MONETARY: Social Credit co-operation with others.

["Rodney Shakespeare" <Rodney.Shakespeare1@btopenworld.com>]

Dear Monetary Reform members,

    Monetary Reform discussion has been in abeyance for a while  but Keith
Wilde suggests that Social Credit could be discussed in this Group.
    If you look at the posting below to the Ownership Group you will see
Peter Challen and I believe that there may be a way by which Social Credit
AND many other groups can co-operate together.
    The posting below is just a starter, as it were.

Rodney Shakespeare.

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Dear Ownership Group members,

Keith Wilde helpfully suggests that Social Credit does not really fit under
Ownership but that it might fit under Monetary Reform.

While I do not feel that aspects of accounting come under Monetary Reform, I
certainly think that Social Credit comes under that heading.

   Except for one posting, I have not been participating at all in Ownership
recently because there has been a tremendous amount of  work going on
associated with the Shakespeare/Challen book Seven Steps to Justice which
has been printed but will not be officially published until probably
November.

However, it is probably time to try to explain to COG exactly what is in the
Seven Steps and set out some of the big developing issues.   And I will
start by saying that the Steps provide an overall framework within which
Social Credit can co-operate with Binary Economics.  Which, given the
quarrels, might seem surprising.  Moreover, within the (highly specific)
framework many others (e.g. moderate Islamic groups) can co-operate as well.
Which might seem impossible, but it isn't.  And all this -- and much more --
comes from a willingness to  make  an acknowledgement of truth in the form
of undeniable fact.  From the acknowledgement of the truth, moreover, the
outlines of new policy soon become apparent.  Best of all, the
acknowledgement opens the way for all those individuals and groups anxious
about the world to co-engage in pulling together in a way which will allow
them a greater chance of promoting their own ideas.  If that seems
impossible, it is because new insights always open the way to new ideas.

    So it is not really a question of my being opposed to Social Credit but
rather that Peter Challen and I believe that a way has been found to enable
co-ooperation between many groups IF they focus on the main issues and do
not too easily retreat into their personal and group redoubts from which to
issue sniper fire at anybody within sight.

    And as a way of offering the hand of friendship towards Social Credit, I
start by saying that, early on in the book, the first big matter (i.e., the
world has sufficient productive capacity to end poverty) has a very
important footnote which refers firstly to Buckminster Fuller, then CH
Douglas, founder of Social Credit, and then Louis Kelso.  Then, throughout
the early chapters, I think it highly likely that Social Credit will
generally agree with the underlying analysis/critique.  Furthermore, we
think that  the main Social Credit proposal is in the book (in the form of
debt-free spending for a basic income).  However,  it is only PART of the
overall counter-inflationary proposal and is dependent upon certain other
conditions being met.

    So I'm saying that, if Social Credit is prepared to co-operate with
others, it could achieve a large part of its goals (and even all of them).

    I think that is enough for the moment.

      I am also going to post this email to Monetary Reform.

Rodney Shakespeare.