Here are excerpts from Eric Butler's book "Releasing Reality", subtitled "Social Credit and the Kingdom of God", which was produced in 1979 to commemorate the centenary of the birth of Clifford Hugh Douglas. It demonstrates how Social Credit brings a new relevance to every aspect of man's affairs. The author concludes with the observation that the future of Christianity now depends upon those who have grasped the "glimpse of reality" provided by Douglas:
by Eric D. Butler
Astronomical debt, crushing taxation and inflation produced in the Roman Empire the same disastrous economic, social and political results which are a feature of what is now clearly another disintegrating civilization. The lessons of history are vital. Those who refuse to learn from the disasters of history are doomed to repeat those disasters.
Douglas's vital contribution towards an understanding of real history was to show how the money system has, over centuries, been a major instrument through which power has been centralized.
Douglas described how when he first made his discovery about the basic flaw in the present finance-economic system, he thought that all he had to do was to tell those in control of the system about the flaw, that they would thank him, and then proceed to correct the flaw. But he soon discovered that so far from wanting to correct the flaw, those in control of financial policy were determined to resist any suggestion of correcting a flaw which made the progressive centralization of power appear inevitable.
The Marxists and other will-to-power groups also strongly resisted any corrective policy which would remove the conditions they require for revolution.
As Douglas said, he soon realized that he was embarking upon a project which would not only absorb the whole of his lifetime, but many lifetimes to come. In revealing the basic flaw in the finance-economic system, Douglas was brought face to face with the more basic question of the age-old power question.
If the present state of the world is not the result of policies fashioned by individuals who are organized to advance those policies, but is the result of blind forces and mere chance, then clearly there is nothing the individual can do about averting further disasters. This is the village idiot theory of history, and naturally it tends to produce a passive attitude towards events. It cripples individual initiative.
But the absurdity of the theory can be demonstrated by asking, "Did western Christian civilization develop over nearly two thousand years by 'mere chance'?"
The development took place because sufficient individuals strove, sacrificed, many died, to advance a concept of how individuals should live together in society. The retreat from that civilization has taken place because individuals, with an anti-Christian view of how men should live, have used instruments of power and influence to strive to create a world in which their philosophy prevails. They must be described as conspirators, even though many of them are in competition with one another.
Douglas shed a blinding light on much of what had appeared obscure or irrelevant concerning Christianity. His presentation of the vital importance of the Doctrine of the Incarnation was a revelation to me, and I have long come to the conclusion that Social Credit is, as Douglas said, "practical Christianity", and that the very future of genuine Christianity now depends upon Social Credit and the Douglas revelations.
It is relatively easy to criticize the alleged disastrous effects of Christianity on the human drama, but G. K. Chesterton was right when he said that so far from Christianity having failed, it had not yet been tried. To the extent that it had been tried, it has resulted in a tremendous advance for mankind.
Without the Christian influence, the highwater mark of western civilization, reached before the First World War, would never have been possible. Since then, there has been a retreat from Christianity. That retreat can, however, be reversed if sufficient individuals will, with proper humility, search for what has gone wrong, and realistic repentance takes place. Douglas has shown the way by advancing policies which can make the Word flesh.
Large numbers of people who call themselves Christians — followers of Christ — support policies which increasingly crush the individual's freedom. The ultimate in blasphemy is the profession of "Christian-Marxism" and support for the World State —an International Caesar.
Many of those describing themselves as Social Crediters and Douglas supporters have perverted by describing Douglas as a "money reformer" and a "great idealist". It was the famous Jewish writer, Dr. Oscar Levy, who observed that the ideal is the enemy of the real. Idealism is a manifestation of man's false pride, and suggests that man can be his own God.
Douglas's approach was that of proper respect and humility, as expressed in his comment that "the rules of the universe transcend human thinking," and that if man desired the greatest satisfaction in human affairs, he should painstakingly attempt to discover what those truths are, and then obey them. Douglas was primarily a man concerned with discovering truth, reality.
In another comment, he said that Social Credit provided "a glimpse of reality." Douglas modestly claimed that Social Credit provided only a "glimpse" of reality. A fuller understanding of reality requires a constant search for truth. In one of those profound statements which can be pondered upon indefinitely with increasing benefit, Douglas said Social Crediters were seeking "to release reality."
"I know from my own technical knowledge," said Douglas, "that there is no production problem in the world at all; that there is no single thing which, if you will put your money down on the table, you cannot get."
One of the most revealing word pictures we have of Douglas the man and his philosophy comes from Mr. L. D. Byrne:
"Notwithstanding a mental stature unusual in any society, Douglas's outstanding characteristic was a profound humility — a humility which was reflected in his writings and in his life... Where others viewed the world in terms of mankind's struggles and achievements, and society as the creature of man's brain and behaviour, with the realism of the engineer and the penetrating spirituality of a medieval theologian, Douglas saw the universe as an integrated unity centered in its creation, and centered in its Creator and subject to His Law.
In a 1933 address, The Pursuit of Truth, Douglas stressed that his primary concern was with rightness in all things, that there was running through the universe something called a "canon", and that "genuine success only accompanies a consistent attempt to discover and conform to this canon in no matter what sphere our activities lie."
While it is true that the world-wide Social Credit Movement which came into existence played the major role in publicizing how financial credit is created and destroyed by the banking system, long before Douglas appeared on the public scene, a number of authorities had explained to select audiences how money was created in the form of financial or bank credit.
And, of course, those who operated the credit-creating system over the centuries were well aware of the enormous power they exercised — so long as people generally believed that banks only loaned out money first deposited with them, and were generally ignorant about the realities of a money system.
Irrespective of what form it takes, money is but a man-made symbol of no value unless real wealth is created. Just so long as sufficient people can be mesmerized into believing that, for example, a credit symbol is more important than a pound of butter, they are at the mercy of those who create and control the symbols. The shadow is more important than the substance!
Subsequently every effort was made to suppress, or misrepresent and pervert, what Douglas was proposing. The hostile reaction of an unholy alliance of International Bankers, Marxists and various other groups, including those do-gooders who earnestly claim to know what is best for the individual, brought into clear relief the fact that it was the philosophical challenge of Social Credit which was seen as the major threat by all representatives of the will-to-power.
Douglas, the physical man, died in 1952. But the truths he revealed now belong to eternity. They are essential for the regeneration of civilization, irrespective of how long that regeneration takes. Those who have grasped those truths have the responsibility of carrying the knowledge of them forward into the future.
Eric Butler