Creating an Economic System that Works for Everyone

Stop Trying to Fix the Economic System:  Re-invent It

The world’s economic system is in free fall.  President Obama and his team are hastily applying fixes, hoping they will work, as are world leaders, but no one really knows how to put humpty-dumpty together again.  This started in the U.S. with a mortgage crisis. The first reaction of the Bush administration was to bail-out Wall Street.  It has only occurred to a few that a complete re-invention of our whole economic system is needed. Now is the moment to create a system that works for everyone.

David Korten’s New Book is a Must-Read

David Korten  has written a new book called Agenda for a New Economy: From Phantom Wealth to Real Wealth (Berrett-Koehler Publishers: San Francisco, CA, 2009), a must read for those of us studying current fiscal events.  This book is particularly important for those starting to see the relationship of money to violence and wondering how to create a sustainable planet, one where people are free to love each other, where everyone can grow into a ripe old age.

Wall Street Creates Phantom Wealth–Let it Go

With advanced degrees in business from Stanford, and years of experience in business strategy and economics, Korten knows what he is talking about.  The central piece of his thinking is that Wall Street creates phantom wealth.  The wealth the financial industry creates is hollow; it is not based on anything real in the world.  A giant house of cards, built up over the past thirty to forty years has suddenly collapsed.  While large numbers of people in that industry enriched themselves and lived like kings, middle and lower class Americans, and others like us around the world paid dearly for those luxurious lifestyles.

Divisiveness, Rage and Terrorism Make Sense Now

It is no wonder that there has been so much divisiveness and rancor in American politics and no wonder that bitterness and rage has built up among the have-nots of the world has now spilled over into terrorism directed at the United States.  American consumers are not blameless in this economic collapse. In Time magazine’s recent list of 25 People to Blame for the Economic crisis, the American consumer was on the list. That includes everyone in the United States!

Envisioning Societies Based on Real Wealth

Korten points toward a new economy based on real wealth:

Real wealth is a healthy, fulfilling life; healthy, happy children; loving families; and a caring community within a beautiful, healthy natural environment. It is a fulfilling means of livelihood that affirms our inherent worth and service. It is a peaceful world. These are the things of real value and the only truly valid measure of economic performance.

This is Main Street wealth vs. Wall Street wealth.  Korten issues a call to action to Americans and people all over the world to demand a new economic system from our leaders. At this critical juncture in the world’s history we can have the kind of world we truly want, if we have the courage to insist on it and are willing to work for it.

An Inspiring Prayer for How We Might Live

I will close with a prayer I received at a presentation on socially responsible investing (Trinity United Methodist www.tumseattle.org) .  The prayer suggests we emulate Jesus, one of the world’s greatest teachers.

I pledge, o God, to discover how much is enough for me to be truly fulfilled, neither rich nor poor, and to consume only that. I pledge, o God, to be part of the discovery of how much would be enough for everyone-not only to survive but to thrive-and to find ways for them to have access to that. May this offering of restraint and justice teach me to live like Jesus, healing my life and the life of the world. Amen.

Questions of Inquiry

1. What impact do you foresee the current financial crisis having on the world in terms of war and outbreaks of armed violence?

2. What possibilities can you envision for a monetary/fiscal system that works for everyone?

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