We as a species are struggling with a lot of problems we have never had before. The planet is being strip-mined, fences and walls are being built up, the riches countries in the world have food charity programs. There have been articles posted about capitalism and saving our planet: 1, 2, depicting a better future, and even touching on what this essay will be about. From [1]:
This is reality v the vested interests of the powerful. Any meaningful policy has to upset the established power base and the political donor class. Any policy that doesn’t upset these people will be useless. To pretend that we can compromise our way through this while we wait for a magical, technological bullet that will keep temperatures down without costing us anything is beyond wilful ignorance now. It is a question of basic morality.
I will propose a possible financial and mental solution to these problems, of which I believe it can be the only solution going forward. Note: I live in the Netherlands, and most of my views will be centered around our situation. Your situation could be different.
A basic income could be paraphrased as "decentralized taxation".
I propose we immediately start taxing pollution of any kind, based on intensity. We tax anything that is finite. We tax anything that pollutes the air, land, sea. We tax fishing to a level where the sea actually replenishes. Idem with any renewable. However, we choose to not trust the lawmakers with this source of income but give it back to the people as a universal basic income.
This first part is an essential taxation on unwanted behavior, effectively raising the bar on products with respect to environmental impact. The market then decides which products are worth damaging the environment, and which are not. Additionally, it strengthens a weakened proletariat in its battle against predatorial capitalists. The beauty of this is that it requires no structural changes in our democracy, but our lifestyle instantly starts to change.
Just an idea: each year, there could be a referendum with the question: What should happen with national income? with two options: basic income and government spending. The government budget could then be calculated as
total income * (government spending voters / total voters)
Utopia would be an enormous UBI for everyone. Anyone would be free to go everywhere, buy whatever he likes, all made by robots, owned by someone filthy rich. But hey, it's available for everyone, so no grudges. Reality will probably not be this way. A more realistic aim would be to make it affordable to get basic needs from the UBI; being able to live in a house, have access to food, water, internet, education, healthcare. Maybe you'll need to share homes, think smaller, grow your own vegetables, but you don't have to work for the man. I believe this balance would reduce consumption as people will feel less need to overcompensate their lost hours.
It also frees up a part of the work force that are doing shit jobs now, who have more means to start for themselves now. Having an abundance mentality allows them to think clearer, make better decisions, invest their time more wisely. Musicians and artists will flourish once more, startups will be more frequent, automation will be more of a tool than an enemy.
Part one takes power from polluting companies, companies that mistreat their workers, the government. This part will take power from the god masters of our matrix, the corrupted herders of our wealth, the bankers.
Money creation should be debt free, and shouldn't discriminate. Money creation should not be done by a private entity, but should be right up there with the current Trias Politica, as an independent fourth pillar. Also, banks should not be allowed to create money, on punishment of losing their license.
Doing this solves the debt bubble that is chasing us. We must have a way to grow, but it must be sustainable. Debt only fuels a primal hunger for money, which is a typical symptom of our scarcity mentality. Money creation should be in the interest of all people, and not in the hands of some shady hack of a shady business operating only in its own interest.
When you borrow a bunch of printed money, you have to pay interest with real money. This is where the bank makes money. When you need to take out a new loan to repay your old one, this is where a debt bubble is created - the best place to be, if you're a bank.
We have learned the hard way that is is not necessarily in our best interest to let private entities decide over our fate, I believe it's time to take back control ourselves.
If this resonates with you, please let me know, discuss, share. Nothing happens when we're all sheep. Stuff only happens when everyone is talking about it.
