Page 23 - A Social Dividend: An Income Guaranteed to Each Citizen

Social Credit would End the Squandering of Resources

and Promote the Dignity of the Human Person

by Alain Pilote just as long as it is profitable!
Pope Francis took many by surprise with the Pope Francis wrote: “The principle of the maxi-
strong language used in his 2015 encyclical letter, mization of profits, frequently isolated from other
Laudato Si. In it he raised awareness about the ur- considerations, reflects a misunderstanding of the
gency for an “integral ecology” that would care for very concept of the economy. As long as production
both human beings as well as nature – both of which is increased, little concern is given to whether it is
are now being sacrificed on Mammon’s altar; the altar at the cost of future resources or the health of the
of profit at all costs regardless of the consequences. environment” (n. 195).
There is an old Cree saying that goes like this:
Planned Obsolescence “Only when the last tree has died, and the last river
Pope Francis addressed a financial system that has been poisoned, and the last fish has been caught
“tends to promote extreme consumerism in an ef- will we realise that we cannot eat money.”
fort to sell its products”, and of people who “can And what can be said of the artificial needs creat-
easily get caught up in a whirlwind of needless buy- ed for the sole purpose of keeping people employed?
ing and spending” (n. 203). Consider all the people kept busy pushing paper in
“Planned obsolescence”: is a offices and the goods that are
term used to describe the process manufactured to last the shortest
whereby goods are designed and time possible in order to increase
manufactured to last as short a time sales. All of this leads to waste and
as possible. This forces consum- to the destruction of the natural en-
ers to replace goods frequently. vironment.
Marketing campaigns encourage The basic cause of environ-
frivolous consumption. The public mental pollution and the squan-
are urged to replace working goods dering of natural resources is the
with their newer incarnations in or- chronic shortage of purchasing
der to stay on the cutting edge of power that is inherent in the present
fashion and social approval. A mountain of computers financial system. That is, consum-
Inkjet printers are a good ex- that have become obsolete ers do not have enough money to
ample. When the ink cartridge is buy all available production. People do not have the
empty it is more cost-effective to purchase a new means to buy the products they themselves have
printer than to simply replace the cartridge. The same made! Artificial needs are created to distribute more
reasoning applies to most electronic devices. Stores wages and salaries to purchase products that have
will not make repairs or else it is cheaper to buy a already been made and many of these products are
newer model even when a replacement part could neither essential nor desirable.
suffice.
Studying the problem one can see that it is the Re-defining Growth
rules of the present financial system that cause such Bearing this in mind, one can imagine the effect
a useless degradation of the earth’s resources – espe- these disastrous economic policies have on the en-
cially the rule that ties the distribution of purchasing vironment. For instance, when we speak about eco-
power to employment. This leads to situations such nomic growth and the importance for nations to be
as when pro-environmental groups advocate that a more competitive, the need to increase production
particular industrial sector stop polluting the environ- is generally stressed. In reality, a country should be
ment but government replies that changes would not able to increase, stabilize or even reduce its produc-
be possible. Government argues that environmental tion levels according to the needs of its population.
responsibility could cost the sector too much money In many cases a decrease in production would be the
and might force it to close its doors. Sadly, it is pref- most appropriate decision.
erable to keep those precious jobs even if at the ex- If it takes two years to manufacture enough wash-
pense of a healthy environment. ing machines for every household that can function
The environment is something real that is sac- for twenty years it is insane to continue producing
rificed to money, a symbol. Jobs are created so that more washing machines. Henry Ford once said that
people will be employed at the expense of our plan- the goal of a good car manufacturer should be to
et’s survival. Worry not that people be poisoned build a car that lasts a lifetime. This is technically u

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