consuming weight of things (e.g., “real life”). What happens when our life becomes just the means of escape? When do we stop to face it and all the questions it has for us?

When the end comes and the final breathe leaves my lips I hope my last thought is not about stuff I wish I had in my life. When I make that final thought I hope it’s not a worry that I could have gotten a better score on a video game. I hope my last thought is of the life I lived, the love I was blessed with, and the difference I made for the better in the world.

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