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WhatComes After

Capitalism?

The Manifesto of Moral Solidarity

Herbert Giller

Edition Moralsolid


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What Comes After

Capitalism?

The Manifesto of Moral Solidarity

Commentary of

Tractatus socio-oeconomicus

compiled by Herbert Giller

Authorized English Version1.01

Edition Moralsoliddition Mor lsolid


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The author covers all costs for the production of this publication from his own pocket and offers the result for all interested

readers free of charge. Nobody should be able to say that they could not receive the message because they did not have

enough money. The author however cannot afford extra expenses like distribution costs and postal charges. If someone has

enough money at hand and would like to relieve the author financially, they are invited to transfer a small amount to the bank

account below:

Herbert iller

I!"N: "T#$ %#&' '&'' %('& )(#'

!I*: +"-"T%/any thanks0

hat *omes "fter *apitalism1

The /anifesto of /oral olidarity

Translated from the erman original:

Was kommt nach dem Kapitalismus?

Das moralisch-solidarische Manifestelf2published in 3ienna, &'%&

4 Herbert iller

"uthori5ed +nglish +dition %.'%

6ublished in "ustria

/ay &'%$

Translation: Ingrid 7avies

+diting: 8illy undacker

Title graphics: Herbert iller


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Preface to the beta-version

&t is no! only a matter of time until capitalism is destroyed by its o!n inade:uacies. ith thedecline of communism its great antagonist has disappeared' and the absurdities of capitalism arebecoming more and more apparent. e hae already e%perienced t!o tremors; the realcatastrophe' ho!eer' is imminent.

The !orlds !hoassume a basically capitalistic ie!point. All too often they !ander in circles on the same planeand are not able to loo" at the situation from a higher leel. They donctober +011

The original version of this book was written in German in great haste between October 20 th and

December 30th 2011.


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Preface to the first edition

The $eta5ersion of this te%t !as compiled as a concise collection of statements !ith the titleTractatus socio-oeconomicus' after the model of 9ud!ig ittgenstein


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ntents

1. The Structure................................................................................................................................... ....1

1.1 The Spiritual Level..................................................................................................................2

1.2 The Line of Demarcation.....................................................................................................2

1.3 Economic Liberalism..............................................................................................................3

1.4 The Human Level................................................................................................................. ..4

2. The Economy........................................................................................................................................5

2.1 The urpose........................................................................................................................ ....5

2.2 The !rofit".......................................................................................................................... ...5

2.3 E#oism in the Economy.........................................................................................................$

2.4 The %oral Entrepreneur............................................................................................. .........&

2.5 !Economic 'ro(th"..............................................................................................................&

2.) 'lobali*ation..........................................................................................................................1+

3. %oney...................................................................................................................................................13

3.1 Ho( is %oney %a,e-..........................................................................................................13

3.2 The %oney of the uture...................................................................................................15

3.3 Debt.........................................................................................................................................1)

3.3.1 ersonal Debt.........................................................................................................1)

3.3.2 /ompany Debt.......................................................................................................10

3.3.3 ational Debt....................................................................................................... ..1&

3.4 Loans an, Savin#s ccounts..............................................................................................21

3.5 Taes.......................................................................................................................................23

4. nterest ..............................................................................................................................................204.1 The an on nterest.............................................................................................................20

4.2 /ompoun, nterest.............................................................................................................20

4.2.1 The Le#en, of St. 6oseph7s enny......................................................................2$

4.3 The Epan,e, orm of nterest.......................................................................................2&

4.3.1 Le#al spects..........................................................................................................3+

5. Economic 8alues................................................................................................................................33

5.1 The 8alue of %aterial 'oo,s............................................................................................33

5.1.1 !rbitrary ricin#".................................................................................................35

5.1.2 nflation.....................................................................................................................3)

5.1.3 Tra,e.........................................................................................................................3)

5.1.4 The %ar9et Economy...........................................................................................30

5.1.5 The !La(" of Supply an, Deman,............................................................ ........30

5.2. air ay................................................................................................................................ ..3&

5.2.1 The !:or9place"................................................................................................. .3&

5.2.2 /riteria for the Evaluation of Human Labour................................................42

5.2.3 The 6ust roportion of ncome....................................................................... ...43

5.2.4 The Labour %ar9et.............................................................................................. .44

). ncome :ithout erformance.......................................................................................................40

).1 The Siphonin#;off of


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.) $etting.....................................................................................................................................*0.* Corruption and Criminality...............................................................................................*1. The ?ar"ets@................................................................................................................. .....*+

,. 7roperty ..............................................................................................................................................*,.1 aterial 7roperty.................................................................................................................*

,.+ &ntellectual 7roperty............................................................................................................**,. >!nership of an by an.............................................................................................. ..*,,.) E%propriation........................................................................................................................0,.* Transfer of 7roperty through Gift or &nheritance.......................................................1

-. The Economy of oral olidarity.................................................................................................-.1 The 4lorian 7rinciple...........................................................................................................-.+ &ndiidual easures..............................................................................................................)-. ystemic easures...............................................................................................................*-.) The ule of oney.......................................................................................................... ....-.* The ?orld Eolution@.................................................................................................... ..

-. The 8ifficult 7ath 4or!ard................................................................................................,

D. The >ld and the #e! 7olitics..................................................................................................... ..,1D.1 The ise of 8emocracy......................................................................................................,1D.+ The Three Types of Goernment ule..........................................................................,+

D.+.1 The Grassroots 8emocracy...............................................................................,+D.+.+ epresentatie 8emocracy.................................................................................,D.+. Charismatic 7ersonalities.....................................................................................,

D. The 8eficiencies of Today


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1. The Structure

The structure of human life within the surrounding universe can best be described as a model

with three layers. Humankind stands between the spiritual and the material level, is connected

to both, and is thus the link that connects the universe and makes it whole.

At the top of the model is the spiritual level, which incorporates spiritual values, religion, ethics

and morality. The middle level is occupied by humankind whose social existence is regulated by

what we call politics. At the base we find the materialistic level, which supplies everything that

people need for their existence and well-being. We call this the economy.

piritual values

!eligion, ethics, morality

"olitics

!egulates human interactions

The economy

"rovides humankind with goods and services

The Tractatus socio-oeconomicus deals mostly with the lowest level# the economy, however the

interactions between all the levels, shall also be examined in detail.

The sensible system would be for politics to be guided by the superordinate spiritual level, so

that ethical principles such as $ustice, fairness, honesty, decency and a sincere interest in the

common good would determine political activity.

The economy, on the lower level, should receive clear directives from politics in order to be

able to serve humankind in the optimal way. imilarly, ethical principles should take root in the

business world in order to prevent economic activities from exerting a detrimental effect on

society.

Commentary

%ooking at today&s world we come to the conclusion that the hierarchy of the three levels has

been turned upside down.

"olitics is governed by the economy rather than vice versa. 't is not only influenced by materialconstraints( it is also directly manipulated as a result of certain economic interests. )ompanies

and big corporations send out their lobbyists to influence politicians to serve their interests.

%eading politicians are bought through donations towards their election campaigns, and once in

power reward their donors by making decisions in their favour. The whole world looks on and

thinks nothing of it. *ue to national debts, the financial markets recklessly exploit their position

of power, advocating political activities. +oreover, politicians are obsessed with the idea of

constantly having to generate new $obs or encourage others to do so. As a result, politicians act

as puppets of the economy.

"olitics has completely disassociated itself from the spiritual level. *espite the fact that some

politicians like to appear in public with ecclesiastical leaders, the moral codes of honesty,

decency, adherence to principles and incorruptibility are no longer practised values in the

political arena. Although every now and then there are initiatives by smaller groups to try and


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we see dictatorial religious leaders greatly inhibiting their people&s freedom. )urrently,however, this agreement of separation, which should also protect the religious community frominterference by the state, is being increasingly violated by the latter. 2urthermore, theseparation between church and state is no excuse for politicians to ignore the ethical principlesestablished and formulated by religious bodies3leaders. 'n terms of content we have to preservethe hierarchy of the three levels.

*ue to the constant influence of materialistic self-interest which the economy exhorts onto thepolitical level, these two ought to be disconnected. "oliticians should solely take measures toensure the well-being of the human community( they should not interfere with the interests of businesses and big corporations. 4ven though 5economic policy6 is a customary concept, weshould clearly differentiate between politics and the economy. 't is neither desirable norsensible for the state or country to control economic affairs. That, though, does not mean thateconomic affairs should not be conducted according to a framework and clear set of rulesprovided by the political leaders. !emember that in all matters of content the hierarchy of thethree levels must be maintained.

1.3 Economic Liberalism

Within the capitalist arena there are strong driving forces which aim to prevent any kind of political influence upon the economy( they are striving for total de-regulation. That is principallythe wrong way 0 actually, it is the worst thing to do. The economic crisis of today is happeningexactly because of such a long-term de-regulation initiated during the !eagan-Thatcher-4ra.This movement is generally called neo-liberalism 7new form of economic liberalism8.

't is based on the assumption that every business person working for their own benefit will

eventually meet the borderline of their business neighbour&s self-interest. 9iven time this issupposed to bring about a self-regulating balance which will benefit everybody. This consistentlypursued self-interest on behalf of the business people apparently results in them ultimatelysatisfying the needs of society, as this is supposed to be most beneficial for themselves.

This, however, is a dangerous fallacy. 'f this balance should be brought about through animmoral motivation, namely materialistic egoism, the person with the most immoral, egoistic,corrupt and unscrupulous attitude will always be advantaged. Those less brutal in their businessproceedings will systematically be pushed aside. 'n the end, this kind of economic structure willbe controlled by people whom we would prefer not to see in our future economy.

't is of no particular help to try and moderate the effects of neo-liberalism with some socialmarket economy 7which combines private enterprise with regulation and state intervention toestablish fair competition8. Any unscrupulous mind-set remains the same. We long for aneconomic model which benefits those striving for the good of society and punishes egoisticmaterialism. An economy based on the wrong principles presents a danger for the future of humankind. The American president does not need to go far to find the 5axis of evil6 7a termcoined by 9eorge W. :ush8. 't begins right in his own country with the Tea "arty movementand continues over the )ayman 'sles, the :ahamas, and )hannel 'sles to the )ity of %ondon andfurther to wit;erland, %iechtenstein and +onaco.


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2. The Economy

In order to determine why the current economic system is not working smoothly and is, in

fact, at the brink of collapse, as well as to discover the basic principles upon which a new

system could work better on a permanent basis, we need to look at the actual definition of the

word “economy” and at the pillars that support it today.

2.1 The Purpose

The purpose of the economy is to supply humans with goods and services. Looking at its

performance today we easily get the impression that there is a different focus, namely to gain

higher and higher profits and to rise to ever greater heights. However, it is definitely not the

purpose of the economy to make individuals or groups of individuals increasingly richer, usually

at the epense of others or to the detriment of the whole community.

!ost people involved in business consider making a profit the most important aspect. That is a

fatal error. The actual purpose of the economy can be fulfilled to the greatest satisfaction of all

without constant striving for ever greater selfish interest. "n the contrary, the less egoistic

business people act, the greater the all#round satisfaction. The economy must not degenerate

to an instrument for the actors to accumulate personal wealth for personal enrichment.

Commentary

The idea that the only possible motivation for all human activity $particularly in the field of the

economy% is to achieve personal egoistic benefit is absolutely wrong. Thousands of people

provide proof every day to the contrary but are pushed to the margins of society. &reed is nota characteristic with which original human nature is endowed' rather we become conditioned,

through education and social interaction, to believe that we can only live happily if we can gain

as much as possible for ourselves, even at the cost of others. This has to come to an end.

(ny business can be run with a different motivation. It is best to simply strive to offer

customers the best possible products and services and not only satisfy their wishes and

demands but even surpass their epectations. This principle can also be applied within a

company regarding employees by providing ecellent working conditions and showing

appreciation for the work done. )ompetition between similar suppliers, as is common these

days, is utterly counter#productive $the worst is ousting smaller businesses%. It does not matter

who supplies goods and services to people as long as it happens. ( competition between twobusinesses of similar trade could be morally tenable if the aim was to outdo the other with

better products or a better service and the competition was run with all due respect and

fairness.

2.2 The “Profit”

Though the idea that businesses absolutely must make a profit is deep rooted, it is still wrong.

That does not mean, however, that a business should not strive to achieve a measurable

success in the form of company gains. *esides the method of making these gains, anotherimportant criterion is what happens to it. +e would here like to attribute a different

characteristic to “gains” and “profit”.


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't is imperative for businesses to gain from their economic activities in order to be able tomaintain their infrastructure and reinvest into the company. uch investments should be madeto improve the uality of the products or services offered, to simplify production ormanufacturing processes or to improve working conditions. They should further serve toimprove employees& uality of life by reducing stress levels, allowing more free time, or bygiving a larger number of people the chance to become involved in the business.

hould there still be an excess after the deduction of operating costs and investments then thisought to be divided amongst the people who helped to produce this result. The idea that thismoney should go to outsiders 7individuals or groups8 who have not contributed towards gainingit is absurd. There remains, however, the possibility to pass this surplus on to the communityto help reali;e community pro$ects or to fill gaps in other places.

What happens to this surplus of gains should be left to the discretion of those who worked toachieve it. 'f people who have done nothing to achieve a company&s economic success siphonoff all or part of its gains or decide how it should be used we call it 5profit6. The attitudebehind such action is called materialistic egoism. 't is the intellectual basis of the capitalistic

economic system which governs our world economy now.

These definitions of 5gains6 and 5profit6 shall be retained throughout the rest of this book.

Commentary

't is not difficult to see that today&s economic system is not working in accordance with thedefinition stated above. The compulsive profit-seeking drive ranks at the top and some businesspeople will use any means to achieve their desired result 0 usually and foremost at the expenseof those who worked to make it happen.

A measure often used to maximi;e profits is so called 5rationali;ation6. There is fundamentallynothing wrong in making the work programme more effective and labour-saving( it createsmore free room for further improvements. ?et those responsible conveniently ignore the factthat such measures, if taken to further unethical profit-seeking, have damaging side effects forcommunities.

The many and diverse negative conseuences of misunderstood rationali;ation measures are#

4mployees are laid off

"roduction is transferred to cheap labour countries

nemployment rises

4ual or even greater workloads are then divided amongst fewer people 4mployees are under great pressure to increase their output

tress levels rise, leading in many cases to a burnout-syndrome

:urnout leads to more unemployment and greater costs to the national health service

4mployees lose their enthusiasm to work, seeking early retirement

+assive early retirement increases the problem of financing pensions

?oung people are under more pressure to sustain an older non-working generation

4tc.

We can see that through wrongly motivated rationali;ation numerous vicious circles are set in

motion which will eventually lead to an altercation. 'f the working environment were optimi;edwith the motivation towards enhancing the work experience and well-being of the employees,it would lead to an upward spiral and the recovery of the economy.

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/ther negative conseuences of the 5maximising of profits at any cost6 are#

The health and safety of personnel is economi;ed 0 accidents happen

erious environmental damage is accepted, even the poisoning of people

+altreatment of economically useful animals, without respect for nature

"roducers and farmers do not receive a fair price for their products

seful inventions and discoveries which could threaten the profit margins of large-scaleenterprises are suppressed by any means necessary

"atents which would greatly advance technical progress but prove detrimental for theprofit of big corporations vanish from the scene

*angerous ingredients in products are concealed or denied

"oisonous waste is illegally deposited in nature

nhealthy foodstuffs are 0 against better knowledge 0 promoted and sold

2ood items are adulterated

ew medication is only developed if it is considered lucrative

There is hardly any research into medication for typical illnesses in poor countries

4tc.

2urthermore, it becomes clear that the profit is mostly distributed amongst persons or groupsof people who are not members of the company. 't goes for the most part to owners who haveusually made none or very little contribution towards the financial success of the business, orto the shareholders who have certainly done nothing at all towards it. The people who actuallywork and create the economic growth are placated with minor amounts, a mere pittance. Anincrease in real wages is only given very reluctantly to allow for inflation, with the ulteriormotive being that the recipients of such alms will be eager to spend the money to the advantageof other proprietors and shareholders.

Note

The irresistible impulse to obtain a profit is also nurtured by other premises of today&seconomic system# for instance, the automatic mechanism caused by compound interest.

Summary

The ideal of an enterprise in a new economic system can only be a 5non-profit-organi;ation6acting with social awareness. The fact that outsiders who don&t work in the business, likeshareholders and some owners, take away all the gains the workmen and women have laboured

for is 0 from a moral viewpoint 0 to be denounced.

't is argued that the owners and3or shareholders are the ones who put up the capital for thebusiness in the first place and have thus enabled it to be successful. Here we have to note thefact that if people make their surplus money which they don&t actually need available it has noreal value( conseuently, such an act should not be honoured. +oreover, we must examinehow the investors have gained this fortune. hould that have happened through the un$ustifiedsiphoning-off of profits gained by the labour of others or through other forms of incomewithout performance, for example interest or speculation, then this unethically earned moneyshould immediately be returned to its rightful owner.

The fundamental problem lies in the fact that such immoral conduct is established in law and istherefore legal in all countries on earth. 't is not surprising, then, that the previously mentionedthree levels are turned upside down and the leaders of the economy can decide which laws

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should be passed, namely those convenient for themselves. This deplorable state of affairs must

be put to an end immediately.

The compulsive striving for profit in the sense of materialistic egoism is a fundamental cause for not

having established a world of justice, harmony and well-being for all people.

Politicians must introduce measures which will prevent this profit-driven behaviour from beingrewarded. Instead, economic enterprises centred on common values should be encouraged. To

accomplish this change, mere informative campaigns will not suffice; a reform of the penal code,

on the other hand, should stop these economic excesses once and for all.

The siphoning-off of company gains without having worked for it is a fundamental cause for not

having established a world of justice, harmony and well-being for all people.

Whoever misappropriates values created by others and thus infringes upon moral principles

shall also be prosecuted. The government, in other words the political level, shall finally assume

its position as the authority over the economy and pass laws accordingly. The use of monetary

fines as punishment is out of the uestion as it is not a significant enough deterrent. !or this"ind of offence only imprisonment # which denies the perpetrator the luxury he would have

been able to en$oy with his un$ustified profits # would prove effective. In milder cases a

sentence of community service might also wor". The unethically and then %after the necessary

reformation of the law& potentially unlawfully accumulated profits must be given bac" to the

wor"force who created them or to the human community in general.

Today's almost unlimited predominant capitalistic economic system is based on materialistic

egoism which can no longer be tolerated. We therefore postulate herewith a new form of

economic enterprise which is based on moral principles and interpersonal relationships and

which we will call the (economy of moral solidarity). The society founded on the same moralprinciples is the (society of moral solidarity).

2.3 Egoism in the Economy

*ltruism is usually regarded as the counter-example to egoism. +owever, can altruism be a

useful basis for economic activities +ere we have to ma"e a clear distinction. In common

speech there is the expression of (healthy egoism), meaning the instinct for self-preservation

the act of responsibly ma"ing provisions for one's own well-being and safe-guarding and

improving one's existence. If you cannot ta"e care of yourself you cannot loo" after others. If

you only care for the well-being of others but neglect your own you will soon be ruined, at

which point you cannot help anybody anymore. our helpfulness has become your peril. *nexample for the necessity of helping oneself first can be found on aeroplanes in the case of a

loss of cabin pressure parents are told to put the oxygen mas"s first on themselves and then

onto their children.

It is therefore important to find the right balance between satisfying one's $ustified self-interests

and helping your fellow men and women. In this boo" we don't use the term (egoism) when

we tal" about the necessary self-preservation. It is used solely for the action of ma"ing a great

deal of money # more than is necessary for one's own existence # at the expense of others.

/ometimes this is accompanied by great ruthlessness which, more often than not, results in the

ruin of others. *s the economy deals with material commodities we call this unscrupulous

behaviour (materialistic egoism). The alternative solution is not altruism but a balance of

loo"ing after oneself as well as others, here called (solidarity). The counteraction to

materialistic egoism is therefore moral solidarity.

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2.4 The Moral Entrepreneur

Throughout history to the present day there have always been people who managed their

business to the best of their "nowledge and moral conscience. Than"s to these people we

"now that there is a different way of running the economy. 1eyond $ust following the letter of

the law, these business people have treated their employees fairly and humanely and have built

housing, canteens, nurseries for employees' children and many other social facilities. They havealso improved wor"ing conditions and atmospheres, thereby raising their wor"ers' motivation

and increasing productivity.

2evertheless, we must understand that even the most moral of employers will come upon the

limitations of the system they are under. 3oral behaviour within the economic world is not

honoured as it should be, whilst unscrupulous actions are fully covered by law and allow for

greater exploitation. !or instance, it is not possible for the moral employer to pay his

wor"force wages true to the value of their labour because nobody else in business does so.

Within a very short time they would lose ground and become ban"rupt. !rom all this we can

gather that the potential for a fair economic system exists, but that the current system with its

legal framewor" prohibits real progress and therefore must be altered.

The unbridled greedy striving for profit on the basis of materialistic egoism serves as a

foundation for other excesses in the economy under which we currently suffer. This will be

explained in more detail.

2.5 “Economic Growth”

When companies draw up their yearly balance sheet an increase in growth is expected; the

same is true for the gross national product. To be precise, an increase in last year's increase is

expected, for numerous complaints will arise should the growth in profit be $ust a little lessthan before. 4conomic growth is understood as eualling uantitative increase. The idea that

the economy has to grow constantly is nonsensical. The only $ustifiable argument for wanting

uantitative growth is the growing population, which means more goods and services are

needed. *nother temporarily acceptable reason is that underprivileged people and developing

countries need to raise their economies to catch up their economic bac"log.

In a saturated national economy the compulsive drive for uantitative growth leads to the

production of more and more unnecessary merchandise, for which # through enormous

advertising campaigns # artificial demand then needs to be created. !urthermore, this

merchandise is purposely produced with inferior uality so that it brea"s soon and reuires

replacement. This is a tremendous waste of human and material resources.

The first historical example of the light bulb is well "nown, but since then the methods have

become progressively cunning. The only sensible growth in the economy is ualitative growth.

It is then acceptable if new technologies and ualitative improvements lead to some

commodities becoming obsolete. 2ew inventions which can improve the uality of life for

people must be produced and distributed. In this way sensible uantitative economic growth

can follow ualitative growth.

Commentary

In 5678 the 9lub of :ome presented its alarming report titled (The imits to


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growth will, sooner or later, reach its limits. If we do not change its direction early enough we'll

drive the economic system unhindered into the ground.

Note

The compulsion to achieve uantitative growth is also determined by other factors of today's

economic system, such as compound interest.

Summary

=ur economy need not constantly grow uantitatively. If all malicious factors which demand

constant growth are eliminated, it is perfectly sensible to similarly cut bac" economically for

example, to end the production of superfluous and>or harmful merchandise. :egardless,

human"ind should always strive to improve the uality of its economic enterprises to achieve a

better uality of life.

2. Glo!ali"ation


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control through politically and democratically authori?ed agencies was thus eliminated; the

financial (shar"s) were now free to do as they li"ed.

Commentary

4conomic globali?ation is an excellent opportunity to spread prosperity # that is, to give

developing countries and those at the stage of economic ta"e-off a chance to bring theireconomies into line with those of the richer countries. This possibility already existed during

the era of colonisation; alas, the colonisers directed their main attention towards enriching

themselves at the cost of the colonies. These former colonies are today %at least in name& free

countries but because globali?ation has been driven based on materialistic and egoistic

principles, their human and material resources are once again used to ma"e the already rich

richer. 2ow, though, the pendulum has started to swing in the other direction. Wor"ing people

in the industrialised countries are losing their $obs while multinational concerns move to low-

wage countries. These big groups are enriching themselves globally and their victims can be

found everywhere.

The structural model of the layers of globali?ation today goes something li"e this the spiritual

basis is materialistic egoism, the political level is eliminated and the clever agents of the business

world are unimpeded and becoming richer and richer at the expense of everyone else.

/alvation lies in the political level regaining power over the economy. *ll financial (offshore)

locations # in other words, all tax oases and anchorages for accommodation addresses # ought

to be rigorously and ruthlessly eliminated. This is especially embarrassing when such oases

blossom on 4C territories such as 4ngland.

1an"s and corporations which are (too big to fail) must no longer exist; they must be bro"en

up and divided into smaller units which, should they go ban"rupt, will not upset the whole

system. It is unacceptable that such enterprises are put bac" on their feet using tax payers'money. It is up to the owner to save their business investing their own money or letting it go

ban"rupt. We should once more heed the not-so-very-old slogan (small is beautiful).

*nother typical example of globali?ation starting at the wrong end is the 4uropean common

currency system. In itself it is a brilliant idea, but once again the cart was put before the horse.

The union occurred only on the economic level. 2ow it is becoming obvious that it cannot

possibly wor" if each member of the 4uro-system pursues its own economic policies, centred

on its own interests. This favours companies which are already strong and disadvantages the

wea"er ones. That is why


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3. $oney

'n recent times people have been thinking and writing a lot about money. +any see money asthe basic evil of the economic crisis and want to do away with it altogether. /thers are satisfiedwith carrying out far-reaching modifications concerning money. We shall now expound the

essential features on how money can be considered from the viewpoint of an economy of moral solidarity.

+oney in its current form, and by extension capital, is in that view unnecessary. )apitalism thenbecomes a superfluous concept. +oney is not actually a real entity( it does not have any truevalue and therefore cannot be used like commodities which are suitable for lending, exchanging,buying and selling. 'n spite of this it is excessively sold, bought, exchanged and lent. 't is like 5theemperor&s new clothes6( it does not actually exist and yet everyone insists that they can see itand participate in all the manipulations. This is truly the greatest deception of all time. 't is timeto expose this blindness and put an end to this mystification.

+oney in the old economic system turned out to be only a virtual entity, a proportional figurethat tells the value of goods and services, and in this capacity it can also be $ustified in the newsystem. When money becomes 5currency6 it assumes another uality besides the numericalone. This new role consists of various components like the definition of the sphere of influencein which it is valid and the identification with countries and cultures.

'n a worldwide society founded on principles of moral solidarity the symbol content of the coinloses its meaning somewhat as there are no more power blocs with sharp boundaries. A unifiedworld has no need for different currencies. They only served political power games in the oldsystem which have no place in a political system based on moral principles.

3.1 Ho' is $oney $a*e+

'n ancient times money was minted from precious metals, like gold or silver, and its valueconformed to that of the metal. 'n addition, it was minted with the portrait of the politicalleader, representing the protectorate which guaranteed the value of the money and indicatedits realm of validity. )oins are still minted from metal today but producing the coin costs muchless than the value imprinted on it. 't has become a tangible symbol for a virtual item. Thisdisparity is even more extreme with paper money. A banknote of > 4uro costs 0 in spite of the complex production process 0 only about 1 cents to produce.

't has been a long time since we could say that our coins and banknotes represented realvalues. +oney does not originate from the mint or printing press. 't is a purely virtual thingcreated from 5nothing6. 'magine someone enters a number into a central computer 0 possibly aone with lots of ;eroes. :ut who is this someoneC That is the crucial uestion.

't needs someone with special authori;ation to generate money. 'n our system this is nominallythe government of a country, represented by the central bank 72ederal !eserve :ank in theA8. We need to investigate how this works in practice. 'n some countries the national banksare unfortunately privatised, for example in the biggest economic power on earth, the nitedtates of America. This opens all doors for manipulation to the detriment of the nations&citi;ens. The national banks then lend money to private banks, as we know them, at the so-called base rate 7with the corresponding compound interest8. 'n the A this is called thefederal funds rate.


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'n the common view the amount of money which is generated in this way and then circulatedneeds to correspond with the value of the goods and services on the market, otherwise thewhole system becomes unbalanced. We cannot simply, in times of need, increase the amount of money produced as that would lead to an escalation and intensification of the crisis, even acollapse of the economy. We know this from the period between the wars of the 1 th century,when a simple bread roll cost a billion marks or crowns in 9ermany and Austria. 'f there is not

enough money in circulation there will also be disturbances. The amount of money made andcirculated must therefore stay within a certain bandwidth. An artificial tightening of money 7theob$ect of barter8 is an excellent method to simulate a shortage of resources and exercisepower as well as making profits. The fine-tuning of money supply is therefore an important partof controlling the economy. :ut who is tuning the economyC 's it the politicians, who have beendemocratically elected and thus authori;ed by the peopleC )ertainly not.

Commentary

+oney has had 0 over the course of many centuries of its existence 0 various significant roles#from being a manifestation of the power of princes and kings, whose portraits were imprintedon the coins, to actually assuming a mystical-religious meaning when money was created by thepriests in the temple. 't was uite common to imprint pictures of gods on the coins. At leastthe coins of ancient times and the +iddle Ages possessed the value of the metal they weremade of. "aper money was originally only a certificate for a larger amount of metal which couldnot be carried around due to its weight.

+any people still believe that the money they hold in their hand represents a true value# forinstance, a pound of sterling-silver or a certain uantity of gold stored in 2ort Inox. This is,however, an illusion. The monetary gold standard was completely abandoned in EB


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Summary

The fact that money itself is treated like a commodity which can be bought, sold, exchanged or lent

(against a charge) is a fundamental cause for not having established a world of justice, harmony and

well-being for all people.

Note

Some authors who have been examining the nature of money are setting the creation of new

money “from nothing” when a bank grants a credit. The money is generated by the booking

action, with the result that, as well as the borrower’s credit balance towards the bank, there

also occurs a debt owed by the bank to the borrower. This is a senseless occurrence as it

cancels itself out. The only “significance” arises from the resulting opportunity to profit from

this through interest. or the payment of interest, however, no new money is created, which

means that it has to be found by raising a new credit. Therefore the interest is always taken out

before the credit. The money we hold in our hands is, according to this view, nothing more

than a promissory note. !istorians have been able to prove that such notes existed long before

the introduction of monetary coins. This system of debts and repayments then becomes more

important than money for the present economic system. "gain, we can see that we need to

take leave of the current economic model as soon as possible. #e will talk about the problem

of debt and interest later in more detail.

3.2 The Money of the Future

$ven in a new economy of moral solidarity there will be a medium of payment, since it is a

useful means of circulation in economic transactions. %t need not necessarily bear the name

“money” as it won’t have much in common with today’s concept of money. %t is, however,

necessary as a virtual form of payment for various purposes like fixing the boundaries of purchases for persons and companies, to define the value of goods and services as a basis for

the circulation of products, or as a reward for valuable social activities.

&any models of an alternative form of transaction ' hardly noticed by the wider public already

exist. Some of these models have been tested in a practical setting, albeit only on a regional

level. %n the conception and introduction of a sensible monetary model we can hence use and

combine previously existing models.

#e need to consider, though, that we live in the age of cyberspace and cannot turn the wheel

of time backwards. %n the long term we can therefore expect a form of digital payment system

which will use the worldwide means of communication (i.e. internet and mobile phone) as itsbasis, or some other even more efficient ways of mass communication developed in the future.

%t will hence become necessary to use the experiences made with various monetary models and

to produce and establish a sort of anti*money internationally, as it makes no sense to have

different means of exchange in every village. %nitially, this new form of money presents itself as

an alternative to the conventional type of money. urthermore, we need to come away from

the concept of one to one exchange. %n a moral society of solidarity we need to make more

room for models of unconditional assistance services and a system of mutual gifts. %n the long

term investment and value will arrive at a balance because one is also the receiver of help and

gifts from others.

The technical prere+uisites will arise when we purposefully search for the optimal solution.

#hether it will happen through an extended mobile phone service or a chip implanted under

the skin comes to a matter of detail which will be solved in the course of development. The

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chip has the advantage that it cannot be easily stolen( on the other hand, it can be misused forcriminal machinations. Juestions of security will, however, eventually be resolved in such a waythat misuse and theft will disappear 0 apart from the fact that, in the new economic order, suchacts will become more and more pointless and absurd.

There is no doubt that this new digital medium of payment needs to be globally deliverable. 'n a

unified world we should not have to change the means or method of payment every time wetravel to or trade with a different region. The prereuisite for this is, though, that all citi;ens incountries like omalia, for example, have the same access to international networks as those inthe A or wit;erland, be it over smartphone or any other mobile instrument of communication. To achieve that we need to raise the living standard in even the poorestregions on earth and improve their infrastructure in order to match advanced technicalstandards. To ad$ust living conditions of all world citi;ens to a decent level is, in any case, oneof the most pressing tasks of a new global economic system. 't needs to be accomplished asuickly as possible.

3.3 Debt

A debt is money that you do not have but need to pay someone within a certain time period.The one who doesn&t have the money we call debtor( the one who, at some point, will wantthe money 0 and will take it by force if necessary 0 is called creditor. *ebts take various formswhich we will subseuently examine.

3.3.1 ersonal Debt

There are two extreme reasons for the cause of debt# need and greed.

*ebt caused by poverty appears when a person does not have the financial means to satisfy thefundamental needs for food, clothing and housing for themselves and their family. 4nergy andother absolute necessities like transport and cover for medical treatments are also viewed asbasic needs today. The fact that people have no choice but to plunge themselves into debt is adisgrace for the human race and a sign that we live in a culture where people do not care foreach other. 'n past centuries, when a debtor did not have the economic means to pay back their debt, they either became a vassal who, for the rest of their life, had to slave away for theircreditor or they were thrown into the debtor&s prison from which they would not emergealive. We only appear to have more humane ways to solve the problem of unpaid debts these

days# so-called bankruptcy proceedings.

Another way of becoming indebted, without having caused the debt themselves, is throughtaking over other people&s debts# for instance, when acting as a guarantor. This mainly affectswomen who, out of love, faithfully vouch for their husbands but are then deceived andabandoned by them. The banks then unscrupulously take advantage of these poor victims whilethe actual debtors are either miles away or without any means. This kind of behaviour is adisgrace to society( laws should be in place to protect people who become indebted throughno fault of their own from plunder. 'nstead they find themselves alone in their misery.

'n richer countries the accumulation of debt due to greed is far more freuent. This wasdramatically on the rise until the present economic crisis. /f their own accord or due tosupposed social pressure, people want to have things which they do not really need but whichfeed their ego or improve their social prestige. As their own means are not sufficient they

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plunge themselves into debt. This is not a chapter of glory for our society. This reason forgetting into debt is not tolerable in a society based on moral values.

The means that turns a person into a debtor is called 5credit6. ow 5credit6 is a very niceword originating from the %atin word 5credere6 which means 5to believe6. 't makes the giver of the credit out to be someone who 5believes6. 'n reality, there is nothing wonderful about it.

Why does the creditor give a creditC 't is rarely motivated by a willingness to help, rather it isthe opportunity to benefit in the long term from the misery or greed of others. 'n reality, it isbecause they are greedy themselves. Through the credit or loan given the debtor is kept ontenterhooks for a long time and in most cases cannot free themselves from this burden. *ue tothe compound interest system the already productively weakened debtor is drawn even moreinto the maelstrom of indebtedness, eventually working only to clear their debts. 'n otherwords they are working solely for the creditor. That is how greed often turns into misery.What is left is the greed of the money lenders 0 or shall we call them 5debt producers6 0 who,in most cases, are the more morally reprehensible.

"eople can also develop a greedy nature if poverty has been suffered through generations or

over a long period of time. 't is still wrong. When the under-privileged have a chance toappropriate the material commodities, they have had to do without for so long they freuentlygo beyond measure and want to take more than they need. This is often caused by the fear thatthe good times may soon come to an end. Another reason for accumulating unnecessary thingscould be that they 0 having been on the lower rungs of the social ladder 0 now want to matchthe over-privileged layers of society. This phenomenon of greediness will soon subside in asociety where merchandise is distributed sensibly and $ustly.

'n a new economic system based on moral principles, debts due to poverty will not occuranymore as poverty will have already been eliminated in its initial stages. %ikewise debts caused

by greed will not exist because greedy people will 0 as a matter of principle 0 no longer be ableto get loans and so must eventually give up their greediness. 'n the end there will be no moreloans and no more debts( there will be other ways of making larger, long term purchases.

Note

An alternative form of the credit system was founded by obel "eace "ri;e winner+uhammad ?unis with the idea of 5micro credits6, which have a socially motivated background.His concept of so-called social enterprises gives us a foretaste of what will become the norm ina reasonable future economy.

3.3.2 Company Debt

'n today&s economic system most businesses mark their beginnings with a debt. 't rarelyhappens that an entrepreneur or founding consortium has enough euity capital to finance thestart-up of a new company or the euipment and raw materials necessary for production. tart-up loans are only granted if the business idea or the concept of the company portrays a chanceto succeed 0 that is, if the lender is confident that the enterprise will make enough money forthem to get their money back and make a good profit on interest.

'f the business is successful and more money is needed for further investments new loans needto be taken out, or 0 as a better solution 0 shares 7stock8 of the euity capital can be sold. Thisis generally known as the stock market launch. Holding shares in a company entitles theshareholder to participate in the success of the enterprise in the form of dividends. We must,though, note that the value which is represented in the dividend is not created by the investor

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but by the community of employees working for the business. hould the value of the companyincrease the stakeholder also has the opportunity to sell the share at a higher price, therebymaking a profit. However, the value can fall, in which case the investor may lose 0 sometimeslarge 0 amounts of his money. There is always a certain risk involved in granting a credit. 'f theshareholdings are cleverly distributed the risks can be minimi;ed and the investment will alwaysyield some profit.

Another option to bring in fresh money to invest in the enterprise is the issue of a companyloan. 'n this case the buyer does not hold a share in the business capital but suppliesoutsourced capital in the form of a credit. Their reward is the interest guaranteed in thesecurity and, when the agreement expires, they receive the nominal value refunded. /nce againwe draw attention to the fact that the lender&s profit has been generated by the workforce of the company and not by himself.

The motivational range from need to greed can also be applied to the business world.)ompanies can suffer hardship when, for example, a ma$or customer goes bankrupt and largeoutstanding accounts cannot be settled. 9reed becomes obvious when firms and corporations

are involved in expansion without consideration for losses, unsustainable takeovers of enterprises, or the taking on of orders they cannot cope with. Here, too, greed may lead tohardship, often ending in bankruptcy. The difference between individuals and companies goingbankrupt is that businesses usually find a way to wriggle out of facing the conseuencesprovided they are big enough. The public then has to foot the bill. ?et the tax-paying populationis becoming increasingly aware of what is really going on and the displeasure about theseoccurrences is growing.

'n a system where nearly all enterprises are established with an often enormous debt, thefounder or the founding consortium is taking a considerable risk, sometimes with personal

liability which can lead to the entrepreneur&s ruin. This risk is the reason for the privileges of power and financial advantages which the business owner successively takes for himself. 'n aneconomic system of moral solidarity such a situation is not tenable. 4ntrepreneurs are a veryvaluable asset to society( they need to be promoted and not be sub$ected to existential risks. Abusiness idea is either good or it is unlikely to be successful. 'f it is good, society should providethe initial investments unconditionally so that the business can be established. 'f theentrepreneur cannot bring forward convincing arguments for a successful business their ideaswill not be reali;ed.

'f the concept of a business takes hold it is a benefit for the whole of society and the initialinvestment is $ustified. A company can operate far more effectively without a millstone of credit

repayments and interest around its neck. 4ven if the business idea did not succeed, it was stillworth the effort. After all, everybody supported it. The founder or founding consortium shouldbe able to leave the pro$ect without paying damages unless they were involved in criminalwheeling and dealing. "eople might learn from such failures that certain economic activities aresimply not viable. 'n this way economic cul-de-sacs can be closed off which in itself is a usefulstep forward in the economy of moral solidarity. At the same time, society can optimi;e theentrepreneurial potential of its population. The excessive and partly immoral privileges whichcompany owners bestow on themselves in the current system will then be a thing of the past.

We can conclude that in an economy based on values of moral solidarity company loans andconseuently debts are not at all necessary. 'n view of this, interest, securities and shares also

become obsolete. Taken a step further it means that stock markets and investment banks aresuperfluous. The important point here is that society generates the needed money itself anddoes not delegate this to the banks. The intervention of banks between people and businesses

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is highly counterproductive. Seen in this light, banks are but a disruptive factor channelling funds

into unknown territories which cannot be controlled by society.

3.3.3. National Debt

National debt represents a special case of debt. A government is able to raise funds in waysthat are not available to the individual citizen. As a country cannot be sold it cannot issue

shares, but it can issue government bonds which work in the same way as company loans. The

subscriber of a government bond grants the country a loan and receives contractually agreed

interest in return. Let us again stress that the giver of the loan does not really do any work that

would morally ustify his profit from the interest gained. !ust to have money is not in itself an

achievement relevant to society. The profit which the subscriber appropriates is solely

produced by the national economy.

"any countries are currently struggling to reduce their debt to the value of #$ percent of their

annual economic output. This in itself is for many a never ending task. %t raises the &uestion'

why #$ percent, why not zero( )hy and how do countries get into debt( Looking at this

impartially we find an astonishing parado*' the originator of money + the one who puts the

virtual number into the central computer + cannot by definition become indebted because if he

needs money for a purchase hell simply create some. According to our understanding it should

be the democratically elected government that generates new money. That is, at least, what we

are told. -et all countries on earth bear debts + how is this possible( learly it cannot be the

nations governments who authorize the printing or minting of money. %f it is not them, who is

it(

The institutions to which countries owe money are cryptically called /the markets0. The

authority with the power to create moneyex nihilo

+ out of nothing + lurks somewhere. )hothen are these markets( Are they democratically legitimate( )hat possessed the countries

authorities to give away the power to generate money( "ost likely it happened in the early

"iddle Ages when coinage prerogatives were handed out indiscriminately and numerous

coinage systems e*isted at the same time which were mostly not even convertible. The

emperors and kings then were unable to regain control over the money1making process. 2ven

though we live in a democratic world, our payment system is still based on anti&ue or feudal

patterns.

"any legends and conspiracy theories have been woven around the real originators of our

money system and its profiteers. These theories contradict each other to a great e*tent and

therefore cannot all be true. They may very well be altogether wrong, yet we cannot rule outthe possibility that one of these stories is factual or that some aspects have been correctly

identified. "aybe sometime in the future we can fit all these part1truths together to get a fuller

picture. Speculations about who really sits at the heart of our money system and thereby

manipulates world events are not relevant for the purposes of this book.

%t is enough to observe that the money1making occurs on the level of the economy, which lies

at the third and lowest level of our three layer model. This becomes obvious when

governments have to borrow money from banks and financial markets instead of generating it

themselves. 3nce again the hierarchy of the levels of human e*istence, as described in the first

chapter, has been turned upside down. As seen from the e*amples given previously, nothing

good can arise from such a situation. The proper hierarchy needs to be restored. "oney has to

be made and controlled at the level of society, by people who adhere to principles of moral

solidarity, not by some obscure powers in the economy.

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As we do not know the real money-makers we cannot take effective action against them. Thereis only one way to stop the catastrophic influence these powers exert on world events.:ecause it is money, tainted by materialistic egoism, that empowers these people, we can onlyput an end to their rule by simply not using their 5dirty6 money any more. To do this we needalternative 5clean6 money, made and controlled by people on the basis of common moralvalues. The future economy should be based on this clean money. 'f humankind responsibly

stops using the 5bad6 money, the fateful mechanism of today&s economy gets pushed into thebackground and will, as well as that money, eventually fade away.

't cannot be expected that the unknown money-making powers of today will sit idle in the faceof such new developments. They have perfectly secured their position of authority throughlegal measures. 2or instance, the monetary experiment called 5WKrgl&s free money6, ademurrage-charged local currency, was successfully tested in the Austrian town of WKrglbetween E


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hand, expect, even demand, the allocation of material benefits in return for their tick on theballot paper. How voters are degrading themselves to be nothing more than a venal means forpoliticians to get into powerG

Having relinuished any sense of responsibility, morality and far-sightedness politiciansconseuently sacrifice the common good for the interests of their party. The abandonment of a

spiritual framework in political actions on both sides, both the politicians and the voters, leadsto the disintegration of the great advantages and achievements of democracy. What politiciansare doing here is nothing but buying votes 0 no need to discuss the moral validity of suchaction. The very same politicians will indeed denounce the buying of votes in other, dictatorial,countries as electoral fraud.

As a result of this vicious cycle, national budgets become overburdened and the governmentsneed to take on loans in order to finance the many special favours. 't is important to emphasi;ethat a people gets the government it deserves and a country&s population contributes to thenational debt through their own materialistic egoism. This situation will only change whenmorality and common sense become the basis of a nation, adhered to by politicians and citi;ens

alike, and the long-term welfare for the whole is put above petty self-interests. till, asubstantial part of national debt comes from the interest for earlier debts and this situation isworsening. The uestion of interest must therefore be examined in more detail.

Note

'n a harmonious society based on common moral values the concept of 5state6 as opposed to5citi;en6 will no longer exist. This antagonism is highly counter-productive and needs to beeliminated. Hence, in this book, we dislike using the word 5state6 in connection to a society of moral solidarity. We prefer to speak of the human community and its members, the people.

Summary

The greed for material commodities which people cannot really afford and which eventually lead to

debt is a fundamental cause for not having established a world of justice, harmony and well-being for

all people.

3.4 Loans an* Savin#s ccounts

't is an inhumane state of being for anyone to be indebted because it deprives them of freedom

and dignity. %oans are also a means for credit lenders to un$ustifiably enrich themselves(therefore, there can be no loans in an economy based on moral solidarity. "eople simply haveto get used to the idea of purchasing goods only once they can actually afford them. Theprevailing mentality to want and have everything all at once must be broken. There areexceptions# goods which are reuired to cover basic human needs or, in the case of enterprises, goods necessary to enable them to function and3or produce. ew methods mustbe found to address this, and more thought should be given to the concept of unconditionalfinancial assistance and gift-giving.

The amassing of unused excess money has proven to be, in this materialistically oriented world,rather dangerous in that it encourages its owner to do silly things. 'n the new economic systembased on moral solidarity this accumulation of purposeless money shall no longer be possible.To use money as a means of storing material goods is seriously harmful. +oney which has notbeen used should be periodically 0 for example, after three months 0 erased.

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A possible scenario for starting up a new enterprise could be as follows# a citi;en conceives abrilliant business idea which they cannot reali;e $ust by themselves and are therefore lookingfor partners who could take on key roles in the proposed company. The entrepreneur appearswith their team before the relevant authority and presents their idea in detail, shows that thereis a demand and that the sales prospects are good, introduces their partners and the keypositions they will occupy, and names the basic euipment reuirements for 'T systems,

machinery, space and so on. The experts within the authority 7as we shall simply call thisinstitution8 analyse the business idea impartially and incorruptibly. 'f it is thought to have morethan a >M chance of success the team will be granted the necessary means to start up theircompany. The whole community carries the risk and should the enterprise fail the loss will betaken and not bemoaned. 't was worth trying. +uch depends here on the effectiveness of theauthority# the correct assessment of the chances of success and the necessary help and supportgiven to improve the business concept and its implementation. A similar process should beapplied to expansions of previously existing companies.

All these considerations are based on the idea of money being nothing more than a lubricant orcatalyst for smooth economic transactions without interfering with them. The concept that

money itself has value is wrong, harmful and leads to the accumulation of money in the hands of a few who use it for uestionable purposes to the disadvantage of society. )onseuently,money must follow the natural cycle of 5coming and going6. !ather than it being completelyobliterated after three months, there is an opportunity to automatically transfer it to the nexthighest organi;ational level, where it could be used to finance communal pro$ects. 'n this waymoney would buy and do all the important and useful things, and would be eliminated on theworldwide level once humankind cannot find any more sensible uses for the excess. This alsomarks the long overdue transition from a society of deficiency 0 seen for over thousands of years of brainwashing as 59od-given6 0 to a society of abundance.

These are but some of the essential features of the principles by which the in$ustices of thecurrent capitalistic loans3debts system shall be overcome. There are many more details to beadded.

3.% Ta/es

A state is composed of communities of citi;ens and regulates their interactions throughlegislation, executive and $udiciary. This has been long established and works uite well as longas the state does not deviate from principles of moral solidarity. :esides, many states provideservices such as the country&s infrastructure 7roads, railways, post and telecommunications8,

administration, the school system, the ational Health ervice and care for the elderly,protection for its citi;ens through the police and armed forces, as well as promoting culturaland scientific developments. All these need to be financed and the money for it comes fromtaxes paid by the country&s citi;ens. ince the state provides so much for its citi;ens everybodyshould be very happy to pay their taxes. ?et the opposite is true. How can that beC

The government 5sells6 its services in the worst way possible. 'n the eyes of the citi;en taxesappear as a punishment. :ecause they work they get punished through income tax and themore they work the greater the punishment. They get punished through value added tax whenthey buy things. The more they buy the more they get punished. )ompanies are punishedbecause of their turnover and the higher their turnover the more tax they have to pay. Thispaints a rather bleak picture considering all of these activities are actually contributing to thecommon good.

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Having said this there is some use for this system of punishment through taxes. 'f an activity orthe use of a particular article is generally considered dubious or harmful and a ban is notpossible or sensible then a 5punishment6 tax can be applied to it to make it unattractive. 2orexample, if driving a car is undesirable or only seen as essential in special cases, the state canattach taxes like road fund tax or fuel tax to stem the use of cars. 'f the output of )/ 1 isuniversally recogni;ed as dangerous a tax could be put on )/1 emissions in order to reduce

these. %imited resources can be protected in the same way. "lease note# this can only happenwith general consensus. 'f the government can demonstrate clearly and plausibly why certainmeasures are necessary the citi;ens will consent and sanction the implementation of suchmeasures. /ne-sided lobbyists such as the car driving club or the oil industry then have to back down.

Taxpayers are most incensed that they have no influence over what happens with the moneythey have paid in. /ne common definition says# 5Taxes are a legal public contribution withoutany guarantee for a particular performance on the side of the state 7the state is not duty-boundfor any service in return and the public has not attached any specific purpose to it8.6 This is, of course, a catastrophic situation which cannot be left as it is. "eople have lost confidence that

the money entrusted to the state will be used in a sensible way. 'ndeed, the state has becomethe enemy. This also seems to be the case the other way around, or how else could we explainthat some people peculiarly lose their drive, motivation and kindness towards others as soon asthey are working in government offices or departmentsC These are ualities which they still hadwhile they were part of the general business world. Why, indeed, are clients of thesegovernment offices not treated with respect but rather as troublesome sub$ectsC We do haveto admit that, in many countries, citi;ens are dealt with better than in the past and the conceptof service is increasingly taking root. ?et the above observations tell of the government&salienation from the people, and the fact that citi;ens don&t identify with their administrativebodies anymore.

'n the society of moral solidarity as discussed here, this needs to be changed. There shall be nomore government or state as we know it. We prefer to talk of the human community. Thecore tasks of the government, namely legislation, executive and $udiciary, as well as the military7as long as this is still necessary8, shall be paid for by the 5state6, i.e. the community of citi;ensusing their authority to create money specifically for this purpose. ubsidies and grants shall bestopped with the exception of cases which are of fundamental general interest but do not servean immediate economic purpose, for example art and culture, education, scientific research andpeople with special needs.

Any other communal purchase shall be paid for by the citi;ens, once a democratic decision in

support of it has been reached. "eople will know exactly how much it costs and what they getfor their money. The public authority takes on the planning and organi;ation, which can bedelegated though to individual enterprises. %et us say, for instance, that it has been considereduseful to dig a tunnel through a mountain. The ministry of transport would then inform theciti;ens of this possible pro$ect and explain the reasons for it, as well as presenting costsinvolved. )iti;ens will then vote either for or against it. 'f the ma$ority vote for it the pro$ectwill go ahead and the costs will be distributed amongst everyone. 't is up to each individual toparticipate in the poll. 'f someone is against the pro$ect but does not bother to vote, theycannot complain afterwards if the pro$ect goes ahead against their will. The executiveauthorities will be held accountable if the execution of the pro$ect does not fulfil the originalagreement with regards to uality, construction time and final costs.

Taxes in the conventional sense will not exist anymore. 't is, after all, absurd whenrepresentatives of the political arena have money created and distributed amongst the citi;ens

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only to take it off them again through the back door. A whole army of tax investigators and taxofficers can then be directed towards fulfilling more meaningful tasks for society. )ontrolledcontributions such as the previously mentioned punitive tax can be useful but must be decidedby general consensus. 'n this way people can regain trust in their political leaders and a newcommunity spirit can be generated. )iti;ens will no longer feel exploited and deceived by thegovernment and they will know exactly what their money is used for.

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4. 0nterest

The relationship between lender and borrower is made worse and more complicated due tothe charge the lender demands for giving the credit. 't means the debtor pays a certainpercentage over a period of time for the money they owe. We call this charge 5interest6. The

borrower accepts this charge because they are either feeling paralysed by their hardships orblinded by their greed. 4ither way they have no choice but to accept if they want the money./therwise they would not receive the money to relieve their hardship or satisfy their greed.

4.1 The an on 0nterest

To demand interest is morally wrong and reprehensible because it is using someone&spredicament for one&s own benefit. A ban on interest was part of the original dogma of the

three great monotheistic world religions. 't stated that one must not take interest from one&sfellow men and to infringe on that was morally wrong and a transgression against 9od. /therworld religions show ideas in a similar vein or at least a consciousness of something not beingright. ?et the human mind has found ways to undermine and, step by step, render this dogmameaningless, as it has done with most religious commandments and bans. As an absurd $ustification for this process, people like to cite that in the +iddle Ages )hristians pretendedthat beavers and otters were fish so that they could eat meat during the fasting season.However, while it does not impact on world history if someone eats a ham sandwich on 9ood2riday, the disregard of the ban on interest in the then technologically and economically leadingworld religion, )hristianity, has to this day had catastrophic conseuences for society.

't began with only applying the ban on interest to one&s own group or religious community, butundeniably taking advantage of other groups by charging interest. ow, as capitalism is indecline, the moral impact of charging interest is becoming more obvious as it is partlyresponsible for the financial markets proliferation, and the poor are constantly becomingpoorer. Today, though, at long last, the true nature of money has been revealed# it is like anempty shell with no real value. Therefore, it should not be treated like material commodities,which can be bought, sold, exchanged or lent for a charge. To charge interest on the value of money is hence not only an ethically but also an economically abortive development whichneeds to be eliminated as soon as possible.

Note

ome people consider interest rates to be the source of all the economic problems of ourtime. This is too narrow a view, though. 'nterest rates are a subordinate problem as they are $ust an expression of a mind-set based on materialistic egoism, which is the true core evil.

4.2 Compoun* 0nterest

The crisis gets further aggravated by compound interest. 'n the seventeenth century peoplediscovered that if interest was not cleared immediately 7which was usually the case withweakened debtors8, it could be added on to the original credit and new interest calculated from

the increased amount. This meant that interest could be charged for unpaid interest. Themathematical foundation to calculate compound interest had been discovered with thegeometrical series 7partly by the 9erman scholar and genius 9ottfried Wilhelm %eibni;8 and

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compound interest indeed became the basis for credit contracts. At that time nobody knewabout exponential growth, which comes with geometrical progression and its long-term effects.

%eibni; did give thought to the ethical nature of compound interest 7interest itself was thenalready a social norm and nobody uestioned it anymore8, and concluded that it was $ustifiedfor short-term credits. Today we know that compound interest has been a steady companion

in business life for hundreds of years and short-term loans are rather unrealistic. Thecompound interest mechanism causes individual borrowers, indebted companies andgovernments to become completely entangled in their debts and ultimately unable to freethemselves from the latter&s clutches. 'ndividual and company bankruptcies are increasing at analarming rate. /f course, credit lenders also lose large amounts of money through this, but thisis no comparison to the amount of profit they make through their credit schemes and financialmanipulations.

/n a national level the combination of debts, credits and the compound interest mechanismresults in continuously re-occurring regional and, eventually, global economic crises, andalthough a lot of capital gets destroyed the credit lenders always seem to rise out of the ashes

like a phoenix. 2or many of the population who suffer bankruptcy in the course of the crises itmeans blood, sweat and tears. /nly through many sacrifices over a long period of time arecountries able to get back on their feet.

+any economic researchers have noted that these global economic crises seem to follow acyclic pattern. The current crisis, however, contains a note of finality as, for the first time, allfactors are simultaneously affected. /n top of that it has reached worldwide dimensions, whichmeans that there is nowhere and nobody with a healthy economy capable of helping the othersout of the misery. The 5blue screen6 is manifesting on the global monitor and there is noevading a reformatting of the hard disk. This time, however, those responsible for the crash

shall and will not rise from the ashes unharmed.

As a result of the mechanism of debt and compound interest manifold other effects havesurfaced to round out the absurd image of the current economic system. 'n order to managethe constantly growing burden of debt, businesses are forced to expand uantitatively, eventhough everyone knows that such a system cannot work forever. 't would mean constant fullemployment which, in this system, is even less feasible. 'ndeed, inflation is a secondaryconseuence of this problem. The leading powers take note of it very favourably or evenartificially promote it in order to reduce, over time, the national debt. Those who suffer fromthe effects of inflation are, again, those in the working population. The deliberate devaluation of national currencies can be seen in the same light.

2or the sake of completeness it shall be mentioned that, of course, savings deposits also incurinterest and compound interest. This acts as a placebo given to mollify people. 't is nocompensation for the disastrous results wreaked by compound interest in the credit-lendingarena, as the interest earned by savings accounts is always significantly less. To illustrate thegalloping increase of the gross return as opposed to the face value let us look at the legend of 5t. Foseph&s "enny6 once more.

4.2.1 The Le#en* of St. osephs enny

When Fesus of a;areth was born, his stepfather Foseph wanted to make provisions for hisfuture and put one penny into the 5:ank of :ethlehem6 in order to accrue interest 7let usassume a bank as we know it already existed there8.

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%et us plot the legend further# the :ible talks about the return of )hrist. Assuming )hrist cameback in the year 11 and wanted to withdraw his money from the 5:ank of :ethlehem6,deposited there by his stepfather in the year ;ero. The interest rate would have been areasonable three percent. )an you work out which sum would have been accumulated in hisaccount at the end of 1 yearsC Write your estimate down. ?ou will find the solution at theend of this chapter.

4.3 The E/pan*e* ,orm of 0nterest

9enerally, the nature of interest can be explained as follows# it always begins with an individualexcess of a certain economic value, be it money or goods, whereby it is irrelevant 0 although itshould not be 0 whether this surplus has been gained in a moral or immoral way. ome peoplehave an excess amount of something, more than they themselves can use. 'f we lived in asociety where people cared for each other as was widespread in earlier cultures and familygroups, and can still be found sporadically today, then the wealthy person would offer theirsurplus to the needy unconditionally because they would know that the community would alsohelp them should they ever need it. To give up their excess does by no means imposerestrictions on their uality of life as they already have what they need.

'n a society without the bond of solidarity uite another picture presents itself# the wealthyperson uses his position of power according to the principle of materialistic egoism to generateeven more excess from his surplus. 'nstrumental in his success are the ma$ority of disadvantaged people who need that which he possesses. The surplus holder allows the needyto use part of his excess to satisfy their need, for which he charges interest. 'n this way theplight of the underprivileged has not really been remedied, but the wealth of the other hasincreased. )onseuently, any form of interest is unethical.

At this point we need to clarify what we are actually talking about. We are not talking aboutcompanies like co-operative housing associations or building contractors, guest houses andhotels, which are providing accommodation for people. either are we talking about car rentalcompanies, which provide transport for travellers. We are talking about people who, forreasons of inflation or other insecurities in the world market, put their excess money 7which isoften gained unethically8 into companies, plots of land or real estate as shares, wanting to makea profit. These people, usually known as investors, shall not be denounced here as they oftenact in good faith and their actions are legally covered and common practice. Their intention isoften to save their money from taxes and inflation. The point is to expose the underlyingsystem.

We have already discussed the mechanism of credit and debts as a first example. A person orinstitution owns more capital than they need and lends part of it to others for a certain amountof interest. As already stated, the profit gained in this case is 0 as a matter of fact 0 ethicallyun$ustified. )harging interest puts the borrower in an even more difficult situation as their debtincreases. The way to actually help someone out of their hardship would be to simply give themthe money.

%et me provide an example for accumulated possessions or estates# a person or institutionowns several apartments but can logically only live in one of them. They make one of those

manifesto complete 3 sec

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