Writer, philosopher and long-time contributor to PeakProsperity.com, Charles Hugh Smith, returns to the podcast to explain the new socio-economic model he has just introduced to the world through his new book A Hacker’s Teleology: Sharing the Wealth of Our Shrinking Planet.
The main mission behind Peak Prosperity is to focus on new, more regenerative and sustainable models that will better serve humanity than the old models which are currently falling apart. Charles posits a new way of living that is a) achievable with existing resources and technology, and b) much more equitable and resistant to abuse.
We very much need new alternatives like this at this time. Because, once the system breaks in earnest, our ‘leaders’ will be desperate — and as Jared Diamond wisely observed “Nations in crisis borrow and adapt solutions already devised”. So getting good ideas on the table now, so that they’re available to be adopted when needed, is critical.
The principal idea is we need a new system. Now, it doesn’t have to replace the existing system entirely. It just has to be an effective alternative that people can choose if they so desire to.
In my opinion, it needs to be decentralized, anti-fragile, yet connected with other like-minded people. But right now, we’re having to start from scratch, basically reinventing the wheel. We’re fighting a kludgy, broken, unfair, rigged system every step of the way if we want to create a decentralized community-based economy.
So what would a system be like if we designed it from scratch to actually make it easy to join a community economy? Well, we want a system that’s opt-in and voluntary, not like the one we have now. We want it be fair, not like the one we have now. We want it to have it’s own money supply that comes from the bottom. Money should be created at the bottom of the economy, not at the top.
And we also want it to be human. In other words, like that it recognizes the value of dignity and our contributions, i.e., purposeful work that meets the needs of the community.
We all know it’s a finite world we’re on and that our resources are being depleted. And so we’re going to have to make some sort of concerted effort to share this somewhat equally, or at least not as un-equally as it is now.
To me, the obvious solution is take your own resilient homestead and lifestyle, multiply it by 100,000 similar oases around the world that are connected to a global community economy. Wealth can be more equitably shared because we’re all sharing the same value system: de-growth. Becoming more efficient, becoming more localized, not wasting resources, and not chasing profits as the only incentive in the system.
Click the play button below to listen to Chris’ interview with Charles Hugh Smith (46m:28s).
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The post Charles Hugh Smith: What Would A Better System Look Like? appeared first on Peak Prosperity.
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