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The Secret To Survival: We Need More Honesty, Harmony, And Happiness

By Lionel Anet

08 February, 2014
Countercurrents.org

Those three qualities of (HHH), in individuals and therefore society, are the essence that glues people together under almost all circumstances. The importance of those assets have for us is due to their compatibility with our genes as they evolved together harmonising our interaction between ourselves and other species. Our cooperative approach combine with our body assemblage made us universally adaptable to live and be master anywhere. Furthermore the speed that people populated the world was overwhelming for any large animal. There wouldn't have been any reason but to live in harmony for most of our existence as the Bushman of the Kalahari did only a few decades ago. However, such amazing speed in population growth and spread create new problems with a solution that had unforeseeable oppression, turmoil, and destructiveness.

The crunch time came with a combination of overpopulation and a warmer climate. This compelled people, around 10 thousand years ago, to farm in many parts of the world that was receptive to it with simple tools. Agriculture did increase food output but of narrower source, with more effort, and not as genetically satisfying. But farming also introduced privatised food supply, thus a reluctant acceptance of greed became a part of social life. Hence, the accumulation of private property, which brought in a 5 thousand years of civilisation that used cooperation as a tool to compete with overt or covert violence. That cooperative oppressive competition was maintain with dishonest evaluation of people and nature, it was built on and it generated the Dishonesty- Discord- Despair (DDD) mitigated by our genetic disposition giving us a mixture of both HHH and DDD.

People's history has many facets, the snippet that I'm interested in are the features that changes the character of society and people's attitudes. The most dramatic changes, during civilisation, were due to Christian absorbing intellectuals within their church and later, the collapse of Rome. Those two events freed the slaves and gave serfs the opportunity to innovate to satisfy themselves and their medieval lord the best way they could.

It was that innovation to reduce the labour in the economy, which the serfs and artisans with merchants gradually changed the economy. The medieval lengthy period was uniquely European and it finally motivated Europeans' out of their linked continents to pursue unimaginable wealth. The ability to commercially exploit their new colonies increased the wealth of merchants and industrialist, which led to the industrial revolution.

At that time gold was assumed to be a source of wealth, but it was only a means of exchange for wealth, which is more goods, land, and power. Gold was only money or an ornament, it only increased the wealth of a country by exchanging it for goods, and this was the Spanish experience. Colonialism, for the north western Europeans, who were elbowed out of most of the precious metals, had to do with commerce. But the growing trade required a different money system than gold and silver, which up to then was partly an end in itself.

The English used the infinite fiat money that could grow with the economy and at the same time, the banks the creator of the money could benefit from the interest and charges on issuing it. It's the incentive to lend. That new money changed the steady state to a growth economy that must grow to keep the economy going, and that growth enables the repayment of the interest on the created money.

Business was then only limited by the available energy to produce the goods. Energy, as always, is the persistent limiting factor of life, however, as capitalism came from a tradition of reducing labour by making it more efficient or using alternatives, it had the ability to bypass those limits and was solved by artisans. John Harrison, the carpenter then clockmaker, invented the chronometer, and James Watt, while working as an instrument maker design a steam engine that was 5 times more efficient than previous ones. Or George Stephenson the millwright made the first viable steam locomotive whose basic design were still used past the mid-20 th century. They could because they were artisans and were self-educated in the practice of solving problems they faced. In doing so, they invent devices that spurred the sciences and started industrial capitalism and world trade.

The educated ones of the time couldn't solve the energy bottle necks as they only benefited from the work but not involved in it. Their outlet was to make clever toys to break the boredom and to amuse the nobles. It was the overcoming of that long disdained link between science and technology for production that gave us the wealth of knowledge we have now in spite of the prejudices from the educated.

Wealth Creation

Although banks can create any amount of money they can't create wealth, that's produced by using energy that can exploit nature to produce goods then sell them. That's the result of the work perform by whatever is the most profitable. It's the way England got its wealth as describe by The National Archives Kew Richmond Surrey

“The triangular trade
The British trade in enslaved people was a three-legged voyage: from British ports to West Africa, where enslaved people were bought with guns and other British-manufactured articles. Plantations were farms growing only crops that Europe wanted: tobacco, sugar, cotton. The merchant ships would load up with these products and take them back to Britain on the last leg of their journey. Profits from this trade made merchants rich as well as providing the capital (money) for many of the enterprises of the early Industrial Revolution.”

The limit to growth, for England, was the amount of energy it could get at that time from the sun by using wind, water, and plants. To supplant wood, coal was burnt just for heat and then using heat to produce kinetic energy. That produced more than work, it stirred the intellectuals to investigate how and why work could be produce by a heat differential, the foundation of the laws of thermodynamics. The combination of that investigative thinking and the previous adoption of the printing press as generated the runaway technological momentum that people today can't quite catch-up to.

That scientific and technological innovation and discoveries had no or only incidental benefits for people. The main benefit for people in industrialised nations came with the ability to use cheap oil. But now it's in decline pushing up price so the standards are going down as societies can't afford the services nation should give its people, increase the wealth of the few wealthy, and produce all the waste to keep the economy growing. Within that higher oil price there's more than profit, as most of the new oil requires much more energy, which means more work, pollution, and carbon emissions. This situation is in spite of scientists when they investigated the state of the planet gave us dire warnings. The media, interest is more of the same and that required less, so it's ignored and also to deal with it would need a fairer way of life.

Back around 1970 a number of scientists, particularly the club of Rome became aware and concerned at the state of our planet's diminishing resources. But just a few years later, the neoliberals gained world hegemony with the help of the information media and politicians, elevating greed as our “benefactor” and saviour. This motivated further extraction by the use of more energy in that enterprise. With financial support the media and therefore politicians ridiculed the Club of Rome by confusing people between output and assets. Thereby exploitation of resources continued as if they were infinite.

The economy i.e. greed supported some of sciences and most of the technology, this produced an explosive spread of in-depth investigation of almost everything. That fast growing knowledge in early capitalism open-up the new intellectual-knowledg e as private property , which was the last vestige of common property to go. Greed can now reign supreme and is seen by the neoliberals as an economic asset, a necessity if not a virtue. Intellectual property increased the range of thievery with the ability to rob without the owner losing anything but earnings and recognition.

Private property's importance increases as it consumes public property and that also increases the need for a growing economy to pay the interest on loans to buy those assets. That's perpetual growth and like perpetual motion it's impossible. It all increases the value and importance of private property but decrease the significance of public property and deplorably of people.

Neoliberals' ideology is an unregulated system controlled by competition, motivated by greed, producing a stratified world, resulting in an economy where societies exist, but only in name. It entices deceitfulness, which becomes the norm, as the intensity of the competition increases. Secrecy is the prerequisites for competition and dishonesty; it will flourish however honest the participants like to be. The outright lies and deception, to dominate, that go uncheck are appalling when competition is as intensive as it is today. The worst aspect of years of living in that social environment is we come to expect deceit in business, sport, and politics as natural behaviour of people. But it will be fatal if continued much longer.

We act contrarily from our nature

Nonetheless for long living social beings like ourselves, those thousands of years of civilisation have had little to no effect on our genes. We have managed those DDD corrosive effects because our genetic sustaining HHH quality has seen us through.

Furthermore, nature has more to do with cooperation than competition as it's expressed in the “competitive exclusion principle” or Gause's law, which states that nature can't support two species living in the same area in the same way in a constant environmental situation. Then, one could say that the reason for the multitude of species is due to the avoidance of competition, which forces species to adapt to new niches. It's unfortunate that Darwin (competition to survive - the survival of the fittest) gained prominence as it conformed to capitalist ethos. While Wallace (life is seen as a network of interdependence and cooperative species) was ignored.

We see the world generally through the distorted window of our culture. As most people only look through that window they assume that's the world. That culture is due to the pressure and demands exerted by the socioeconomic system. Therefore, in the main, we are unaware of why we think the way we think and our discrepancy with reality, which explains why we see the world as competitive, the way capitalism operates. Although it contradicts our genetic makeup we also manage it because we are very adaptable.

Our ability to deal with a wide range of circumstances and situations is due to our unique body, which can justify our high energy consuming brain. That combination has given us incredible adaptability especially as we act with the power of social groups, its knowledge, and history. It has, due to our great abilities, created both the capacity to know, understand, and see the consequences of our way of life and ignore the results at the same time.

The main reason being, that vast amount of in-depth knowledge is not summarise and distribute to the public, not because of crude censorship, but by highly skilled public relation companies' ability to circulate facts in a way that looks like it's just an idea much disputed, or its too complex to be bothered with. They also expertly use the reliable-diversions of sport, politics and other trivia. Moreover, the years of betrayal has created a belief that it's impossible to change the setup so why bother. So we pursue our individual needs and participate in an unpredictable economy to maintain ourselves in a system that must grow, but no longer can.

How we're gradually destroying the planet

We started that way of life over 10,000 years ago to feed ourselves in overpopulate areas; we temporarily managed to feed more people as we took a greater share of the planet's energy by using agriculture where conditions were suitable. It solved the food shortage but it also favoured increasing the population and so starvation was always on the cards and with diseases it regulated our numbers. Capitalism temporally solved those two distressing problems, but soon, like before, we will reach the limits, but in a depleted world with 9 billion people.

Agriculture inadvertently introduced a gradual and persistent privatisation of common property. The consequences were dramatic with repeated unforeseeable and tragic outcomes; due to a larger population and more concentrated private property it resulted in civilisation. It's an ambivalent competitive system that values structures, property, and faiths over people at the same time using and feeding on our social values. Kingdoms and pre-capitalist states owned and used people as a valued property. Capitalism, on the other hand, hires workers, pays according to time spent or work done. This is far more profitable for competitive businesses. With global capitalism the competition to increase wealth is only for the top while lower ranks compete to produce more while receiving less remuneration. Competition can be bearable if there's sufficient economic growth to maintain and repay financial debt and its interest; with the impossibility of growth we all in misery.

In the pursuit of wealth, power, and glory most of the world's people are sacrificed either as slaves indentures for long period, as wage labour the indenture for short periods, or as soldiers to fight to enslave or to rob societies with weaker fighting ability. We also have to produce a growing military outlay as a part of wealth creation for the excessively wealthy and to grow the economy.

What's more, capitalism has the new enslavement where everyone throughout their life reimburses private banks, as money is used many times on a product before we buy it. This happens because over 95% of the total money is created by private banks bearing interest and charges on it.

Also, the intense competition creates uncertainties for everyone as there are many unknowns, caused by secrecy and deceitful situation, which we all have to steer through. Individuals have to gamble their way through life with decreasing support from society as that is seen as a waste and a disincentive to compete. It's a gamble, similar to casinos they cream off a percentage of the money involved, like the banks do when they lend the money they create. Subsequently, the community pays in a disproportional way depending largely on one's wealth, the less earned the more one pays, as a percentage.

The more technologically sophisticated and expensive a country's armed forces are, the more they become paranoid because to spend so much on the military requires explanation that the media fabricates in abundance. It does that because it grabs people's attention. There's benefit for many people who work in arms manufacture, so they demand that it continues. But the more that's wasted on the military the less there's for people welfare and the more the planet is damaged in making and using that equipment.

Although the plight of third world people is an urgent task, it will continue to be a never-ending one. Unless we eliminate the reason for it, being the disparity of wealth, which is the consequence of competing for it, as that concentrates the wealth, instead of dispersing it. That wealth is the result of using people and fossil fuel energy to extract natural resources to produce them into commodities and for advertisers to deceptively turn people into consumers of those goods. Most of those products, are largely unhelpful, are the cause of the depletion of natural assets, and is heating the planet.

The wealthy will be facing difficult to get resources that will require increasing energy from expensive oil to extract, making it unavailable. Today's wealth may be useless in the near future as survival then will require different means of existence that may be beyond their ability. So we must save them by making certain that, the few, understand their future so they can help in our survival, instead of misleading us to keep on destroying our life supports.

No matter how wealthy one is the wellbeing of one's children within 30 years' time will necessitates a drastic reduction of carbon emissions now . To do that, it will be necessary for the wealthy to embrace fairness, allow an honest information media, and use PR companies for the public good. They are linked so we must deal with them all; especially eradicate competition the starting point of antagonistic relationships and dishonesty. Replace the competition with cooperation to reduce waste, unnecessary work, and establish peace for our happiness without drugs.

By reducing competition we will reduce the importance of money and the belief in its importance. No amount of saving and assets can be of any use if resources are not available, which is the likely result of today's wasteful unsustainable consumption, powered by a depleting fossils fuel.

The paradox of the neoliberal economy is it needs to produce more every year with less labour cost or less labour, but at the same time those poorer and fewer workers have to buy more every year to satisfy the economy. It's one of the reasons for the need of perpetual increasing economic growth, which is powered by burning the depleting fossil fuels that must also be used increasingly to produce the fossil fuels leaving less to power the economy.

Our contradictions are a form of dishonesty

The neoliberals' economy has shaped society to its highest ever level of dishonesty, due to the competitiveness, which everyone has to participate in. This has affected particularly the factory workers, as they once had great solidarity, now have to outdo other workers who are even more desperate. We may be aware of the destruction to the planet, but we are required to keep on course and exploit the third world to the end and leave the mess for our offspring to deal with. Because of our locked in mindset of the ultimateness of civilisation and capitalism we only see ways of reforming that unjust situation but within its basic unfairness. So instead of changing the cause of unfairness we concentrate on justice within an unfair social setting by getting billionaires to be a little less one. However, at the first opportunity the competition to be the wealthiest resume as it did in the late seventies. To venerate civilisation and particularly competition is the worst dishonest assessment we make and now it's the one that can destroy not only the poor but the riches.

We expect to have 9 billion people, that in a hostile environment in which to cop we will need more energy and we will have much less, we will need more and richer fertile land and we will have less, and need more food from the oceans and we may have much less.

Even though we know that economic growth has a limit, which is govern by the available energy, material, and the ability of nature to process the waste and maintain a liveable environment. Yet schools and universities teach that growth must be maintained for ever, and they also teach that it's impossible that anything on earth can grow for ever. One should expect a major clash, if honesty was uppermost, but our schooling teaches us to accept deceit and live with it. We therefore aren't mindful of the impossibilities and obvious contradictions.

Although Australian city roads are at full capacity yet we are distressed to lose the car makers. Those cars, on average, are used about 1 to 2 hours per day, emitting vast quantities of carbon that each car on average takes over a decade to equal the emission in making them. They also need a vast network of road and parking space that requires a great deal of energy to build and maintain, but above all, cars kill over a thousand Australian a year. Those factories should be converted to make rail vehicle and small feeder bus that emitting little or no carbon.

Unsustainability to sustainable life

Our survival is in question, the obstacle to continued life is personal wealth and its pursuit of it; it has blinded the wealthy, the ones who could control the economy. It's doubtful that any group are in control of the economy as it's based on a multitude of chaotic pursuits. But at present there's a strong unity in maintaining that chaos because it suit the top wealthy ones. Nonetheless if those people see that the situation has changed and that way of life will be disastrous for them, many will have second thought about maintaining the status quo. It's a question of time there's very little left to save our young ones, the die is being cast and soon it may be too late. Life including people hasn't any guarantees of continuity; our survival is up to us. It's not possible especially in the short time available to directly change the general public's way of life and attitude. We might end up in a world of worst waring faction fighting for food and shelter that will disappear.

The people who can convert the media and PR companies are the bankers and wealthy owners who still believe in their immunity from the effects of global warming and all the other threats the economy is producing. It's ridiculous to think that only the poorer people will die from the calamity we are facing, that disaster must create untold social disturbance that would affect the billionaires who might be an early target. If some of those people realise the peril they face they may be able to create a turnaround as they did in the ww ll when the economy was changed overnight.

Government finance then was self-finance creating its money and reduced spending with victory bonds to soak up excess money, instead of borrowing to profit private banks. The danger we faced then was minor compared to the one we are facing now. The more astute of the upper class may have a suspicion of a possible risk to their future but despite their wealth and power they rightly feel helpless at present. People have to think about the future, a world that can't sustain their children with the present economic system.

Change Taxes and charges for our children's sake.

I maintain that saving ourselves will be easy matter once we can get the wealthy on side. Those following items are simple changes that I think will lead us out of this apparent quagmire if applied gradually and sensitively.

•  Reduce then stop emitting carbon by gradually raising taxes until we stop emitting it.

•  Eliminate unemployment by a gradual removal of all tax and charges on labour, which could half the cost of labour and maintain its purchasing power. This would improve the competitiveness of labour over energy while we are still motivated by it.

•  Created money must be the sole prerogative of sovereign states or communities.

•  Expenditure on advertising and public relation expenses, for private benefit, mustn't be tax deductible; this will reduce the pressure to consume.

•  The purpose of societies is like present families, to give security and the best possible life for everyone within. We therefore, need to allocate resources similar to a happy family. This will reduce the importance of money and increase honesty and reduce the bureaucracy.

•  Everyone should be issued with coupons to get essential needs free of charge. This to work a little like ration cards but more to ensure that no one goes without and it will reduce the importance of money.

•  The use of land, company profits, and unworked income are legitimate chargeable and taxable items.

•  Information ideally should be free to all. It can be share at practically no cost. Those who have contributed to the pool of knowledge that society uses, society should acknowledge their contribution and ensure their ability to continue.

•  Private cars must be phased out by increasing fuel taxes and their purchase price. But to lessen the cost of that, registration and third party insurance on personal and property can be include in the higher fuel cost. This would be a more honest charge as it would reflect the use of the car on the road and minimise its use.

•  Goods imported that haven't paid their full carbon taxes must pay on entry. That would tend to forces all countries to comply and not take advantage.

•  Moving goods crisscross over the globe unnecessarily is a waste and it too must pay its full cost of its destructiveness to nature.

After thorough investigation scientists found that by the end of this century we can expect a 4 o c temperature rise and finally end up with a 2.3 meter rise in sea level for every one degree rise in temperature. This with 9 billion people is too much to survive in.

It's not possible to have a high level of happiness by pursuing it; happiness is an outcome it encompasses the happiness of others in a fair way. We must have honesty so that we can have harmony that will allow us all to have a life of challenges with little anxiety, which inhibits happiness.

To participate in the most import event in life's history will be the greatest possible achievement that any generation can attain. To do that we will need to prioritise honesty harmony. Then, we can feel proud and increase our security, and feel happier.

Lionel Anet is a member of Sydney U3A University of the Third Age, of 20 years standing and now a life member

 



 

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