Laitman.com » Economy

It’s Not A Crisis Of Capitalism, But Of Individualism

admin_bb — Wed, 08 Feb 2012 12:38:54 +0000

Opinion (V. Ganzhin, The Institute for Global Research and Social Movement): “Crisis is a contradiction between the goal and the means of capitalism. It is a violation of exchange between people, a social catastrophe. It is a state when overproduction of goods doesn’t match consumption limited by the ability of people to pay their bills (solvency).

“Everything is built on greed for money. Vendors increase prices. The purpose of capital is to boost the profits. The main stimulus for a capitalist is a greed for money and the desire to enhance proceeds. To amend this situation, it is necessary to renounce the orientation towards money, towards profitability. It is essential to create production focused on ‘human needs,’ to restructure production so that satisfaction of human needs rather than making profits becomes its main goal.

“It looks like utopia. At the time of crisis, capitalists will abandon their enterprises because they won’t be profitable. The collapse of the financial system will force employees to take over the abandoned means of production to satisfy their immediate necessities. People will work regardless of profitability, they will work to provide themselves with the products they need. They will transition from production for the sake of growing sales to production for the sake of survival.

“Reduction of working time. As a means of life, labor will disappear. Labor productivity will become so effective that the time that is needed to produce vital goods will be completely minimized.

“Crisis is a contradiction between the goal and the means of capitalism. The main thing is to refuse the major incentive of the capitalist way of production: financial orientation and profitability. Capitalists, governments, and general current social mind-set consider expansion of consumption and further growth of solvency to be a salvation from the crisis. But in fact, the real rescue is not in social guarantees; the crisis requires deliverance from the capitalism itself.”

My Comment: This is not a crisis of capitalism; it is a crisis of individualism. It is not a simple capitalist overproduction crisis, but rather the birth of a new level of humankind—an integral community. Instead of fighting with capitalism, we should build a society of mutual guarantee by creating an educational environment that will influence people. Only the transformation of human consciousness will raise us to a new level of existence. Otherwise nature will force us towards this by its harsh forces of development.
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“The Great Transformation – Shaping New Models”

admin.bb — Tue, 07 Feb 2012 15:01:02 +0000

Opinion (Professor Klaus Schwab, from the World Economic Forum): “Over the last three years, the world has been engulfed by political, economic and, particularly, financial crisis management. We have lost sight of the fundamental transformation that the world is undergoing and of where conventional modes of decision-making have become outdated. What we clearly need are new models for global, regional, national and business decision-making which truly reflect that the context for decision-making has been altered – in unprecedented ways.

“Let me outline the four new models I consider ‘musts’ if we are to successfully push beyond the current impasse in addressing the critical challenges.

“First, a new model is needed to account for the fundamental power shifts that have already and are continuing to take place. I am thinking not only of the seismic shifts of geopolitical and geo-economic power from West to East and from North to South, but also of the need to integrate new non-state actors who want to have their say and the capability to do so. Power has become much more distributed.

“Thus, we need new models where governance processes on all levels integrate these newcomers in the most collaborative way. In the old world, it was hard power – hierarchical power – that was decisive. Then came soft power – the capability to have a convincing message. But today, we need to integrate empowered newcomers in what I call ‘collaborative power’ – the capability to exercise collaborative power will determine the future on the business, national, regional and global levels.

“A second new model is needed to acknowledge that we live together in a multicultural, multi-ethnic and multi-religious world. Prevailing values will have to increasingly accommodate diversity with substantial challenges for national and individual identities. We will only make lasting progress by recognizing that we are different but interdependent. Thus, we have to cultivate a much greater feeling of regional and global togetherness.

“A third new model is needed to seriously address the social impact of globalization and the new wave of technological innovation. Growing inequities within and between countries and rising unemployment are no longer sustainable and are triggering social protests, as witnessed throughout the world. We must rethink our traditional notions of economic growth and global competitiveness, not only by focusing on growth rates and market penetration, but also, equally – if not more importantly – by assessing the quality of economic growth.

“How is growth to be achieved in the future? How sustainable is it and at what cost to the environment? How are the gains distributed? What has become of the family and community fabric, as well as of our culture and heritage? The time has come to embrace a much more holistic, inclusive and qualitative approach to economic development, based on the ‘stakeholder’ and not on a pure ‘shareholder’ concept.

“We need a fourth new model for job creation. The global economy is growing more slowly, productivity is still making substantial progress and unemployment is skyrocketing. We also know that hundreds of millions of people will enter the job market in the next decade. In addition to the productivity increases driven by greater resource efficiency, the industry model is changing and moving upscale, where fewer people can produce much more value.

“The key to mitigating a catastrophic situation is to provide young people with the capability to create their own jobs: to move from the pure concept of unemployment to the concept of micro-entrepreneurship. This will require fundamental changes in educational systems, nurturing a societal spirit of entrepreneurial risk-taking, allowing true gender equality – to integrate the other half of hidden talents – and making innovation and the support of innovation a key imperative in public and private life. The success of any national and business model for competitiveness in the future will be less based on capital and much more based on talent. I define this transition as moving from capitalism to ‘talentism’.

“I have outlined only four of the new models that form part of the great transformation regionally and globally to illustrate that we are at a historic inflection point. In Davos, we will discuss many more aspects of the great transformation, particularly how they create new business models.

“To respond to the expectations of the young generation, we have to provide them with the hope and confidence that they will not have to pay for the mistakes and excesses of the present generation. There is a tipping point where velocity, interconnectivity and complexity become so pervasive that the whole system collapses, regardless of whether certain elements at the surface have been addressed.”

Comment: Frankly, I have heard a lot of enthusiastic feedback about this lecture, but, after reading it, I became disappointed. Doubtless, it is necessary to do the following:

1. Develop a new economic model of rational consumption

2. Distribute the limited amount of work that will remain after the economic bubble bursts and with the excessive production capacity

3. Create a system where people are occupied with integral education and upbringing, rather than with production activities

4. Restructure welfare and social relations upon the new meaning

Until we begin to implement these objectives, the crisis will not leave us. After all, it reveals the flaws in our system.
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Fog Over London

admin.bb — Tue, 07 Feb 2012 14:39:17 +0000

In the News (from EurekAlert): “Researchers at London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine and Oxford University estimated that soaring stress brought on by job losses could prompt a 2.4% rise in suicide rates in people under-64 years of age, a 2.7% rise in heart attack deaths in men between 30 and 44 years, and a 2.4% rise in homicides rates, corresponding to thousands of deaths in European Union countries, such as the UK…..

“The report also suggests that in poor countries, where investments in active labour market programmes are much lower or virtually non-existent, the death toll brought on by the financial meltdown would be much worse….

“The study, entitled The public health effect of economic crisis and alternative government policy responses in Europe: an empirical analysis was written in the wake of concerns that health might suffer as a result of the financial crisis….

“’Financial crisis causes hardship for many ordinary people, but it does not have to cost them their lives,’ social epidemiologist David Stuckler, who led the research said.”

Comment: Educating people toward a new lifestyle, rational consumption, and necessary production will lead to a healthier population. Otherwise, while we reach the same results against our will, forced by nature, through recessions and bankruptcies, the number of deaths will increase.
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It’s Time To Live Within Our Means

admin_bb — Tue, 07 Feb 2012 12:35:49 +0000

Opinion (Stephen Harper, Prime Minister of Canada): “…In the developed world too many of us have in fact become complacent about our prosperity, taking our wealth as a given, assuming it is somehow the natural order of things leaving us instead to focus primarily on our services and entitlements?

“Is it a coincidence that as the veil falls on the financial crisis, it reveals beneath it not just too much bank debt, but too much sovereign debt, too much general willingness to have standards and benefits beyond our ability, or even willingness, to pay for them?”

My Comment: To live within one’s means suggests that we consume as much as necessary and no more because Nature cannot endure giving more. It strives towards relative equality of income, as the interconnected world requires of us.
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Prime Minister Of The UK Calls For A “Fair And Worthwhile” Economy

admin_bb — Mon, 06 Feb 2012 12:40:04 +0000

In the News (From BBC): “Prime Minister David Cameron has said the UK must ‘build a better economy’ that is ‘fair and worthwhile.’

“He said ‘popular capitalism’ should allow ‘everyone to share in the success of the market’ and criticised an ‘out of control’ bonus culture in the City.

“A Co-operatives Bill will be introduced to help employees take a greater stake in their companies, he said.

“Labour leader Ed Miliband said in a speech earlier the PM would be judged on ‘his deeds and not his words.’

“In a wide-ranging speech in London on the economy, Mr Cameron said he wanted to encourage firms to show ‘social responsibility’ and said that the chancellor was considering new tax rules to prevent abuse.

“He used his speech to discuss his vision for a transformed capitalism, based on two principles ‘which have been at the centre of Conservative thinking for centuries.’

“‘The first is a vision of social responsibility, which recognizes that people are not just atomized individuals, and that companies have obligations too. And the second is a genuinely popular capitalism, which allows everyone to share in the success of the market.’

“The prime minister said that ‘where they work properly, open markets and free enterprise can actually promote morality’ by creating ‘a direct link between contribution and reward; between effort and outcome.’

“‘So we should use this crisis of capitalism to improve markets, not undermine them, because I believe that out of this current adversity we can build a better economy, one that is truly fair and worthwhile.’”

My Comment: It reminds of a heartfelt eulogy (of an English lord, with a bowler hat in the hands and a rose in the buttonhole, at the funeral, over the fresh grave, before the aristocratic audience) about how great and wonderful the deceased was.
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The World On A Knife’s Edge

admin_bb — Sun, 05 Feb 2012 10:21:10 +0000

Opinion: (Mohamed El-Erian, CEO of RIMCO, a global investment management firm): “The year 2012 is Europe’s moment of truth. If their dithering continues, European politicians will soon lose control of the continent’s economic and financial future. After all the excitement of 2011, it is also a make-or-break year for some Middle Eastern countries in the midst of tricky political transitions. Even the United States is being shaken out of its social slumber as concerns mount about income inequality and, more generally, the fairness of the ‘system.’

“In an attempt to shed light on the key issues in play, what follows is an attempt to identify four factors that could wreck the global economy in the next few years, and four factors that could propel it to greater stability and prosperity. Let’s hope our leaders choose wisely.

“European economic and financial fragmentation: As of today, the biggest risk for the global economy this year is the disorderly collapse of the eurozone. It would bring economic and financial activity to a standstill across the continent, cause widespread corporate bankruptcies and bank runs, and destroy millions of jobs. …A complete eurozone collapse would be both chaotic and an unmitigated disaster.

“Disruptions in the Middle East: The greater the instability in these two countries [Iran and Syria], the higher the risk of regional contamination and, accordingly, worrisome global repercussions. This could include surging oil prices, leading to an ugly global stagflation.

“Central bank exhaustion: Unconventional measures by central banks have, up to now, played a critical role in avoiding debt deflation and economic recessions in advanced economies. In the process, the banks have ballooned their balance sheets to previously unthinkable levels (from 20 percent of GDP for Britain and the United States to 30 percent for the European Central Bank).

“Social unrest: Enabled by social media technologies that facilitate broad-based coordination, the world has witnessed an astonishing outburst of grassroots social movements that are pressing for greater social justice… Having come together on the basis of legitimate grievances, these movements now face the challenge of pivoting from complaints about the past to helping to build a better future. The longer it takes the pivot, the higher the probability of frustration and of the protests turning violent — and governments reacting inappropriately.”

My Comment: Everything is correct except for the reason for the crisis and its only possible resolution that stems from its cause.
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Israeli Bank Governor: “The Situation Is Difficult and Bad”

admin.bb — Sat, 04 Feb 2012 17:15:59 +0000

Opinion (Stanley Fischer, Governor of the Bank of Israel): [Dr. Laitman’s comments are in bold.]

“The International Monetary Fund predicts 3.3% growth in the global economy this year, and when I was at the IMF ten years ago we considered 3.5% growth in the global economy as the borderline between normal growth and recession. We are on the brink of a global recession.”

My Comment: We have been talking about the crisis for years; there is nothing new. It speaks only of shortsightedness.

“The big question is whether there will be a recession in Europe or whether we are facing a financial crisis. If there is a financial crisis in Europe, then so many things could happen such as Greece going bankrupt, or actually leaving the euro bloc with other countries following after. It’s hard to know.”

My Comment: The crisis will be financial; so be prepared for the worst because today none of the “decision makers” thinks about the transition towards an integral economy.

“The good part of the story is that they realize that they too don’t know what will happen to them if they keep the current framework. I was certain when I returned from the IMF Annual Meeting that the situation was difficult and bad, and they that didn’t understand what was happening there. Meanwhile, the European Central Bank has taken creative steps to deal with the liquidity and debt problem. There’s an improvement, but there is still uncertainty.”

My Comment: They will do nothing and will be able to do nothing, as has been the case in recent years due to lack of understanding of the trend of human development.

“Yossi Bachar [Israel Discount Bank Chairman] wants to send me messages, and finds it more convenient to use this stage. That’s fine. He wants to tell me that the capital adequacy ratio must not be raised. So I say to him: The Bank of Israel must not avoid raising it. There is the question of the rate of increase; we are aware of the problem, and I’m not fond of the expression ‘choking credit’, because that creates an unpleasant feeling, as though I’m strangling something, and I find that distasteful. We are aware of the problem.”

My Comment: This might be possible for a different small country, but not for Israel because it has the method of correction of the world, and without its interference the world will continue to slide down towards a Nazi regime and a world war.

“I respect Judaism, but this must change, the situation in which the Haredim [ultra-orthodox Jews], the fastest growing section of the population, does not participate in the workforce. Fewer than 40% of them work. This cannot continue, and it must be stopped. If it continues in the long term, it will be very hard for the economy to provide what people expect: life at a respectable standard.”

My Comment: If they enter the market now, you will get another half a million unemployed people, which will cost much more than today. We need to restrict various “political” subsidies instead of inviting them to the labor market.
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Europe: A New Direction In Fight Against Crisis

admin_bb — Thu, 02 Feb 2012 13:28:10 +0000

In the News: “European Union (EU) leaders have finalized a new fiscal treaty for tighter budgetary discipline and pledged to boost economic growth and youth employment in the eurozone’s latest efforts to combat debt crisis.” (Source: English.xinhuanet.com)

“Without economic growth, the problem of 23 million unemployed in the EU cannot be solved. Therefore, European leaders propose to rely on job creation, especially in the advanced science-intensive industries, energy, digital technology, and e-commerce.” (Source: rosbalt.ru)

My Comment: It is impossible to create more jobs, develop the market, and establish artificial workplaces where they will have to be reduced even more. The new EU program is designed to delay the time.
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Warnings At Davos

admin_bb — Thu, 02 Feb 2012 12:14:03 +0000

Opinion (Sharan Burrow, the General Secretary of ITUC): “The chief of the International Trade Union Confederation, Sharan Burrow, said ‘we’ve lost a moral compass’ and said that if governments don’t invest in social protections now, ‘nobody will like the social unrest that will follow.’”

My Comment: For some reason, the rich have no sense of fear. The history is repeating itself, though….
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Davos: The Major Themes

admin_bb — Wed, 01 Feb 2012 11:12:16 +0000

In the News (from Time Business): “Capitalism needs a fundamental overhaul. …The most rational arguments have pointed out that not only is capitalism the best system yet devised for enhancing the well being of the greatest number of people, but that it is also immensely supple and flexible. But a surprising number of attendees (and these are the world’s most direct beneficiaries of the current system) seems to agree that something is wrong.

“The Arab Spring must end happily. …The powers at the very core of the World Economic Forum are interested in the Arab Spring as a matter of paramount global importance. (That said, among the regular attendees, the Eurozone is of far more interest. At one panel discussion on ‘The Future of North Africa,’ the auditorium was about 10% full. For a ‘Future of the Eurozone’ panel taking place immediately after, it was standing room only.)

“The Eurozone crisis will continue to muddle along, but muddling may be enough. The European finance ministers in attendance are all staying on message: Eurobonds are not happening, austerity measures are the way forward now, greater fiscal union is the end goal, and Greece will not default or leave the Eurozone. Interestingly, for the first time in a long time, most of the policital/policy/media hive mind is cautiously optimistic that the Eurozone may actually be starting to heal itself.

“China is still the star. Brazil has come to Davos in a big way. As has Mexico, and India, and Azerbaijan. But the panels on China are packed, and everybody wants to talk about China, and while the cult of the Chinese technocrat has long been on the rise, we are now reaching the full flower of absolute reverence. American business people speak in hushed tones about the new generation of Chinese leaders as if they are supermen: They are well-educated, worldly, wise, and compared to the haplessness and paralysis that western governments have demonstrated over the past two years, they are paragons of good governance.

“Americans and Europeans are pointing fingers at each other. Why is the global economy not in full recovery? The Europeans complain that none of this would have happened if the Americans had not taxed the global financial system when its housing bubble burst. To which, the Americans respond that that may be true, but they claim to have put their house in order and the only thing that’s holding America’s economy back now is European uncertainty. Then, arguments commence.”

My Comment: So far, most important is to demonstrate to the world that somewhere the smart guys are concerned about it day and night
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From Self-Sufficiency To Specialization

admin.bb — Tue, 31 Jan 2012 14:46:01 +0000

With each passing day we feel more and more that we live in a very complex and interdependent world. This is why we speak of the law that affects us all that binds us all together, and this law is called the mutual guarantee.

At first glance this law seems to pertain more to governments or large corporations. But does it also apply to the regular Joe? It turns out that it does, and from year to year we feel this truth more acutely. For example, if there’s a malfunction in one of the European or American banks, its consequences are felt in all countries, and especially in, say, China, which sells all the things it manufactures there. And this, in turn, impacts half the world. In other words, we have become so thoroughly bound by commerce, economy, and finance that we perceive these things as a threat to our existence. Indeed, they determine the availability of food, clothes, energy to supply residential heating, the function of international pharmaceutical companies, and so forth.

Today there isn’t a single country in the world that satisfies all its needs, whereas even 100 years ago all countries were almost fully self-sufficient. It all changed when India became a British colony, and the English decided that it would be easier to import fruits and vegetables from India via the Suez Canal, rather than grow the produce themselves. Instead they began to develop their industry. With time people began to realize that specialization—where everyone manufactures only certain goods —was the way to go.

In contrast, in the past, every individual factory would manufacture absolutely everything, starting with the smallest bolt and ending with the complete machine and all its components (motor, electrical wiring, etc.). Moreover, the same plant also utilized small generators to supply electricity. All these processes took place in the same location. But then began the division of labor: one plant manufactured bolts, another screws, another yet electrical components, and so on. And today every automaker receives their supplies from many different countries.

In recent years this trend was taken even further. Instead of developing the auto industry on their own land, Japan began to build their factories in Europe and America, its target markets. Japan continues to manage the production from afar; what’s more, instead of managing them directly, Japan is doing it via their representatives, which are hired right there on location.

Thus, everything became so mixed together that you can no longer tell who’s producing what. One country’s territory contains factories and gas stations that actually belong to another country. There are corporations with owners in several countries, each of which has its share. The economies of many countries have foreign investors , and the local governments don’t interfere since it’s advantageous to them. Their citizens get jobs, and everybody is happy.

And we thought that everything would continue developing in this direction…
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From KabTV’s “A New Life” Episode #5, 1/2/12

Tackling Youth Unemployment?

admin.bb — Tue, 31 Jan 2012 14:12:59 +0000

In the News (from CNBC): “Young people should work for free for up to two years to gain experience, youth and business leaders said at the World Economic Forum in Davos Thursday.

“A new UN resolution to enshrine the importance of a couple of years of voluntary work for young people was urged by delegates including Maurice Lévy, chairman and chief executive of Publicis Groupe, as part of a CNBC-moderated debate on how to avert a lost generation of unemployed youth…

“The world needs 600 million new jobs in the next decade to cope with a rising population and the effects of the financial crisis, according to figures released earlier this week by the International Labor Organization.”

Comment: In this way, capitalists want to put the problem of unemployment on the shoulders of society. Moreover, the state should support the unemployed. But the world will not need new workers; on the contrary, unemployment will increase. A person should be engaged, not in useless work, which costs much more than the unemployment benefits, but in what will really help the community: in educating everybody about cooperation and mutual guarantee, which will bring balance with nature and the benefit for the world.
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Business Leaders Warn Of “Not A Crisis, But A Disaster”

admin_bb — Tue, 31 Jan 2012 12:20:57 +0000

In the News (from BBC News): “Davos is used to bluster from political leaders. But when usually quietly spoken company bosses from all corners of the earth warn of ‘not a crisis, but a disaster,’ when they call something a ‘cancer in society,’ you know we have a problem.

“The world, they say, is ‘sitting on a social and economic time bomb.’ The world is plagued by youth unemployment.

“The numbers are stark: In some countries of the Arab world, up to 90% of 16-24 year olds are unemployed. In the United States the youth unemployment rate is 23%. In Spain nearly 50%. In the UK 22%.

“Worldwide, some 200 million people are unemployed. 75 million are between 16 and 24 and every year about 40 million young people are entering the workforce.

“The business leaders at the World Economic Forum (WEF) know why it matters: Young people who were unemployed for a long time will earn less throughout their whole lives.

“They will be less employable. They won’t have the skills that business needs. They are more likely to have long-term health problems. And it can cause social unrest.

“There’s a term for it: Lost generation. Or as one business school professor puts it: ‘Unemployment sucks. Youth unemployment sucks even more.’

“‘The youth has lost a line of sight to the future.’”

My Comment: Young unemployed people will change the world. When disseminating the method of correction of the world, we must address namely them. The feeling of hopelessness is akin to the search for new things, and they will understand the need to learn from nature.
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Roubini In Davos

admin_bb — Tue, 31 Jan 2012 11:55:11 +0000

Opinion (Nouriel Roubini, an American economist, co-founder and chairman of Roubini Global Economics LLC): “Social unrest, Roubini says, is tied directly to economic uncertainty.

“What is connecting everyone in the world these days, continues Roubini, is economic and financial insecurity, the rise of income and wealth inequality, challenges from poverty, unemployment effects of financial crisis.

“Freakouts about debt loads, moreover, are leading to budget cuts — which, in Europe, at least, are making the recession worse.

“225 million people worldwide are unemployed; 1 in 3 people on the planet are poor or unemployed; 1% of the world’s families own 40% of the wealth; wages as a percent of GDP are at an all-time low; corporate profits as a percent of GDP are at an all-time high; current policies will lead to explosions.

“We’re in a ‘vicious circle’ … fiscal austerity to solve debt problem is making everything worse.

“So, how do we fix this? More unionization; more power to the worker; more investment in education; more investment in ‘human capital; more investment in infrastructure; less austerity; more investment in growth (Europe); redistribution of power in society — power to the working people; deal with massive CEO-to-employee pay inequality with taxation and be courageous with financial regulation.”

My Comment: If this is not implemented on the basis of integral education, no good plans will be realized. After all, they consist of items of “universal mutual guarantee,” which is impossible without the change in the awareness of the new united world.
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Tackling Youth Unemployment

admin_bb — Mon, 30 Jan 2012 10:27:18 +0000

In the News (from CNBC): “Young people should work for free for up to two years to gain experience, youth and business leaders said at the World Economic Forum in Davos Thursday.

My Comment: In this way, capitalists want to put the problem of unemployment on the shoulders of society. Moreover, they wish the state to support the unemployed. But the world will not need new workers; on the contrary, unemployment will increase. A person should be engaged not in useless work that costs much more than the unemployment benefits, but in what will really help the community: in educating everybody about cooperation and mutual guarantee, which will bring society to balance with nature and will benefit the world.
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The UN Warns Of Another Global Economic Crisis

admin_bb — Mon, 30 Jan 2012 09:46:01 +0000

Report (World Economic Situation and Prospects Monthly Briefing, UN Department of Economic and Social Affairs (DESA)): “The world economy is teetering on the brink of another major downturn. Output growth already slowed considerably to an estimated 2.8 per cent in 2011. Based on relatively optimistic baseline assumptions, the United Nations foresees world gross product (WGP) growth of 2.6 per cent for 2012 and 3.2 per cent for 2013. If the European sovereign debt crisis were to spin out of control and the weaknesses in the United States economy interact to create a downward spiral, the world economy could plunge into a double-dip recession. Alternatively, policy coordination that boosts aggregate demand and more directly attacks unemployment could improve prospects for economic growth.”

My Comment: Who said that the rate of economic growth is an indication of a crisis? How much more does it have to grow? Growth needs to be qualitative, not quantitative! It is necessary to stop thoughtlessly producing, selling, buying, and discarding, just to once again produce, sell, buy, and discard. It’s necessary to regulate the planet’s economy to produce whatever is needed to satisfy everyone, and not more than that.

We should stop considering an increase in the production rate as growth; instead growth is our ability to satisfy everyone’s needs for food, medicine, heat, safety, and housing. We need to free people from unnecessary and harmful work and obligate them to dedicate the freed up time to learning about integration, the new rules of the world community—the mutual guarantee. Otherwise, we will face not a second, but a never-ending crisis until we smarten up.
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We Need To Save The World

admin_bb — Sun, 29 Jan 2012 11:01:52 +0000

Opinion (Christine Lagarde, Managing Director of the International Monetary Fund): “The world must act now to prevent a ‘1930s moment’ and a ‘downward spiral’ into economic catastrophe, the International Monetary Fund warned last night

“Mrs Lagarde said: ‘We could easily slide into a 1930s moment, a moment where trust and cooperation break down and countries turn inward, a moment ultimately leading to a downward spiral that could engulf the entire world.’

“Mrs Lagarde added: ‘But what we must all understand is that this is a defining moment. It is not about saving one country or region. It is about saving the world from a downward economic spiral. The longer we wait, the worse it will get. The only solution is to move forward together. Our collective economic future depends on it.’”

Comment: If we admit that the entire world is completely interdependent and, through imposing restrictions on any communication with the non-aligned, oblige all the countries to be integrally connected, which is quite real today, we will be able to establish joint management of the world economy, raise the income of the needy to the level of subsistence, create a system of upbringing of an integral society, and not only overcome the crisis, but also lead people to happiness.
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Can Money Buy Happiness?

admin_bb — Sun, 29 Jan 2012 10:47:31 +0000

Opinion (Karl- Heinz Ruckriegel, an economics professor and a happiness researcher at the University of Applied Sciences, Nuremberg): “Scientists tend to agree [that money does not buy happiness]. When people have to fight for survival, they are not satisfied with their lives, and a direct correlation between income and satisfaction is observed.

“However, this correlation weakens as income rises over $ 10,000 a year, and after $ 20,000 it is gone completely. That is, when the basic needs are met, a person just gets used to the standard of living, but does become happier; besides, he begins to compare himself with others and cannot calm down.”

My Comment: Undoubtedly, the country’s GDP says nothing about the happiness of its people. Of course, first it’s necessary to ensure that everyone’s income level is sufficient to cover basic necessities. But we do not have to provide more than that; rather, we should teach people how to achieve happiness through unity—this is the fulfillment that nature has prepared for us.

And although we still view this as totally unacceptable and repulsive, we must learn this science of achieving happiness. As a result, we attain eternity and perfection and begin to feel the highest level of Nature.
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Rudderless And Without Sail…

admin_bb — Sun, 29 Jan 2012 10:06:51 +0000

Opinion (Zbigniew Brzezinski, one of America’s leading strategists, former National Security Advisor to President Jimmy Carter): “Nathan Gardels: While China focuses on the long term and plots out its future, the US in particular is beset with a short-term mentality. In effect, we are no longer an ‘industrial democracy’ in the strict sense, but a ‘consumer democracy’ where all the feedback signals – the market, the media, and politics – are short-term and geared to immediate gratification.

“Gardels: How can America’s short-term mentality be changed? Are the West’s political institutions up to the challenge?

“Brzezinski: Yes, if we develop a more effective and longer-range response to the current crisis. …We are so preoccupied with the current crisis and so lacking in a longer-term perspective that we have no strategic vision which would give us some sense of historical momentum.

“Democracy is capable of responding provided we focus on the right aims. The question today is whether democracies can thrive with financial systems that are out of control, that are capable of generating selfishly beneficial consequences only for the few, without any effective framework that gives us a larger, more ambitious sense of purpose. That is the real problem.

“The essential political leadership in Europe – the Germans and the French mainly, along with some others – are demonstrating a sense of responsibility for the future of Europe. They are increasingly determined to shape a political framework which will supplant what Europe has been lately, namely a financial union for some and a politically loose community for all. Inevitably, a genuine political union will take shape in stages and steps, probably beginning through a de facto treaty reached by inter-governmental agreement in the near future.

“We are now entering a phase in which no power is likely to be truly supreme.

“This is why, in my view, the idea of an expanded West – which eventually should include both Russia and Turkey – would be a very important element contributing to greater global stability. An enlarged West – in which the United States plays the role of conciliator and at the same time of balancer in Asia – would be better able to forge constructive policies to cope with global issues than a world in which there is increasing turmoil and conflict with many small players vying for their own self-interest.”

My Comment: We need to pull the financial system from the egoistic hands and use it only for the benefit of society. Otherwise, those in power will kill us.
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Where Is The Solution To The Unemployment Problem?

admin_bb — Sun, 29 Jan 2012 09:41:58 +0000

Report (from the International Labour Organization): “The world faces the ‘urgent challenge’ of creating 600 million productive jobs over the next decade in order to generate sustainable growth and maintain social cohesion, according to the annual report on global employment by the International Labour Organization (ILO).

“The Global Employment Trends Report also said the world faces the additional challenge of creating decent jobs for the estimated 900 million workers living with their families below the US$ 2 a day poverty line, mostly in developing countries.

“‘Despite strenuous government efforts, the jobs crisis continues unabated, with one in three workers worldwide – or an estimated 1.1 billion people – either unemployed or living in poverty,’ said ILO Director-General Juan Somavia. ‘What is needed is that job creation in the real economy must become our number one priority.’

“Global Employment Trends 2012 says 74.8 million youth aged 15-24 were unemployed in 2011, an increase of more than 4 million since 2007. It adds that globally, young people are nearly three times as likely as adults to be unemployed. The global youth unemployment rate, at 12.7 per cent, remains a full percentage point above the pre-crisis level.”

My Comment: There is no solution in the creation of new jobs; on the contrary, production is expected to fall. The solution is to revise the entire economic policy, to train people to exist in the new world with limited employment, and to provide training and education for the entire population to live in the new social conditions, in which people’s participation in training and education is considered their work and is paid at the level, necessary for their existence.

Accordingly, a society that will gradually change under the impact of new integral education will be ready for a more equitable distribution of income.
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Dictatorship In EU Will Lead To Its Collapse

admin.bb — Sat, 28 Jan 2012 17:46:03 +0000

Opinion (George Soros, billionaire investor): “‘The measures introduced by the European Central Bank … have relieved the liquidity problems of European banks but they did not cure the financing disadvantage from which the highly indebted member states suffer.

“‘Half a solution is not enough. It leaves the weaker members of the eurozone relegated to the status of third world countries that become highly indebted in a foreign currency,’ he added.

“Germany he said was now acting as the ‘taskmaster,’ instead of the IMF imposing tough fiscal discipline.

“‘This will generate both economic and political tensions that could destroy the political union,’ claimed Mr Soros who was speaking at the annual press lunch at the World Economic Forum in Davos.

“‘There is a real danger that the euro will undermine the political cohesion of the European Union.’

“Mr Soros said he was not sure whether European authorities had ‘deliberately prolonged the crisis atmosphere in order to maintain the pressure on these countries or if they had been driven to their course of action by divergent views which they could not reconcile in any other way.’

“‘Either way it is Germany that dictates European policy because at times of crisis the creditors are in the driver’s seat,’ he added. ‘The trouble is that the austerity that Germany wants to impose will push Europe into a deflationary debt spiral.’”

My Comment: Only an understanding of universal dependence will lead to the solution at a round table, as in a family, where we need to take into account the needs and abilities of all members as a whole. But for this, you must destroy all the barriers. The EU should unite fully. The risk of destruction promotes this. It requires the will and desire, explanatory work and education of the Europeans in the spirit of unity. Otherwise, Europe will collapse and become reduced to the state of a third.
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Civil Unrest Is Expected In The US

admin_bb — Fri, 27 Jan 2012 07:26:42 +0000

Opinion (from WND Money): “‘With no existing government or financial institution solvent enough, respected enough or feared enough to lead the required re-balancing in peace, we believe the world will experience a painful re-calibration of economic strength and geo-political standing during 2012 in the midst of widespread civil insurrection and cross-border war,’ writes Charles Ortel, a managing partner with Newport Value Partners, LLC in New York City.

“‘The transformation of a contented and silent Majority into an irascible and vocal Majority will break many conventions in the United States and in other developed nations as incontrovertible evidence piles up weekly and perhaps daily over coming months that the status quo is broken for young and for old, as well as for workers and investors alike,’ he warns.

“Ortel foresees that civil unrest will intensify in the United States and in other developed nations…

“‘Some will manage to contain their activities to peaceful protests. However, we believe the far more likely scenario is that violence will result, especially in the United States where the wider population has more ready access to weaponry and where mobs have proven impossible to restrain.’”

My Comment: Many of my students are economists, and I see how difficult it is for a person to accept a new vision of society, world, family, and his, his family’s, and national sources of income. It is necessary, as Baal HaSulam points out, to create an example of a small town, which had undergone bankruptcy, plant closures, and revived itself in a new integral style.
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Davos: Hope Turns To Disappointment

admin_bb — Fri, 27 Jan 2012 07:04:59 +0000

Opinion: (Richard Quest, CNN Anchor and Correspondent): “On Monday, Klaus Schwab, the World Economic Forum’s founder and executive director, told me he was disappointed with the progress made by leaders during 2011. He had been ‘hopeful that the economy would grow again. That is not the case.’ Schwab admitted he was ‘irritated by an increasing lack of willingness to deal with global issues.’

“Klaus Schwab is not a man noted for hyperbole or exaggeration. So when he told me of his worries about a ‘bunker mentality’ or ‘burnout’ in voters who ‘cannot cope anymore,’ then it’s probably time to worry.

“The reason this is so worrying is that there are still so many problems to be solved. Some, like Greece, are in danger of getting worse. There is still no solution, and the politicians are miles away from agreeing on the future direction for the euro crisis.”

My Comment: There are plenty of possibilities to delay the decision. Perhaps, this is useful and necessary. After all, it takes time and courage, developed due to the feeling of gradual suffering, to realize the hopelessness of the situation and the inadequacy of the previous models.

In the meantime, the method of integral global education (the transformation of the individual and society) and the new economic model of an integral society begin to emerge. Time will reveal “a time to cast away stones….”
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Global Bosses Are Gloomy About The Economic Future

admin_bb — Thu, 26 Jan 2012 11:20:10 +0000

In the News (from BBC News): “Companies around the world are getting gloomier about the economic future again, according to an annual survey of global chief executives.

“For its survey, PricewaterhouseCoopers interviewed 1,258 chief executives in 60 countries during the last three months of 2011.

“Nearly half of bosses interviewed by accounting firm PricewaterhouseCoopers are forecasting that the global economy will decline this year.

“The number of business leaders that are ‘very confident’ their firms will grow has also fallen, from 48% to 40%.

“The survey was released as the annual meeting of the World Economic Forum in the Swiss mountain resort Davos got under way.

“With the eurozone crisis still unresolved, it is no surprise that chief executives of Western European companies are most pessimistic.

“But even Asian bosses are feeling economic pressures. Overall, just 42% are very confident, a fall from 52% a year before

“Most surprisingly, even in China – where year-on-year economic growth still runs at 8.9% – only a smidgen over half of the number of bosses surveyed expects to grow this year. That’s down a massive 21 percentage points from last year, when 72% were bullish about their business.

“Indian business confidence has plummeted as well, down from 88% to 55%.”

My Comment: Evidently, they have not fallen completely yet to admit that the new laws of the world are in effect now, which must be studied and obeyed. And therefore, the decisions of the Forum will be based on the old paradigm and will result in the decline of all economies, the growing number of the unemployed, homeless, hungry, and…those who protest. The latter will shake up society and lead to freedom from the control of the rich.
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How Can We Fix The EU?

admin_bb — Thu, 26 Jan 2012 10:52:38 +0000

Opinion: (Klaus Schwab, Executive Chairman of the World Economic Forum in Davos, from ntv.ru): “2012 is extremely important. We must do everything possible to prevent the crisis of the euro.

“It is important to hear the voice of the young generation, but they have big problems today, and the greatest of them is unemployment. We need to create about six million jobs. This is the question of social and political stability.”

My Comment: Unfortunately, they bet on the wrong horse. Who will speak there on behalf of the “young generation” and to whom? What a pathetic show of concern for the unemployed! The leaders have not yet realized that they no longer have time for PR.
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