Page 4 - Reflexions of African Bishops and Priests

Social Credit in Brief )

“The Social Credit dividend is the rec-
ognition of everyone’s right to life. Each
person has a fundamental right to a share

of earthly goods.” – Louis Even

by Louis Even people suffer today is not the result of the satura-
tion of consumer needs, nor of the exhaustion of
The economic challenge of our ancestors, who the productive resources, but results only from the
had little else than human labour at their dispos- non-distribution of products and services.
al, the power of animals and a few simple tools, Production goes ahead only in accordance with
consisted in producing enough goods to sustain
themselves. Real poverty, scarcity was a constant the orders it receives. The orders are limited by the
threat. In the twentieth century, with a continent consumers’ purchasing power. This purchasing
power depends on the money found in the hands
open to progress, with the forces of nature and
of applied science at our disposal, the immediate of consumers who have needs to satisfy.
problem is to find the way to dis- Social Credit presents a well
tribute an abundant production. thought out plan to fill the gap,
The presence of an abundance on an ongoing basis, between
of goods already realized, or eas- the prices of products and the
ily realizable, should confer to all money consumers have in their
Canadians the following political hands to buy the products meant
rights in the economic domain: for their use. This system leaves
1) Life — The right for each both inflation and deflation out,
individual to obtain the necessi- but it maintains a mathematical
ties of life, food, clothing, lodg- equilibrium between production
and purchasing power. It sub-
ing, without having to resort to dues money and puts it to the
public charity. service of man. It forces it to ful-
2) Freedom — The right for fil its function: the financing and
each individual to choose the kind distribution of production, the
of occupation he is best suited satisfaction of consumer needs,
for, instead of being compelled to to the extent that the resources
accept such work as he can find. of nature and industry will allow.
3) Pursuit of happiness — In its propositions, Social
The right for each individual to Louis Even (1885-1974), Credit embraces doing away
leisure that he would be free to Founder of MICHAEL with poverty, the social guaran-
use in accordance with his per- tee of the individual’s economic
sonal initiative, in material, aes- security.
thetic, intellectual or spiritual activities. No one will deny that Canada is able to pro-
The possibility of guaranteeing these rights duce enough goods so as to provide an honest
rests on the undeniable capacity that now exists of subsistence to each and everyone. The physical
producing all the goods and services required to possibility exists; only the financial possibility is
guarantee these rights while using only a fraction lacking. Finance does not serve Canadians, and
of the human labour that is now available. this is where a remedy is needed. As Henry Ford

What is Social Credit? pointed out, the products are there, but the dol-
Social Credit is a movement. Its goal is to allow lars to buy the products are not. The producers of
goods fulfil their role, but the producers of dollars
consumers to benefit from the entire production do not. Admirable techniques are used in produc- u
capacity of useful goods. Unemployment of which

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