The Social Dividend

Did you know that the Social Dividend could save the planet but that consumerism will destroy it?

Yes! Technology and automation render human labour obsolete in production. The present shortage of manpower in some regions is temporary and is related to demography. Progress in robotics and artificial intelligence have led us to a new industrial era. According to the consulting firm, McKinsey & Company, 800 million workers risk losing their jobs to robots by 2030.

Finding new jobs to replace those made redundant by robots will require that new needs and new types of consumption habits be created. This will be at the expense of the planet’s resources.

The Social Dividend described in this booklet would solve both the employment and environmental problems facing modern economies.

Readers are invited to study this booklet on the Social Dividend and further their understanding of the economic philosophy of Social Credit.

There are many questions that need answers!

Does the production system exist to create jobs? Must we create new needs for the sole purpose of replacing jobs lost to automation? Are we stuck on a treadmill of consumption for the sake of job creation? Is it inevitable that the planet’s resources be depleted?

Production economics works well. Why does the economics of distribution lag? Why is the financial system so outdated and contrary?

We have entered the Fourth Industrial Revolution1. Do we not recognize that progress and automation could liberate us to a life of leisure and freely chosen activities? Instead we are stressed because of economic insecurity.

What is missing in our societies? Why must we always run? Work, work, work! Why are people so stressed?

These questions will be answered in this booklet.

Social Dividends would protect the environment while allowing individuals to reach their full potential.

A Social Dividend, but what for?

• Each person has the right to life, integrity, dignity and freedom. In this century of plenty, of progress and instant communication, it is unconscionable that there are people who live in poverty.

         (See page 4, Reinstatement of Personal Rights, and page 35, Freedom and Dignity.)

• It is important for the reader to understand why we call this income source a Social Dividend. Each citizen is a capitalist, the owner of a social and commonly-owned capital. When this capital is fruitful, each citizen must receive their share of the profits in the form of a Social Dividend.

        (See page 35, The Social Dividend and Commonly-Owned Capital, and p. 37, Inheritance and Heirs.)

• We have a situation in which products that people want are not sold due to a lack of purchasing power.

         (See p. 39, The Chronic Shortage of Purchasing Power, and p.41, Progress and Unemployment.)

• Social Dividends would permit the self-realization of individuals, families and society.

        (See p. 43, Beneficial Effects of the Social Dividend, and p. 45, Objections to the Social Dividend.)

• Social Dividends are feasible.

        (See page 46, From Where Will the Money Come?)

Louis Even  and the Social Dividend

Louis Even explained the Social Dividend in many articles on the topic which were published in Vers Demain between 1939 and 1974. This booklet is a summary of these articles.

We have developed a Question and Answer format. The questions are ours and the answers are from Louis Even’s material. Enjoy your reading!

Lise Rodrigue-Fournier

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1) The Fourth Industrial Revolution (4IR) is the fourth major industrial era since the initial Industrial Revolution of the 18th Century. It is characterized by a fusion of technologies that is blurring the lines between the physical, digital, and biological spheres, collectively called the cyber-physical systems. It is marked by emerging technology breakthroughs in a number of fields (www.wikipedia.com).