Questions about South Africa
The answer is yes but there are a number of things that can be done. Even without Social Credit, whether it is a country, a province or state, a community, an industry or whatever, there are things that can be done to change things. The community must come together to make the change. The country of Ghana did just that and they asked the international Co-operative community, predominantly Canada or rather the Canadian Co-operative Association for assistance. Now they could do what Ghana did or they can start with a village or an industry. Let's use agriculture as the example. All the farmers or producers come together and create a "marketing co-operative/producer co-op." All produce to be sold outside the community all comes to the co-op for sale and the co-op pays the producers fairly for their crop. The co-op sells the produce and eliminates the guys who are constantly ripping off the producers as individuals. The producer should always have the freedom to sell his/her own goods locally but in accordance with the co-op so that they are not getting duped by someone with ulterior motives. In some parts of the world it has been done a little differently in that the helping agencies started "Fair Trade Co-ops" that guarantee coffee producers a fair price for their produce and then sell the coffee to business who agree with the principles of "Fair Trade." Now the co-op can work two ways or two co-ops could be created. One co-op for the purpose of selling the produce in exchange for cash that is then returning it to the farmers with only the cost of doing the transaction being removed. The co-op will require a manager or business person who has only the interests of the producer/owners at heart. Buyers will buy from the co-op when they know that no one will sell to them unless it is through the co-op. The second co-op, or the other half if there is only one co-op, will be for the purposes of procuring all necessary seed, equipment, whatever, even labour if necessary, and the co-op members will be able to buy from the co-op at a reasonable price rather than paying the heavy prices of people who know they can take advantage of individuals. The people must make the commitment to stick together. If they want to work as a group instead of individual farmers, they can create an agricultural co-operative or more than one that will work together. All co-ops, if there are more than one, must be established for the purpose of: improving the lot of each and every member and developing the local economy. Expertise and assistance is available from the Canadian Co-operative Association and I am sure other countries as well, as well as the International Co-operative Association. In Ghana, with the assistance of the Canadian Co-operative Association, they established what everyone refers to as the Blue Banks. The Blue Banks are a number of Co-operative Credit Unions, why they put the two names together I do not know, across the country to make loans to individuals and small businesses. Banks are not available for such services. These CUs also make loans and help, together with the CCA, to create Co-operative businesses which have greatly improved the economy and the individual standard of living of the members as well as freeing them from the excessive costs of those who monopolized the economy before. A study of the Mondragon Co-operatives of Spain will give you some idea of how co-ops can work with many positive results. Through out the world there are something like one and a half billion people proving that co-operation works. During the revolution in China, Mao encouraged the people to establish co-operatives to build the economy and to help the people, the members of the co-op improve their personal economic situation because the country was in such a desperate state. In 1949, when Communism took control of China, most of the co-ops were doing so well that the members were considered to wealthy to be given land in the land redistribution and most had assets taken away. Co-operatives were still encouraged however and by 1957 there were over 700,000 co-ops operating in China. The government realized that this put them in a very awkward position, not only did these people have democracy and were doing well the government did not have control over the members nor the co-ops. The number of co-ops was reduced to 20,000 by the government and the government took direct control of the operations of all co-ops. The economy then went into a tail spin until the mid sixties when Mao came to grips with the realization that they had done the wrong thing. Any and every little corner of the world can help them selves if they really want to but they have to want to. Aberhart used to say, "If you have not suffered enough, then it is you god given right to suffer some more." There are situations when, in their desperate need for greed of power, to control the masses, dictatorial governments put their citizens into a situation that is even beyond hope at which time others must come in to help out. But, usually, history has proven that people will, like an alcoholic, come to the realization that they must do something and that something is to work with others to help your self, for survival, and it is only through co-operation that humanity really survives. The implementation of a system like what is advocated by Social Credit would of course eliminate the burden of the interest that the society must suffer, not only in the running of their affairs but also in the taxation that robes them of their operating capital. Chick Hurst ----- Original Message ----- From: "Jessop Sutton" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> To: <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> Sent: Saturday, February 15, 2003 10:25 AM Subject: [SOCIAL CREDIT] Some questioning "Myself when young did eagerly frequent Doctor and Saint, and heard great argument About it and about: but evermore Came out by the same door as in I went. "But leave the Wise to wangle, and with me The quarrel of the Universe let be: And, in some corner of the Hubbub coucht, Make Game of that which makes as much of Thee." I begin to sympathize with old Omar Khayyam. I shall leave the experts to wrangle over the bookkeeping issues and just raise some issues that occupy my mind. I came in as a layperson, and I remain a layperson with a lot of questions unanswered, the main one being "Will it, can it, work?" Here are a few layman's points:- 1. Can it be that 'one size fits all?' The situation in South Africa (let alone Zimbabwe) seems vastly different than America, Canada, England, Australia. Can Social Credit be set out in a 'system' that satisfies all? 2. Steve pointed out that the whole world lies at the mercy of the multi-national corporations. Can a system that suits them suit a rural clan in a tribal area in KwaZulu-Natal where the adult literacy rate is probably less than ten percent (latest statistic is that 80% of all South African adults are functionally illiterate), and women-folk look after to the 'agriculture' while their menfolk are away working in towns and cities? Where a whole family lives off an old-age pensioner's social pension equal to about R20 per day (coffee at the Seattle Coffee Shop in the city costs R7 -- R10); where grandmothers are left raising infants whose mothers have died of AIDS, and who struggle to access the meager grants available to them (we do not blame the government, they are doing their best in the face of small budgets and lack of infrastructure. There are no banks anywhere near accessible to the people who have to walk long distances to get to a remote trading store.) 3. Where does the Social Credit come from in a country like Zimbabwe where there is a very definite negative growth in the National Asset? We can blame the government, but the people are poor and still need to eat, they still need access to money to buy grain products which are priced according to International Dollar prices. Can there be an one International Social Credit in our global village? 4. It is fact that our African economies are at the mercy of the IMF and World Bank (which are financed and therefore 'owned' by foreign governments, funded by multi-national corporations.) All African countries (except South Africa and Libya) seem to be up to their ears in debt which they have little hope of repaying. They are held to ransome, and pay up with unfavorable (to them) trade agreements and exploitation of natural resources. 5. African States may seem to be unitary States, but they are far from it. In the Democratic Republic of Congo there are over 200 ethnic groups, and in Nigeria about 180, each with their own aspirations. I haven't been there, but I would think there is even less access to banks and services than in South Africa. 6. Someone has raised the question of the association with 'Christian'. I think the mention of 'Christian' came about because I said I had come to the list starting from the Christian perspective -- not the 'evangelizing perspective', but from the idea that American Democracy, which is now the model for the world, comes about because of a wrong practice in Christianity suggesting that democracy is a party-based thing (the Christian Church was never meant to be a mass of thirty-thousand denominations). I say there is nothing democratic in the system because the individual has no voice in the presence of powerful interests that back parties and put their own people in office. The world's banking systems evolved in that milieu to serve the interests of the large and powerful traders. I could go on, but many on this list are probably more up on the African problems than I am, so I end by asking the same questions as at the beginning: "Will it, can it, work?" "Can one size really fit all" -- or does there have to be a separate solution for us in Africa? In a separate e-mail, I would like to set out what would be my wish-list for our own country. Jessop. ------------------------- ==^================================================================ This email was sent to: [email protected] EASY UNSUBSCRIBE click here: http://topica.com/u/?a84IaC.bcVIgP.YXJjaGl2 Or send an email to: [EMAIL PROTECTED] TOPICA - Start your own email discussion group. FREE! http://www.topica.com/partner/tag02/create/index2.html ==^================================================================
