Page 11 - Michael Journal March 2020

was necessary and leaving the rest unaltered. To this Today’s division of labour
end, Social Credit has clearly defined the terms ‘pro- In the modern world, no one produces all the
duction’ and ‘distribution’. It further distinguishes be- goods necessary for their own subsistence, comfort
tween the ‘physical means’ and the ‘financial means’ and pleasure. Work is, more and more, partitioned
necessary to ensure the successful distribution of and specialized.
goods.
The division and specialization of labour con-
No longer a production problem tributes to abundant production but it forces each
Modern productive capacity is almost limitless producer to offer to the rest of the community the
in volume and variety. In peacetime, products are many products not required for personal use. Each
available or can be made readily available in large consumer must obtain from others the goods they
quantities to respond to consumers’ needs. Today’s require for their various needs. From this fact there is
economic problems are no longer about produc- an increased requirement for a means of distribution
tion but rather about distribution. that is both flexible and functional.
Private property and free enterprise have dem- In civilized countries money was instituted as
onstrated the ability to provide goods and services a tool to facilitate the distribution of goods. In the
in abundance. Nothing justifies denouncing or elim- hands of an individual, money is thus a claim to the
inating private property or free enterprise. variety of available products.
The satisfaction of human needs, not profit, Production as the basis for money
must be the goal of production. Nevertheless, profit The total of consumer credits must be equal to
is a proven incentive. Removing this incentive could the amount of consumer goods that are available or
reduce productive output and harm consumers that could readily be made. In a Social Credit system,
through imposed and avoidable privation. money would be based on the products that respond
A system capable of maintaining the incentive to consumers’ needs rather than on a single entity
offered by profit, while guaranteeing the proper dis- such as gold, or on the self-interest of profiteers such
tribution of products, would serve both producers’ as the private controllers of money and credit.
and consumers’ interests. Since individuals cannot obtain products unless
Social Credit supports free enterprise and they have money, and since the goal of production is
the profit incentive but would keep profits within the satisfaction of the needs of all members of soci-
bounds through a Price Adjustment mechanism. ety, it follows that all of society’s members must have
Both the National Dividend and the Adjusted Price a minimum amount of money to buy a minimum
would allow an abundance of goods and services to amount of goods.
be distributed to every consumer. Money is presently distributed through salaries, u

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Pius XI Pius XII John XXIII Paul VI John Paul II
A study prepared by Alain Pilote
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And they still hesitate to change the wheel!
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