Economic Systems: An Alternative View

© 2006 by Eric S. Meyer. All Rights Reserved.

 Our society is constructed from the efforts of those before us, and our actions today will affect those who follow us in time. As a result of this interplay, it is kind to think of the consequences our actions will have on others. Implicitly, our interactions are based on taking whatever one can by consuming resources, such as the labor and material goods manufactured by others. We have internalized our roles as consumers and until we decide to focus on being part of something, rather than a load on something, society will be “something:” neither meaningful nor motivating to contribute towards without constant external force.

 Too often, work is done for money without motivation except for the perceived need for money. This means that the source of the inspiration is external, thus money is a reward. Rewards bend actions, making motivations such that they reflect a warped sense of need. This is due to a need – whether real or perceived – being pursued with the goal being to appease some other goal.

 Goals – like anything – are neither good nor bad, godly nor ungodly, just simply more or less congruent with the perceived or real needs of a particular person or persons. With authority, the wants, needs and desires of one person or a group invariably take presidance over the wants, needs and desires of those with less authority. Besides authority, wealth, status, political power, intelligence and fame affect the inequalities within a social system and structure. These elements – authority, status, political power, intelligence, and fame – shall hereby be referred to as “ASPPIF.”

 ASPPIFF is harmful to society if one is to conclude that creativity is important. Creativity is the regulation to reject focus. With ASPPIFF, a person becomes their resource, as it can often totally absorb them in its firm grip. Creativity is compromised when a person focused on the wants, needs and desires of another entity. In family, such compromise leads to cooperation and love. In society, such compromise leads to a very different thing: complacency.

 Complacency is danger to society because it undermines the autonomy of the individual. Individuals need to make mistakes and learn their way though life. When life is “efficient” in such a way that few “mistakes” are made, an individual may become uncomfortable, or even afraid of making mistakes, and thus be crippled in terms of exploring the shared realm of consciousness and connection with others.

 Wealthy people are portrayed in the media as miserable for a very good reason. The wealthy give up a certain type of wealth to gain another type. No one can have everything, and, as such, some people will have more of one commodity and less of others, and vise versa.

 Money neither buys happiness nor costs happiness in its absence. Happiness is all about priorities, and if one is unhappy rich, they will most likely be unhappy poor, and, conversely, if they are happy rich, they will most likely be unhappy poor. In other words, joy comes from how one interfaces with others, not in how much material items they accumulate.

 The more money a person has, the more they will acquire the responsibility to invest in their community, to help set laws, to define the time usage and morals of others. The less money a person has, the more they will acquire the need to listen for how to gain from investments in the community, to obey laws, to use their time appropriately and follow moral codes set by others. In other words, with money, one's integration with community shifts from maker to component. In simple terms, with money one may hold a monopoly on the resources of time, energy and resources of the immediate community. The breadth of this power is dictated by the level of and scope of authority they were granted or command. The president of the United States is at the top while it is common for a male parent to be at the bottom of this tree of hierarchy.

 Power is all about getting a job done for the perceived comfort and security of the ruling class. However, with our world becoming increasingly more violent and dangerous, comfort is less attainable with simply having money in the bank, and security will not be attainable until all nuclear, biological and chemical weapons are remove from existence and humanity can truly focus on being powerful in their own destinies instead of threatening to terminate the destinies of others through a legacy of destruction so intense and morbid that it is nearly inconceivable.

 In time, those in power will probably recognize having some form of authority or control is just another resource, and like all other resources, they use some amount of space and time, and, also, resources require resources to maintain. For instance, money requires labor to count, store, secure and lend it. Also, food requires labor to transport, process, store, sell and monitor for spoilage. Too, jewelry requires the enduring of emotional stress in its risk of theft, loss, damage or payments to an insurance agency or agent. Even housing requires maintenance and management to make sure the tenants don't do illegal activities or are disruptive.

 Truly powerful people recognize that real power is in letting go, of giving at least part of the power to manipulate others, in return for the privilege of being able to cooperate, care for and communicate with on a more even and equatable way. In short, authority is about deciding who to control by behavior modification, while life is about deciding to let go of trying to control other people, but instead focus energies on optimizing one's own thoughts and feelings towards being an active and willing participant in the lifelong process of learning. Such learning, therefore, is the key to not only living today, but to better understanding the past, and to be well-footed and enlightened towards helping define the future that one wishes to commit to making a material and intellectual, as well as spiritual and emotional reality.