In 1887, Edward Bellamy wrote "Looking Backward", a scathing critique of 19th Century capitalism, which captured the imagination of the nation and quickly became a best seller. In this famous fantasy, Julian West, a wealthy capitalist, falls into a deep, hypnotic sleep and awakens 113 years later (in the year 2000) to find that capitalism has been replaced with a far superior socio-economic order.
In 1897, Bellamy elaborated on his ideas in a sequel entitled "Equality" which could well be one of the most important books on the planet.
Bellamy's ideas, however, imply increasing the powers of the State. Historically, political alternatives have always involved a trade-off between individual freedom (capitalism) and social equality (socialism/communism). Voters have been conditioned to believe that they can't have both. In reality, they can't have either.
With capitalism, individual freedom is only possible if you have a good supply of money. If you were not born rich, the freedom to live as you please is simply not available to you. To become rich, you must give up a significant portion of your individual freedom and submit to the authority of the marketplace. Even with a lifetime of hard work, very few people become rich enough to acquire true individual freedom, and most of those who do, become enslaved to maintaining their own success.
With socialism and communism, individual freedom is sacrificed to the authority of the State. It is assumed that State control over the affairs of the nation helps to moderate greed and corruption, creating a more egalitarian society. Historically however, all socialist and communist nations have maintained a privileged ruling class as dissimilar to the average worker as the wealthy capitalist elite. The larger the State bureaucracy, the greater the social inequality. (To be fair here, it must be pointed out that all capitalist countries today have adopted many socialist and communist ideas. True capitalism is already dead.)
When individual freedom can be suppressed for the "common good" the door to fascism is opened. The whole idea of "majority rule" is a totally unnecessary betrayal of individual freedom. If 60% of the people can impose their will on the other 40%, how free is a country really?
So how do we free ourselves from both the grip of government and capitalism? Once you realize that a possibility exists that is neither capitalism nor communism, a possibility that nearly eliminates the power of the State completely, the solution is a lot easier than you might think.
A new and radically different political alternative is developing in Canada. The Financial Party of Canada starts its thinking where no other political party dares to go... at the very heart of our corrupt financial & economic system. The Financial Party extends Bellamy's ideas of economic equality without sacrificing individual liberty to state or government control.
Some of their key ideas include:
Automatic Money Creation... directly by the people, not by the government or the banks. New money would be created instantly as people perform socially productive labour. All money would be 100% backed by socially productive labour already performed.
When money is spent, it is extinguished. Money does not recirculate. Work an hour, spend an hour... that's all there is to it! Prices = human labor + resource depletion costs... nothing else! Incomes would not be equal, but hourly pay rates (of over $40/hr) would be.
Free public capital and free public credit would be equally available to everyone. There would be no debt, interest or profit.
All people contribute to society in more ways than just their paid employment. All people have a right to a share of the nation's natural and inherited resources. A National Endowment Fund would be established to recognize this. The Fund would provide a guaranteed annual income to everyone 20 years of age or older, for as long as they live.
Education would not only be free... students would be paid to attend college or university. Free healthcare, including dental and drugs, would be available for all.
Life doesn't have to be this hard. We don't have to rent our money, or our lives, from private interests. If these ideas appeal to you, please visit their site.
