The debt-based monetary system that the world uses today has not changed much in over 300 years despite the inequality, misery and carnage that it creates. Do you ever wonder why neither the political left nor the political right propose or even discuss true monetary reform?
Traditional economics claims that there is a significant difference between labour and capital. Labour represents the interests of hired workers while capital represents the interests of business owners and corporations. Labour unions fight for the collective rights of workers while business associations push for the commercial interests of businesses. While there may be a significant difference of interests on the shop floor, as we move up the hierarchy within organizations into the pinnacle of finance, the differences disappear completely. A wishbone is a good analogy for the relationship between labour and capital.
The bottom ends of the wishbone are separate and distinct. This is the shop floor. Labour is primarily concerned with safety, job security, worker benefits and wages. Capital is primarily concerned with productivity, efficiency and cost reduction.
Moving up the labour arm of the wishbone there are shop stewards and union reps. On the capital side there are layers of managers. The distance between the arms remains far apart. Further up the arms there are union executives and corporate executives who are high enough up the hierarchy to understand that the needs of both sides must be satisfied in order for the company to survive. The viewpoints of these executives have been tempered by the hard realities of the global economy and by the perks and benefits included in their lifestyles. The arms grow closer together as these men and women start thinking “reasonably” and very much alike.
At the very top of the hierarchies it is all about the money. The top labour executives manage the pension funds of their workers, the top capital executives manage corporate and shareholder investments. The primary focus of both is on Return On Investment. There is such a plethora of exotic and complex financial derivatives and instruments that these people live and work in a world of their own imagination. No difference remains between labour and capital here. At the pinnacle, the hierarchies are united. Neither labour nor capital dares disturb the foundations of their most treasured asset, the financial system.
