When unrestricted, the power of human ingenuity and talent is amazing. Life is about human development, about turning potential into productivity. Humans need to explore their own creativity and abilities. Talent left undeveloped corrodes the spirit from the inside out.
Money is the lifeblood of the economy. All of the organs of commerce depend upon it for nourishment. Block the flow of money and the economy will die. If everyone could access investment capital easily, society’s productivity would increase dramatically and innovation would flourish.
When access to capital is restricted to a relatively few firms, it is much like a hydro-electric dam. There are few opportunities or openings in the dam for human potential to flow so a backlog of human talent begins to collect behind the dam. The lucky ones who can find employment pass through the floodgates under extreme pressure. They know that many people are waiting behind them to take their place. They submit to the pressure because it is better than being unemployed.
The banks and the money lenders make the dams. They earn immense profits from interest charges. Those allowed to borrow control the floodgates and earn tremendous profits from the productivity of their employees. By controlling the supply of goods and services that reach the marketplace, they can generate the optimum level of power and profit.
Restricting who can access large amounts of money reduces competition in the marketplace significantly. Less competition increases the odds that borrowers will succeed financially, which makes it a lot safer to loan money.
Denying most people investment capital ensures that surplus workers will always be available in the marketplace. A surplus lowers the cost of labour, which again increases the odds that borrowers will succeed financially.
Managing and regulating the economy is a lot easier when only a few major players are allowed to operate. Consolidation builds strength and profitability, and accelerates the accumulation of capital.
Restricting access to capital preserves the stratification of society and the historical privileges of the upper class.
Society could operate differently, without the need to restrict access to capital, but both our monetary and economic systems would have to change. The Financial Party has a fascinating plan to do just that. You can read about it here.
