When a person dies he leaves his possessions to an heir. It may be that the heir has never worked on his parents’ property; he might not have even earned a single penny in his lifetime. Should he be denied the right to inherit wealth from his parents on the grounds that he has not earned it? Or should he be denied his inheritance because he is lazy or that he might squander it?
No! His parents have earned this for him and he is entitled to it. Legislation protects one’s right to inherit.
Most surely! The greatest factor in modern production, progress, was not earned by you or by me. It was earned for us by the generations who came before and who passed it on to us. Why should this heritage be denied us on the specious grounds that we have not earned it?
Industrialists and workers have rights to rewards for their efforts. But, the recognition of the efforts and progress of past generations must bring rewards to everyone as well. No one should be born destitute in a world made rich by what was inherited from the past.
Yes! This is why the poor are called the disinherited. For them to be disinherited, they first must have had a heritage which was subsequently taken from them.
Yes, we recognize the right to profits for those who have paid for machinery. But in each piece of machinery or equipment there is an invention without which the machine would be only a heap of steel parts. The invention, which we can call the “soul” of the machine, could not have been made nor passed on if we had not lived in a society with its education system and the myriad previous acquisitions that profited the inventor.
The amount of the Social Dividend should be decided by society, since it is a gift from society to its members.
This kind of distributive economy should be sun-filled compared to today’s system. It should be abundant just as modern production is abundant. An amount would be distributed to each person that was capable of meeting life’s basic needs. The Social Dividend would increase at the rate progress increased — while leaving a reward to those who participate in the work which transforms our common capital.
It has a history of being ignored or misunderstood. Mankind has been mesmerized by a Jansenist economic philosophy2 sustained by financial powers who wish to maintain control over others.2
Even if goods are overflowing, there is a financial system that is false and absurd. It tells lies that are in total opposition to the facts, and which consequently makes debtors out of heirs.
A pioneer in northern Canada begins to clear land. The task requires transforming a dense patch of birch and other such trees into a homestead and productive farm. This man and his family will toil for thirty or forty years before passing down a mortgaged property.
Another example is that of a newborn child who, not yet baptized and made a son of the Church, is already in debt.
Today’s system is illogical. The more assets and wealth accumulated by a nation the greater are its financial debts. Workers create wealth while parasites control finance. And, despite prosaic rhetoric to the contrary, finance is placed above man; the parasite is master while the worker is a slave. Tell the worker that he is an heir and the parasite will convince him that he is listening to a utopian troublemaker disrupting morale.
A system which exists for the profit of a few individuals and the enslavement of nations will not acknowledge the true heritage and great assets bequeathed by previous generations to the current one. Social Credit, which has no respect for the parasitic idols and their high priests, recognizes the existence of this heritage and the rights of its heirs.
Social Credit will distribute the income from this heritage to all members of society through a Social Dividend. This is a true dividend since it corresponds to profits. A company which makes financial profits distributes them among its shareholders.
There is not a speck of socialism or communism in this theory. Industry and property remain privately owned. Owners continue to benefit from the value of their property. Private capital that is well-invested continues to bring in an honest return. Workers continue receiving their wages.
But heirs will draw an income from their heritage. Everyone, whether young or old, wealthy or poor, employed or not, sick or in good health has a right to a Social Dividend.
This heritage belongs to everyone. If you distribute it to some and not to others you are favouring one heir over another. If you do not distribute it to anyone, you are enabling the population’s glaring needs to remain unmet and for production to be wasted.
1) Jansenism was a theological movement, primarily in France, that emphasized original sin, human depravity, the necessity of divine grace and predestination…Through the 17th and into the 18th centuries, Jansenism was a distinct movement away from the Catholic Church (www.wikipedia.com).