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An Answer to the Present World Financial Crisis Felix Fuders •A global financial system without interest... Estudios Internacionales 166 (2010) - ISSN 0716-0240 • 45-56 Instituto de Estudios Internacionales - Universidad de Chile Alternative concepts for a global financial system – an answer to the present world financial crisis Conceptos alternativos para una sistema financiero global –una respuesta para la presente crisis financiera Felix Fuders* Abstract Neither interest-capitalism nor communism are natural economic forms, that is, they do not match human nature, but rather are forced by government, meaning that both are destined to fail. communism leads to laziness and neo-liberalism to greed. In a healthy, that is, natural economic system, neither a planned economy nor interest exist, both of which lead to constrain freedom. With communism, people are enslaved through the forced labour inherent in a planned economy; in an interest- based economy, people are enslaved through the burden of interest, which multiplies exponentially and eventually makes it impossible for an economy to supply households sufficiently, since the exponentially multiplying interest must be earned and paid for. Key words: capitalism, communism, interests, freedom. Resumen Ni el capitalismo basado en la obtención de intereses ni el comunismo son formas económicas naturales, esto es, no son propios de la naturaleza * Profesor, Instituto de Economía (FAcEA), Universidad Austral de chile. Recibido el 28 de enero de 2010; aceptado el 14 de julio de 2010. 45 Estudios Internacionales 166 (2010) • Universidad de Chile humana sino que son impuestos por el gobierno, lo que significa que ambos están destinados al fracaso. El comunismo conduce al ocio y el neoliberalismo a la codicia. En un sistema económico sano, vale decir natural, no existen una economía planificada ni la obtención de intere- ses, ambos cuales llevan a limitar la libertad. El comunismo esclaviza debido al trabajo obligatorio que impone una economía planificada; el capitalismo basado en la obtención de intereses esclaviza a través de la carga de los intereses que se multiplican de manera exponencial y con el tiempo impiden que la economía pueda proveer suficiente apoyo a las familias, debido a que estos intereses deben ser ganados y pagados. Palabras claves: capitalism, comunismo, intereses, libertad. 46 Felix Fuders •A global financial system without interest... Forced growth - the logic otherwise might notice that the money behind interest supply is growing considerably more quickly than the productivity of the An economy based on interest de- world economy4. This is also the reason stroys itself at set intervals. This is not why all industrialised nations, as well as difficult to understand, since financial those wishing to become so, are striving assets double themselves in accordance for economic growth5. Production must with interest rates through interest and increase every year in order to pay for compound-interest in approximately 10 the interest. The increase in production – 15 years. Even the fastest calculator is measured in relation to the previous in the world some day will no longer year’s level. be able to keep up with the resulting interest burden for lack of zeroes1. This is the logic of an exponential-function2. 4 The dollar money supply M3 is developing Still less can an economic system ever exponentially, see: en.wikipedia.org/wiki/ Money_supply; http://www.economagic. achieve a great enough economic per- com/em-cgi/cha...xe/fedstl/m3sl. For the formance to satisfy the demand for moderate evolution of the growth of world interest. Here we find the cause of the productivity see: International Monetary rapidly and ever more rapidly growing Fund, World Economic Outlook – Finan- cial Systems and Economic cycles, Wash- money supply which then led necessar- ington 2006, p. 1. The productivity of the ily to the stock- and real estate-bubbles, economy actually shrank at last, see. and to the resulting financial crisis. The OECD, Economic Outlook, Paris, Vol. US Federal Reserve has not been mak- 2008/2, No. 84, p. 6, 12, 15. It was high- lighted that the growth of the quantity of ing the money supply M3 public since goods in the world in the last 30 years, 2006, and for a good reason3. People increased only four times, while the mon- etary side has increased forty-fold, cf. Eberhard Hamer, Der Welt-Geldbetrug, 1 To illustrate the problem the so-called in: Zeit-Fragen 2004, No. 45, p. 1; id./Eike Joseph’s penny is suitable. If Jesus had Hamer, Was passiert, wenn der crash inherited merely a penny from Joseph, and kommt?, 6th ed., 2005, p. 32. if this penny had been deposited in a bank 5 Margit Kennedy, Geld ohne Zinsen und with a 5% interest rate, the investment in Inflation, p. 159; Karl Albrecht Schacht- 1990 would have amounted to 123 billion schneider, Verfassungsrecht der Europä- globes of pure fine gold, seeGünter Han- ischen Union, to appear in print., § 14, I. nich, Börsencrash und Welt-Wirtschaft- 3 e); Wilhelm Hankel, Währungspolitik, skrise – Der Weg in den Dritten Weltkrieg, Geldwertstabilisierung, Währungsintegra- 4th ed., 2005, p. 15. tion und Sparerschutz, 2d ed. 1972, p. 2 That money growth due to the compound- 71ff., 103ff.; Helmut Creutz, Das Geld- ing effect follows an exponential function syndrom. Wege zu einer krisenfreien also turns out in Margit Kennedy, Geld Marktwirtschaft, 1993; Günter Hannich, ohne Zinsen und Inflation – Ein Tausch- Sprengstoff Geld: wie das Kapitalsystem mittel, das jedem dient, 1990, p. 22 f. unsere Welt zerstört, 2d. ed. 1999, p. 45 3 See www.federalreserve.gov/Releases/h6/ ff.; Werner Lachmann, Volkswirtschafts- discm3.htm. lehre 1, 4th ed. 2003, p. 184 ff. 47 Estudios Internacionales 166 (2010) • Universidad de Chile The problem is that demand and other words: interest on one side neces- production cannot be increased arbi- sarily leads to debt on the other, since trarily – there simply aren’t enough there is no interest without debt. The resources. It is also not understand- interest- induced self-increasing money able why more should continually supply therefore automatically leads to be produced although a high level of higher total indebtedness7. prosperity has already been achieved. Extravagance, predetermined breaking points in products, disposable products, High credit risks, casino «scrapping incentives» and – again mentality, inflation: very up-to-date – even the invention of secondary phenomena of the diseases6, are symptomatic of the prob- interest economy lem in the system. The economy tries compulsively to maintain economic The continually, ever accelerating growth. When percentile economic increase of money in circulation can, growth falls behind the rate of inter- at some point, no longer be covered est, the State must finally make up the by productivity, which cannot grow difference by going into debt. This is continually, since there is no endless a reason for the high and ever more growth in nature. This leads necessarily rapidly increasing level of national debt to inflation, although only partially at among industrialised nations. Or in first, i.e. in investment markets. Price bubbles in stock and real estate markets corroborate this impressively8. This 6 C f. Lynne McTaggart, What Doctors self-multiplying money seeks forms of Don‘t Tell You: The Truth About the Dan- gers of Modern Medicine, 2005; Vernon investment. Responsibility for financial Coleman, How to Stop your doctor killing bubbles thus lies neither with irrespon- you, 2003; Jörg Blech, Die Krankheitser- sible bank traders who do not properly finder – Wie wir zu Patienten gemacht werden, 2005; Torsten Engelbrecht/Claus Köhnlein, Virus-Wahn: Vogelgrippe 7 C f. Günter Hannich, Börsencrash und (H5N1), SARS, BSE, Hepatitis c, AIDS Welt-Wirtschaftskrise, p. 21 f. Also already – Wie die Medizin-Industrie ständig Aristoteles, who recognized that the mac- Seuchen erfindet und auf Kosten der Allge- roeconomic interest revenue accurately meinheit Milliarden-Profite macht, 3rd ed. reflects the interest cost of debt, see:Ulrich 2006; Michael Leitner, Mythos HIV – Eine van Suntum, Die unsichtbare Hand – Öko- Kritische Analyse der AIDS-Hysterie, nomisches Denken gestern und heute, 3rd 2000; Stefan Lanka/Hans-Ulrich Niemitz/ ed. 2005, p. 73 f. Veronika Widmer/Karl Krafeld, Die Vo- 8 The price bubbles have been denominated gelgrippe – Der Krieg der USA gegen die a „partial« inflation; cf. Karl Albrecht Menschheit, 2006; Veronika Widmer/ Schachtschneider, Armes Europa – armes Stefan Lanka/Susanne Brix, Der Masern- Deutschland: Wird Europa eine Oligarchie Betrug, 2006; Kurt Blüchel, Heilen verbo- der Unternehmens- und Parteiführer? – ten – töten erlaubt. Die organisierte Gedanken zur Grundrechtsproblematik der Kriminalität im Gesundheitswesen, 2003. EU, in: Zeit-Fragen, 1999, No. 62, p. 1. 48 Felix Fuders •A global financial system without interest... evaluate credit risks nor with the often ing money. This is what history books criticised casino-like games played by teach us. In reality, however, in 1923 the banks in the markets; it results rather German State was compelled to print from pressures to invest capital for a money not only because of reparations high return. The all too easily acquired from the Treaty of Versailles, but also loans, casino-like gambling and the because the interest-burden of national lack of bank supervision, however, are and war debts climbed endlessly. The suggested in the media and literature as US Federal Reserve as well as the EcB the cause of the financial crisis9. Very find
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