The Spiritual Economy
By Steve Moyer
Notes on a new economic system
Last updated on July 25, 1995.
Everyone has some idea of what the "spiritual economy" is before I
even describe it. Many people think it is karma. Others think it is
just sharing freely without any expectation of return, trusting the
universe to provide.
The interesting thing is we all realize that the existing economy is
lacking in spirituality. Some people try and justify it, yet in their
hearts they know the truth; it falls far short of a spiritual ideal.
Ideally, we probably wouldn't even need an accounting system. We would
all share appropriately according to need and ability.
Some say that human nature changes slowly, if at all.
But perhaps we don't need to change human nature at all. Perhaps the
existing economic system is itself trying to change human nature and
all we need to do is create an economic system that is better matched.
What would such a system be like?
Well, it seems that our nature is abundant love and caring. What
mother would not give her life for the life of her child? That's love
and caring. That's abundance. Firemen, police, and soldiers are
willing to "give all" for their families, friends and people they
don't even know. We have abundance, we just have an economic system
that creates scarcity.
Something like 90 percent of the assets are owned by 5 percent of the
people. Why such disparity? Are these people really that concerned
with their future well being? Perhaps, but perhaps the economic system
allows and in fact encourages greed. It's not the quality of your
relationships that counts, but the quantity of money you possess.
Yes, money is what matters and people come second. Profits for the
corporation, rather than prosperity for the individual. That what the
existing economic system preaches to us.
Isn't it natural for us to care for each other? Isn't there more joy
in making someone else happy rather than piling up storehouses of
wealth? Isn't this what Jesus talked about when he mentioned the
"rewards in heaven?"
The concept of karma comes around again. So we shall call the "money"
of the spiritual economy "karma credits." And just like in real life,
each person's karma is individual and owned by them.
The spiritual economy is an economic system that does it all. Barter,
currency, credit, stock exchange, and a relationship-building network.
In some sense, it is the relationships we make that matter the most.
This is the what we are remembered for, the things we have done for
and with others. These are the stories that live on in the hearts and
minds of our children; stories of courage, valor, caring and
compassion.
How does it work?
Each participant in the Spiritual Economy has their own currency. They
can create it at will, as much as they want, and give it to anyone,
even to someone who does not participate. They give it through the
World Wide Web, using a form that sends an email message to the
recipient as well as a public domain archive. It is ironic that the
Internet provides the means for us to create a spiritual economy and
each have our own currency. The Internet is the triumph of
materialism.
What can someone do with your credits once they receive them? They can
trade them for goods or services with anyone who honors the credits.
They can always go back to the person who gave them and ask for
something in return. It could be services (time), or products
(software, computers, tv's) or it could be someone else's credits.
This is where it gets interesting. You might "collect" credits from
lots of different people so that you always have a place to stay when
you are travelling around the world. You might just want someone's
credits because you see that there are many other people who want that
person's credits.
There is no obligation to honor the credits by doing anything or
giving anything in return to them. It is all cooperation based,
because that is the nature of humanity. We survive because of our
cooperation; otherwise we would have blown ourselves off the face of
Planet Earth long ago.
Rather than striving for wealth in terms of numbers, people will work
for a good "credit rating." That means that you should try and get the
good graces of many different people, especially those who have a high
"integrity" rating. Whenever you rate someone on how satisfied you are
with their credits, they get to rate your "rating" in terms of how
fair they think it is. If you don't judge them, they can't judge you.
There is therefore an incentive not to judge, or at least not to judge
badly, unless it is really necessary. If you continually judge people
badly, people will not want to deal with you (just like in life).
The people who do well in the spiritual economy will be those who do
lots of things for others and accept credits in return, then either
trade the credits with others or simply hold them. When you hold
someone else's credits, you are in demand and people will do things
for you to get some of the others' credits.
Because it is computer-based you will be able to search for who holds
whoever's credits you are looking for. It will be a good way for
making "first contact" with someone you like. Acquire their credits
from someone else and then make contact. Another reason why everyone
needs an email address.
You can extend yourself credit by giving credits in exchange for
something of value. You can use credits as currencies, either for
yourself or others. You must maintain personal accountability for your
credits, because if you issue too many, you currency will get
inflated. (Nobody will want it.) It that case you will have to "earn
back" your credits from whoever holds them in order to repair your
credit. through right action.
You will "sign" an agreement on the WWW when you join, specifying that
you "understand and accept" that the credits have no inherent value
and that you cannot force anyone to do anything for you. The Spiritual
Economy operates outside the legal system of all governments and
relies on individual integrity for its success. It operates on
cooperation of free people.
There will be "spiritual economy angels" who go around and do things
for people who they see are doing lots of good things for others.
The Spiritual Economy gives people a way of getting the recognition
they deserve and a way of fulfilling their karma and resolving
personal issues they have with others. People will have an incentive
to "work it out" because it reflects poorly on both the giver and the
receiver if there is no satisfaction in the relationship. Trust and
"right action" are reinforced and dishonesty and greed are
discouraged.
It's so beautiful. The Spiritual Economy enhances cooperation,
sharing, trust, faith in yourself and others, and personal
responsibility. Everything is in the open so it makes it honest and
clear who is doing what for whom.
Those of us who are old enough will remember when the U.S. had money
that was backed by silver. The notes were called "Silver Certificates"
and stated on the front of each bill "One Dollar in silver payable to
the bearer on demand." Now our money is not backed by any physical
substance, only the faith in our government. It is better to have
faith in people than in government; government rise and fall but
people and the love they share last forever.
We don't need government to have money; we can have our own money. The
ninth amendment of the Constitution, part of the "Bill of Rights"
declares that "The enumeration in the Constitution of certain rights
shall not be construed to deny or disparage others retained by the
people." Simple and elegant. We have always had the right to have our
own currency. Now, with the help of computers and the Internet, we can
actually make that right meaningful.
It's a great concept because it gives you the freedom to recognize
people. You can earn an account by making 30 relationships. For
instructions on how to earn a scholarship, or to make a scholarship
application for an open scholarship, send email to:
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A comparison of the existing MONEY system and the Spiritual Economy.
SPIRITUAL ECONOMY MONEY
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Love-based Fear-based
Enlightened altruism Ignorant greed
Abundance Scarcity
Bottom-up (people first) Top-down (governments)
Resolves personal problems Creates personal problems
Openness Secrecy
Honesty Dishonesty
Trust Dis-trust
Honor Dis-honor
Freedom Bondage
Individual Responsibility Insurance (FDIC)
Identity Anonymous
Builds positive relationships Destroys positive relationships
Personal Impersonal
Credit Debt
Quality matters Quantity matters
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An embryonic version of The Spiritual Economy exists on The World Wide
Web at the following address:
http://www.primenet.com/solutions
The Spiritual Economy is copyrighted (c) 1995 because it will someday
soon be a book by Steven Moyer.
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