Again, this week we have a significant number of situations that could be settled and problems that could solved if countries adopted the Economic Democracy Act. So, why doesn’t anyone implement the EDA? Is it stubbornness, ignorance . . . or something else? Without discounting stubbornness or ignorance, recent research suggests that another factor should also be considered: that the current paradigm isn’t held by reason, but by faith.
That being the case, it’s virtually impossible to change someone’s mind by arguing with them or even demonstrating the truth of the Just Third Way. They require an actual religious conversion . . . and the type of person who believes that some divine agency created the global economy is not the type to have a religious conversion unless he or she is struck by lightning . . . in which case it usually becomes a moot point. Still, here are a few of the situations that would benefit from an application of the Just Third Way:
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| Russia has weaponized food and fuel |
• Another Fusion Power Breakthrough? Alternative energy sources have taken on a new urgency with Putin’s War in Ukraine and the Russian dictator’s weaponization of food and energy. That is why the rapid development and implementation of fusion power is so critical, not merely to wean the world off fossil fuels, but to prevent any person or country from being held hostage by someone else’s control over the necessities of life. Fusion power is still a few years (or decades) away, but it seems that there is a fission process that is much safer by several orders of magnitude than the more or less standard large-scale reactors in use throughout the world today. The U.S. Navy has used small-scale, but very powerful nuclear reactors ito power its submarines with an amazing safety record, and some experts think such small-scale reactors can be readily adapted to civilian use. And how to finance small scale reactors on a large scale? Why not the Economic Democracy Act?
It's all meaningless if you understand money
• Strong Ruble, Weak Economy. One of the major problems in the world today is the bad ideas most people have about money. One of the worst of the bad monetary ideas is the fixed belief that money is a commodity instead of a social tool essential for the exchange of goods and services. Thus, the experts are in agreement that what made the Russian Ruble the “top performing currency” as an investment recently is the artificial pegging of the Ruble, but they miss the underlying problem as to why and how any currency with an artificially low or high value put on it isn’t really serving the true purpose of money qua money. It’s actually an example of price fixing by Russia, making their currency artificially more expensive in terms of those of other countries, forcing other countries and people using the currencies of other countries to pay more for less. Given a free choice, people will refuse to do so, which is why Russia’s food and fuel exports are so critical, and why the conquest of Ukraine is an essential element in preserving and increasing the wealth and power of Putin and his oligarchs. Is there a solution? Yes, the monetary and tax reforms of the Economic Democracy Act, which would act to “sterilize” the wealth of people like Putin and make the unwilling control of others with wealth virtually impossible (a willing sale of your soul to Putin or anyone else is another matter).
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| Not a sign of a healthy economy |
• The Real Rea$on? The Chinese economy may begin imploding soon, although not for the reason many of the experts think. Blaming everything on the COVID-19 pandemic, the experts claim that Chinas’s economic woes are due to the “zero tolerance” for the virus, and not the inherent weakness of any economic system in which capital ownership is ultra-concentrated and the government controls money and credit . . . as is the case in virtually every country in the world today. What would turn things around in China, or any other country in the world, is the Economic Democracy Act.
• Financing the Rebuilding of Ukraine. After estimating that rebuilding Ukraine will cost upwards of half a trillion Euros (we think it’s going to be a lot more than that), the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) said it is preparing to raise additional funds for the reconstruction of Ukraine after Russia's invasion, after pledging to spend 1 billion euros in the country in 2022. Raising money to rebuild Ukraine after Russian dictator Putin’s thugs have been driven out of the country is laudable — but it isn’t necessary and could actually do more harm than good. There should be more emphasis on raising money for immediate relief needs and the military effort, for the cost of rebuilding can be covered by the financial feasibility of the rebuilding itself if it is done in a way that turns every Ukrainian into an owner of the “new” Ukraine through the Economic Democracy Act.
• Danger, Will Robinson. The wealthy are calling for a “transformation” of the global economy . . . from something in which most people are dependent on the wealthy for everything, to one in which everyone is dependent on the wealthy for everything. This is what the so-called Great Reset is all about, and it is a thing that should worry everyone, but especially the wealthy once people realize that they are owned things instead of persons with dignity. Not to keep reminding people, but our new book, The Greater Reset is about how to transform the global (or any other) economy in a way that empowers people rather than stripping them of their last shreds of dignity.
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| The people are paying for Putin's War |
• Raise Costs to Counter Inflation! It appears that Russian dictator Vladimir Putin is as brilliant an economist as he is a military strategist and tactician. According to reports, Putin is mandating increases in old age pensions and the minimum wage. This sounds very nice . . . until you actually understand that “money” derives from production and is not itself real wealth. Simply giving the elderly more money increases demand without increasing production, thereby making what the elderly buy more expensive, nullifying any increase. At best, they simply pay more for the same goods and services. Of course, once you factor in the minimum wage increase — which increases the cost of producing goods and services — you realize how deadly what Putin is doing is. As costs increase, prices will rise, making even the increased old age pensions worth less than before the increases in real terms. What’s the answer? Need we say it? If Putin weren’t so blinded by his own greed and lust for power, he would see the benefits of the Economic Democracy Act immediately.
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| Is Putin out of control? |
• Putin’s Power Addiction. In an interesting op-ed piece, Christopher Blattman speculates that Putin will bring the war to an end when he realizes it is costing him more than he is gaining. We disagree — although Blattman’s analysis is very good, as far as it goes. He makes the fatal mistake, however, of assuming that Putin is rational. He is not. Even if he started out rational three months ago, he is currently obviously in the grip of something akin to “gambling fever.” It’s been known for millennia that a sort of madness sometimes takes control of people who are not compulsive gamblers, but who get caught up in the excitement of the game and continue gambling even though it’s clear to everyone else they’ve gone temporarily insane and can’t stop. Putin simply can’t stop the war because he is somehow convinced, despite all evidence to the contrary, that he will win, no matter what.
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| "The Greater Reset will eliminate my job." |
• The Greater Reset. CESJ’s new book by members of CESJ’s core group, The Greater Reset: Reclaiming Personal Sovereignty Under Natural Law is, of course, available from the publisher, TAN Books, an imprint of Saint Benedict Press, and has already gotten a top review on that website. It can also be obtained from Barnes and Noble, as well as Amazon, or by special order from your local “bricks and mortar” bookstore. The Greater Reset is the only book of which we’re aware on “the Great Reset” that presents an alternative instead of simply warning of the dangers inherent in a proposal that is contrary to natural law. It describes reality, rather than a Keynesian fantasy world. Please note that The Greater Reset is NOT a CESJ publication as such, and enquiries about quantity discounts and wholesale orders for resale must be sent to the publisher, Saint Benedict Press, NOT to CESJ.
• Help Joe Walk Again for Economic Justice. Just a reminder, if you haven’t already done so, to visit the GoFundMe campaign and consider making a contribution and spreading word out among your social media networks. It’s off to a good start, but it’s still just a start.
• Hortense and Her Whos. In case you’ve been wondering how you might advance the Just Third Way by introducing it to legislators at any and all levels of government, we’ve made it easy for you, with the “Hortense Hears Three Whos“ initiative. Visit the explanatory website, and consider downloading the postcard to send to people in government. Don’t worry if you think they won’t be open to it, as the postcard is intended to get them to open their eyes.
• Economic Personalism Landing Page. A landing page for CESJ’s latest publication, Economic Personalism: Property, Power and Justice for Every Person, has been created and can be accessed by clicking on this link. Everyone is encouraged to visit the page and send the link out to their networks.
• Economic Personalism. When you purchase a copy of Economic Personalism: Property, Power and Justice for Every Person, be sure you post a review after you’ve read it. It is available on both Amazon and Barnes and Noble at the cover price of $10 per copy. You can also download the free copy in .pdf available from the CESJ website. If you’d like to order in bulk (i.e., ten or more copies) at the wholesale price, send an email to publications@cesj.org for details. CESJ members get a $2 rebate per copy on submission of proof of purchase. Wholesale case lots of 52 copies are available at $350, plus shipping (whole case lots ONLY). Prices are in U.S. dollars.
• Sensus Fidelium Videos, Update. CESJ’s series of videos for Sensus Fidelium are doing very well, with over 155,000 total views. The latest Sensus Fidelium video is “The Five Levers of Change.” The video is part of the series on the book, Economic Personalism. The latest completed series on “the Great Reset” can be found on the “Playlist” for the series. The previous series of sixteen videos on socialism is available by clicking on the link: “Socialism, Modernism, and the New Age,” along with some book reviews and other selected topics. For “interfaith” presentations to a Catholic audience they’ve proved to be popular, edging up to 150,000 views to date. They aren’t really “Just Third Way videos,” but they do incorporate a Just Third Way perspective. You can access the playlist for the entire series. The point of the videos is to explain how socialism and socialist assumptions got such a stranglehold on the understanding of the role of the State and thus the interpretation of Catholic social teaching, and even the way non-Catholics and even non-Christians understand the roles of Church, State, and Family, and the human persons place in society.
• Shop online and support CESJ’s work! Did you know that by making your purchases through the Amazon Smile program, Amazon will make a contribution to CESJ? Here’s how: First, go to https://smile.amazon.com/. Next, sign in to your Amazon account. (If you don’t have an account with Amazon, you can create one by clicking on the tiny little link below the “Sign in using our secure server” button.) Once you have signed into your account, you need to select CESJ as your charity — and you have to be careful to do it exactly this way: in the space provided for “Or select your own charitable organization” type “Center for Economic and Social Justice Arlington.” If you type anything else, you will either get no results or more than you want to sift through. Once you’ve typed (or copied and pasted) “Center for Economic and Social Justice Arlington” into the space provided, hit “Select” — and you will be taken to the Amazon shopping site, all ready to go.
• Blog Readership. We have had visitors from 103 different countries and 41 states, provinces, and territories in the United States and Canada to this blog over the past week. Most visitors are from the United States, Brazil, Japan, China, and India. The most popular postings this past week in descending order were “Vladimir Putin’s Weird Worldview,” “JTW Podcast: Patriarch Kirill, Putin’s New Age Guru,” “News from the Network, Vol. 15, No. 18,” “Social Justice, IV: The Characteristics of Social Justice,” and “Vladimir Putin and the New Christianity.”
Those are the happenings for this week, at least those that we know about. If you have an accomplishment that you think should be listed, send us a note about it at mgreaney [at] cesj [dot] org, and well see that it gets into the next “issue.” Due to imprudent language on the part of some commentators, we removed temptation and disabled comments.
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