The Primary Objective of Economic Democracy

Excerpts follow from Louis Even’s address to the Annual Congress of the Pilgrims of St. Michael in Thetford Mines, Quebec, in September 1965.

Those who read the journal, MICHAEL, understand that Social Credit, or Economic Democracy, is not only about monetary reform and that, even though this aspect is of the utmost importance, its reach goes far beyond mere reform of the financial system. Social Credit’s financial reforms would break the monopoly of money and credit, and free societies from debt-money bondage. But there are other monopolies and other bondages, such as the monopoly of the state. We oppose dictatorship by the state over individuals as fiercely as we battle against the dictatorship of the financial system.

In fact, the primary objective of Social Credit is the unfettered development of the human person. It aims for the enrichment of the person through free association in opposition to the all too-common domination of people by associations. No matter which type of association — small, large, local, provincial, federal, a free gathering of individuals or a compulsory association of citizens into a nation — all members must benefit from association.

This principle applies to sharing the wealth of the national economy. Each individual in society must obtain a share that corresponds to the enrichment that is the result of life in society.

If each individual lived alone and produced all the goods he needed, the total output for the nation would be very small compared to what is now produced, thanks to the benefits of association in society. Without life in society there would be no established social order. Without public goods there would be no schools and no research laboratories. Moreover, innovations and inventions would neither be shared nor passed from one generation to the next. Applied science would not exist and progress would be almost nil. Natural resources would remain as undeveloped as they are in primitive societies.

We can conclude that, by far, the greatest portion of today’s productive output is due to life in ordered societies. All the members of the association — each and every citizen of the nation — must obtain a share in the enrichment that is the fruit of such association.

This is what the Social Credit philosophy teaches regarding economics and why it features a Dividend to all and the Compensated Price mechanism: to guarantee to each and every person a share in the enrichment that is the result of association.

This technique is not opposed to private ownership of the means of production nor to private enterprise. Experience shows that private enterprise is the most efficient way to produce an abundance of goods. But private property and free enterprise also have a social component which must conform to the principle of “the universal destination of earthly goods”.

There are other goods besides material goods, such as the great good of freedom! It is a good due to every individual, a good that no association, no union, no government (whether local, provincial, or national) can rightfully trample upon. Infringements on the freedom and dignity of the human person must not be the price to pay for economic security. Economic security without freedom would have us be like animals in a stable. We would be well treated but entirely yoked to the decisions of our masters.

Denouncing all of these infringements are central in our movement but this is not enough. What we need, above all, are citizens, patriots and unyielding men and women that no amount of money nor honour will silence or stop. This is this type of person that is formed in our great movement.

Facing the task that must be accomplished we must acknowledge our weakness. We therefore turn to heaven to make our efforts fruitful. We have consecrated our movement, the Pilgrims of St. Michael to the Virgin Mary and her Immaculate Heart, as she asked at Fatima. The movement and our activities are placed under the patronage of St. Michael the Archangel. We recite the Rosary daily — even the fifteen decades — and we wear the Miraculous Medal [of the Virgin Mary who appeared in 1830 to St. Catherine Labouré in Paris, France]. Our full-time pilgrims attend daily Mass.

We have the advantage and grace of being Catholics. We believe we can effectively fight the growing trend toward a centralized world government by opposing it in the spiritual realm with an intensely focused Catholic life. We can oppose it in politics with the philosophy and concrete financial proposals of Social Credit.