Our pernicious money system

Putting money in its place

When a Social Crediter addresses himself to a group of people who want to hear about Social Credit, the first remark that most of them make is: "Well, it's all common sense, it's logical!"

Yes, Social Credit is full of good sense, because Social Credit would put things, especially things pertaining to the realm of the public, in their proper place and view them in their proper perspective.

Since it is money today which is the one outstanding thing in society which is out of place - glaringly so - Social Credit begins by bringing money to heel and putting it in its place.

That is the task - bring money under control of society, put money in its place, make money fulfill the role for which it was originally destined, organize the system of finance so that money will attain its proper end.

The end of money, the "final cause of money", as the philosophers would say, the reason why money was created, is none other than the task of facilitating the rapid and easy flow of goods and services.

Is our money system pernicious?

If money hinders the flow of products, then the system of money is pernicious. If money leads to the destruction of men and of things, then the system of money is pernicious.

If money becomes a weapon for the exploitation of human individuals, then the system of money is pernicious.

If money becomes the cause of the corruption of minds and souls, then the system of money is pernicious.

If money becomes sovereign, if it commands and dictates to a subservient humanity, then the system of money is pernicious.

Now, the existing system of money does, in fact, obstruct the free flow of goods and services, does lead to destruction, does create exploiters of humanity, does corrupt minds and characters, and does lead to the subjection of men to a financial dictatorship.

Hence, there is no question but that our existing money system constitutes one of the most pernicious organisms, as far as society is concerned, which history has known.

It hinders the flow of goods

That money has constituted a very effective and harmful block to the flow of goods and services to the people, is well attested to by the crisis through which we have passed during the last ten years. (Reference to the depression of the 30's; but applicable to the 60's when unemployment is rife, want is rampant, and yet producers cannot sell and are obliged to halt production because of the lack of credit and purchasing power. Ed.). The windows of the stores are filled with all the good things wanted by the consumer. The one obstacle standing between these goods and the homes into which they should enter is the lack of money.

And money is coming to be more and more lacking in the pocket-books of consumers in the measure that industry becomes more and more developed, more perfect in techniques and machinery. For when industry develops, money comes into circulation in the world at the same time - but with the function of causing the death of money already existing.

The industrialist goes to the banker with his proposal to develop and enlarge his business. The bank manager agrees and puts new money into circulation. But this money must return to the bank to die at the time designated by the banker. And furthermore, it must bring back with it an additional sum of money: the interest. This sum it must take from the money already in circulation when it appeared in society.

Prospective goods - then money is put into circulation. Goods realized and put out into society - this money is called back into the bank, bringing with it money which had been born at an earlier date.

This is the perniciousness of the system - instead of making more easy the circulating of goods and services, it blocks and hinders this flow.

A good and beneficial system, which performed its functions as it should, would make available more money as more goods were available; and would make available less money as the goods available became fewer.

Our present system of money does just the opposite. The more goods and services there are, the less money there is to meet them; and solely because of the pernicious system which decrees that money must die, taking with it other money, without having in the least bit increased.

This explains why it is that the more developed a country is the greater is its debt. Public debts and private debts. The deserts of Africa have no debt because they are not developed. On the other hand, rich, developed countries, such as ours, rich in all sorts of real wealth, are in debt far over and above the value of this real wealth simply because, as this real wealth increases, the debt increases at an even greater rate.

Social Crediters, then, in the face of an abundance of goods, would constitute a money system which would not entail the death of money, a death which entails the disappearance of other money, thus eliminating the obstructive quality of our present system of money. This is the chief quality of the Social Credit money system.

A cause of war

Our present system of money actually leads to war.

In time of peace we manufacture all sorts of good and beneficial products. But there is never sufficient money with which consumers may buy all of these good things. So it is inevitable that the day will come when the production system will produce things which are neither useful or beneficial, which the consumer will not want and which the governments will buy. These harmful products, when manufactured, will bring purchasing power into the hands of the consumers. And the consumers, with the money earned from the manufacture of these not-good products, will buy the good things which during time of peace lie gathering dust on store shelves or in warehouses.

The not-good products, of course, are the munitions of war and other sorts of instruments of destruction. But if the government is going to buy these munitions it must use them. Hence, war!

The facts are the proof

The facts prove what we have said above. It is in time of war that goods flow freely, without any hindrance. These products, beneficial and good, flow freely with the aid of money which is earned in the manufacture of the deadly things of war. Without the industries of war, the industries of peace could not get their products moving.

With a money system whose chief quality is its scarcity, in time of peace, a war is necessary from time to time to clear the bottleneck and get goods flowing which have been piling up in the warehouses and stores.

And how many there are learned savants as well as ordinary people who have hailed war as an excellent remedy to unemployment. The unemployed, victims of a scarcity of money, earn their living in the form of a soldier's pay. Without a crisis coming before, it would be very difficult to find soldiers for a war.

Our system of scarce money, then, leads to war. And Social Credit, which would make money abundant in time of peace, would obviate one of the greatest causes of war.

It breeds exploitation

Our money system has given birth to a class of exploiters. We have seen them before, we see them now, and we'll continue to see them as long as the present financial system rules our lives. It is very easy to explain how this class of exploiters has come into existence.

The unemployed are the exploited. And unemployment is inevitable when money is scarce because industries are obliged to shut their doors.

Owners of houses, farms businesses, industries, who see their property taken from them because of this system of scarce money, they are the exploited.

The young people to whom a scarcity of money and war refuse the right to make a proper life for themselves these are the exploited.

Parents, whom scarcity of money and war prevent from bringing up their children properly, are the exploited ones.

Public officials, teachers, politicians, members of parliament, ministers of the government, all of these men whose liberty of decision and act are taken from them through a lack of finance, they are among the great class of the exploited.

So too are the taxpayers, who through their taxes attempt to repay to the financiers a debt which can, in fact, never be repaid; so too are the many individuals who, with great souls and hearts, never see the flowering of their greatness because their lives must be smothered in work which gives them the means of living through a salary.

And all of these victims are the exploited, the prey of a pernicious and blighting system of money which is based on a policy of scarcity.

So, our system of money engenders exploitation in all its pityless forms.

The corruption of souls

Our system of money corrupts souls, corrupts minds and hearts.

And the victims of this particularly vicious and evil phase, of our pernicious money system, are all those who have trampled on their consciences and sold the freedom of their wills for money - sometimes just for the chance to earn a livelihood.

How many business men have robbed their competitors or their customers because this was the only way they could make a profit? How many professional men have sacrificed their science and art and the honor of their profession so that they might live a life of comfort on a level demanded by their place in the world of affairs? How many public men have sold the best interests of their country so that they might achieve economic security for themselves?

The corruption of souls has become a disease which has eaten so deeply into society because of the scarcity of money, that it has become almost a philosophy of life to maintain that the end of human existence is to make money!

Educate yourself to make more money. Get into such or such a profession because it pays better. Leave your wife and children alone for the most part so that you can earn more money. Make a thorough study of techniques so that you will be able to get more for less. Don't give away money for nothing; this breeds laziness in people. Money should be earned with difficulty, otherwise people won't love the good God. Business is business! Do without things so that you can lay some money aside. And so it goes!

A whole philosophy of false principles built up around a finance which is based on the policy of a scarce money! And so the system holds humanity in servitude. Man bows down before the golden calf of money. He forgets God. His greatest preoccupation in life is the pursuit of money.

Turned from its true end

The root of the trouble, lies in this, that the system of money has been organised with another end in view than that which is proper to it.

The money system should have one objective and one objective only: to facilitate the flow of goods coming from the production system.

A money system which pretends to seek other ends is a false system. You would not attempt to heat a house with an automobile. An automobile is made to transport people. If you try to heat the house with it is becomes neither a good stove, nor a good means of transportation. The money system, when turned to some other end than that of facilitating the flow of goods and services, fails to do even that, and ends up being nothing but a source of harm and injury to society.

Social Credit puts money in its place

Modern economists admit that there is something wrong with the economy. But they can propose absolutely nothing to reform this pernicious system of money. In fact, most of them fail to recognize that it is the money system which is at fault. They regard it as something sacrosanct and not to be touched by men. So they try reforming everything except that which needs to be reformed: the finance system.

And even if there might be some who suggest reforms in the money system, such proposals as they put forward are so slight and insignificant that they might just as well have been left unsaid.

Only Social Credit recognizes the necessity of a healthy money system based on the true real weath of the country, coming into the world without debt, reaching the hands of the consumer as purchasing power.

Thus, money would facilitate the flow of goods, would no longer lead to war, would put production at the service of families, would eliminate the exploiters, free men from the tyranny of the financiers and would favor the practice of virtue among men, since, only free men can practise the life of virtue for which they were created.