The thought of creating this post came as a Social Credit advocate Joe Thompson responded to a post of mine on a thread on the Social Credit Google group and resulted in the my input below becoming that priorly considered blog entry. Such synchronicity is curious to me.
Joe:
Steve, in the sense you use the word ‘profit’ below, the Russian economy was surely converted into a profit making one during the time of Yeltsin. The infamous ‘oligarchs’ profited enormously as they milked it for everything they could, no doubt in the process confirming in the minds of many, if not most Russians, the very worst long held perceptions about profit as preached by the Communists.
There is, however, another sense in which that word ‘profit’ is employed. A purely accounting one, as in a Profit and Loss Statement, found as part of the books of every business. And in which ‘profit’ acts as a vital feedback mechanism in enabling consumers to direct producers as to what is needed or desired for their personal consumption.
It would seem there is great confusion in the minds of the general public about this, and unfortunately Social Crediters themselves have not been exempt from this confusion.
Much favourable mention has been made of late about Oliver Heydorn’ s excellent book, “Social Credit Economics”. I think anyone reading it who has previously studied Douglas Social Credit will quickly recognise what a masterful job Oliver has done in pulling the writings of Douglas altogether in a highly cohesive manner, and illuminating the timelessness of his analysis and necessity for the corrective prescriptions he advocated. It is a first class piece of work.
There is, however, at least in my opinion, a vital need for a companion volume. It might tentatively be called, “Social Credit Accounting”. And I’ve long hoped that someone as equally well qualified in the field of double-entry cost accounting itself as Oliver obviously is in the field of philosophy would produce such a work.
I am aware there have been pieces by various authors dealing with parts of this subject, some of the writings of the late Vic Bridger probably being amongst the most current.
Vic was an accountant, and he had a great knowledge of the subject and its relationship to Social Credit. But to date there has been nothing of which I’m aware that fully compares in that particular area to what Oliver has done, though the need is definitely there.
As I’ve mentioned in times past, much of what should be in such a work, a Primer of sorts, was written in various posts scattered all over several Social Credit internet Lists that pre-ceded this one. Those Lists were moderated by William B Ryan, and his explanations of accounting, its history and the ways its rules and conventions apply to Social Credit contained some very valuable information that if published would certainly be of great assistance in furthering our common cause. Perhaps someday such a work may be forthcoming. It is sorely needed.
Regards,
Joe
Me: Joe,
Yes I’m sure such a book would be helpful in pointing at the ways that cost accounting can confirm the Gap and also how accrual accounting can actually obscure its reality for economic theorists. I’m certainly no authority on accounting, but I’ve just posted the titles of my next two posts on my blog that point at what I think are the concepts that are missing/misperceived and that consequently prevent economies from being self sufficient, autonomous and so able to manifest a cardinal aspect of both Distributive economic theory and Catholic social thinking, subsidiarity.
The missing/misperceived concept in economic and monetary theory is simultaneity. That is a continuous simultaneity of an equity of available individual incomes in ratio to prices needing to be liquidated for an equilibrium to be even possible. Policy solutions for such simultaneity is either presently missing in such theory (Disequilibrium theorists like Steve Keen), or misperceived as already being a reality as a result of belief that indirect and inadequate means of filling the gap like government stimulus and continuous borrowing are capable of creating it (DSGE/Neo-Classical/New Keynesian theorists). The realities enforced by Cost accounting’s dynamic and ever present reality in commerce/the economy, properly perceived, show that such simultaneity is not present uncompensated for and that despite false notions that measures which still exact a cost…can achieve it. I would add that personally it’s curious to me that the necessity of simultaneity for a free flowing economy and simultaneity as one of the aspects of mysticism are mutually reflective of each other. That is either can be used to enlighten, and both together are a more complete analysis and potentially a more powerful synthesis. So let simultaneity be the concept enlightened in such a book of Social Credit Accounting.
And of course national self sufficiency, autonomy and subsidiarity are largely enabled by Social Credit’s policies and also go a long way toward enabling international trade to be a cooperative process instead of the dangerously competitive one the current financial system enforces.
Social Credit/Wisdomics/Gracenomics/ Gracientialism 