Anarchoblogs

I don't call it "post-carbon" because all life is carbon based.

I call it post peak-oil and post fossil fuel. The lifestyles of the "Western" world is so melded to the use of fossil fuels for all aspects of luxury and survival and irrational interaction and it has arisen in the last three hundred years as an integral part of the Capitalist system which as an extension of Feudal and Imperialist Military hegemony has raped and squandered the North American continent and others in its colonialist pursuits.

I thought that the Capitalist system was reformable, but now I see what a virulent madness it is... Good planets are hard to find and we are almost through with this one. I am riding out my days in the belly of the Capitalist Imperialist beast. I still think an equity union is a superior idea for economic relations, but it will not be of the real world.

I look to the Moslem world for leadership and would recommend that they resist the decadent temptations of Western life. The US Imperialist goal of World Manifest Destiny has been a hard and violent ride. It is now almost over. The meaning of almost is not clear. 5 years? 10 years? 100 years? and there will most likely be no clear line of demarcation defining the end. They will go on with their inanity in an oblivious crusade of the ultimate paradox between evil and righteousness until there is no fuel to fire the ignitions for their chariots of luxury, for their fleets and chariots and thunderbirds and drones of war.

Perhaps the Evilest Empire of All Time, the USA, is very near defeat. Perhaps not. However long it takes to strangle the beast, I know that all that will be left is a squandered planet.

It is a shame, because with rational, equitable, humane, altruistic, education and action the overshoot of population and the scarcity of resource availability could conceivably be dealt with. Instead we are running full speed into the worst period of suffering that Man has and will ever face.

If I weren't so stir crazy from the deafening silence of an irrational people then I would be fretting about how my life will play out in the collapse.

I've tried to make positive contributions all my life, I will continue to try given any chance.


In Peace, Friendwalkin', Community, Cooperation, and Solidarity,

Mike Morin

Collin,

Thank you for writing.

As you know, the banks not only charge interest, but most often issue a lien (i.e. they want collateral for the loan).

The entire Capitalist paradigm, whether it be in credit relations or equity relations, however inequitable the latter and former usually are, is based on the self-fulfilling, inflationary, and wasteful assumption called the time value of money, sometimes referred to as "the discount rate", which assumes that money will be worth less in the future. And, as we can see by the housing market, as the most burdensome example, eventually worthless.

Such a system sets off furious, irrational competition for businesses and institutions (I make the distinction because business can be productive and institutions tend to be exploitative) who set as their objective a "hurdle rate", "internal rate of return", "return on equity" rather than the meeting of peoples needs.

I have read Greco's book. I did not finish it. It started out good when he explained his personal history and intentions but deteriorated soon.

I am in favor of keeping the Treasury and eventually evolving to a world currency. The Federal Reserve should be abolished, although I am uncertain about the concept and role of "reserve notes". Thinking it through, it is an extension of the inflationary paradigm that I referred to earlier in this note. We must proceed very cautiously in phasing out or down such a system.

I strongly believe that we should redefine the credo word to be equity sharing, only because of the bad connotation that that credit has evolved to date. Equity sharing should replace "lending", equity trading, and equity investing.

I hope you comprehend and can appreciate and share this communication.

Please feel free to continue the conversation.


In Peace, Friendwalkin', Community, Cooperation, and Solidarity,

Mike Morin

Here's a huge part of the problem. Some people make the majority or more of their income off of ownership "dividends". Can't say how many of them are greedy and how many are just getting by, themselves.

Certainly, it would be easier to work with those who only make a small part of their income from economic rents (i.e. mortgages, rental collections stock dividends, equity trading, etc.). One can hope that those who are greedy can and will forego their greed and release their competitive advantage grip, but it almost goes without "saying" that they would be more problematic to a cooperative world.

Those who are just getting by (in a humble manner) with such incomes could perhaps be more easily persuaded to join the work force, especially if job training were made available to them.

Anyway, given the "invisible handed" practice of Capitalism, we are unjustly finding ourselves at the mercy of the unscrupulous, the evasive, the uncaring, and the irresponsible.

Some talk and write about Revolution, but it would be a whole lot easier to overthrow the government(s) than it would be to realize any real economic gain, especially a sustainable cooperative scenario, with violence.


In Peace, Friendship, Community, Cooperation, and Solidarity,

Mike Morin
Peoples' Equity Union
Eugene, OR

April,

His name is Muhammad Yunus. He is the founder of something called the Grameen Bank.

I just got his book: Banker to the Poor: Micro-lending and the Battle Against World Poverty at the Library.

I have heard of this initiative. I have some pre-conceived notions.

1.) He is a Muslim, so he does not charge interest on his loans. It will be interesting how he supports himself and the Grameen Bank. Does he charge fees? Does he share profit? Does he have wealthy benefactors?

2.) I assume that he functions in the so-called free-market. If so, do the businesses he loans to function to meet specific needs of the local poor communities and what happens when those needs are met? If that is the way they function, I suspect that they identify other needs.

That's all I want to say for now, until after I read the book.

Suggest you read it as well. Then perhaps, we can discuss.

Thanks for alerting me to this.


Mike Morin