tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4413935813892441553.post2163719318411329360..comments2024-03-29T00:30:39.262-05:00Comments on real economics: Banking as an act of warJonathan Larsonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05217670446743983955noreply@blogger.comBlogger4125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4413935813892441553.post-45430019597961430532015-12-13T11:06:01.670-06:002015-12-13T11:06:01.670-06:00Yes indeed. You have hit on THE question—one that...Yes indeed. You have hit on THE question—one that has bugged me most of my life. The Question: What is the appropriate scale? The reason this is so interesting is because not everything (or almost nothing) scales. I first discovered this problem building model airplanes. People who try to make scale versions of say, WW II fighters like the Spitfire or P-47, soon discover that those models barely fly because the tail feathers are too small—in fact, this problem is so well known that model competitions allow for non-scale oversized tail surfaces. Then when I started learning city planning, I soon discovered that ideas that work magnificently in cities of 250,000 almost never work at 2.5 million. And Chairman Mao proved that steel mills could not be scaled down to community-sized during the Great Leap Forward. Etc.<br /><br />I probably should write on the subject of scale some day. In the meantime, I will TRY to include notes on scale whenever I suggest that there might be a solution to some problem.<br /><br />Great catch! Now I know what I'll be thinking about today.Jonathan Larsonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05217670446743983955noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4413935813892441553.post-10250445564822349222015-12-13T09:51:19.266-06:002015-12-13T09:51:19.266-06:00I am happy to be corrected that LOVE of money is t...I am happy to be corrected that LOVE of money is the problem…and small public banks of convenience are not necessarily acts of war. (I agree.) So here’s what I’m really thinking/wondering:<br /><br />If proper regulation of all banks and money on earth could be successfully established (or reestablished) somehow, do you suppose a proper balance between public good and private enterprise could also become established somehow? (And if so what would it look like?)<br /><br />Jared Diamond (Pulitzer Prize winner in 1998 for “Guns, Germs, and Steel: The Fates of Human Societies”) makes the case in his latest book (“The Third Chimpanzee for Young People,” 2014) that in our globalized world, “it’s no longer possible for societies to collapse one by one.” He says the collapse we face, if there’s going to be one, “it will be a global collapse.” Can you imagine that?<br /><br />If our future is truly global in size and shape and nature from now on…can you imagine how we get to being a global community at the rate we’re going? Are you and Tony imagining how different our world is going to have to be (become) if we are going to survive?<br /><br />Families, neighborhoods, communities and lifestyles that are sustainable, yes.<br />States, nation states, arbitrary lines on a map and business as usual, no way!<br /><br />A new global world order that makes sense, how?<br />Nuclear weapons, armed forces, corporations of any kind, why?<br /><br />If time is all we really have in life (to live and learn, suffer and enjoy) how much longer can we afford to allow on earth unsustainable lifestyles of any kind?<br /><br />I think your post on Dec 1 is the answer, “Time to Choose”<br />GPK SMEThttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10844260976638167009noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4413935813892441553.post-49763221685817964682015-12-11T16:44:08.837-06:002015-12-11T16:44:08.837-06:00I think trying to explain these subjects to people...I think trying to explain these subjects to people like your grandsons would be fun. The reason I say this is the guy who first explained fractional banking to me when I was 14 was clearly enjoying himself. If they ever get their arms around the subject of money, it really will change their worldview. And it isn't so hard. Galbraith used to say that money and banking were such simple subjects that the mind was repelled.<br /><br />Oh, and to be Biblically accurate. Money is not the root of all evil. It's the LOVE of money that's the problem. (I Tim 6:10. For the love of money is the root of all evil: which while some coveted after, they have erred from the faith, and pierced themselves through with many sorrows.) After all, money is just a convenience. And banking done in the public name and for the public good is a real community builder—see postal banking, the Bank of North Dakota, etc.Jonathan Larsonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05217670446743983955noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4413935813892441553.post-14883775936490120422015-12-11T06:16:23.188-06:002015-12-11T06:16:23.188-06:00Given Tony's new post today this is catch up. ...Given Tony's new post today this is catch up. I didn't want to let it pass without saying that “Banking as an act of war” connects back to Sunday, Nov 1, 2015 “Michel Hudson on the American School of Political Economy," and one of my favorite quotes from you (a comment you made in that post): “[how...] the best part about economics [...is] -— we don't have to make up one thing -— our ancestors had it figured out long ago. We just have to rediscover our roots!”<br /><br />You and Tony and all your links are way ahead of the curve of trying to help... All I need to do is figure out a way to explain it to my grandsons. (I find myself wondering if “real economics” can really be so complex -- or convoluted and complicated for some that they "really can't" get it -- or if some just pretend they can’t get it because they've already "got it" and just want to "keep it" that's all.)<br /><br />Tony’s post on Friday, Dec 4, 2015 “Paul Krugman on Challenging the Oligarchy” is another connection to "Banking as an act of war," isn't it? (On the one hand, economics is arithmetic not high level math. On the other hand, arithmetic is just too simple for a ruling class of oligarchs to allow as a ruling principle of life on earth!)<br /><br />Money, the root of all evil. Banking, the ultimate act of war. We've been carefully taught to believe we really can't get along without banks and money...nor should we waste our time trying to figure a way around it. (We have been rendered incapable of having a conversation on earth about anything...without money taking over as the ultimate consideration in, or conclusion of, the conversation.) Money is the only thing everyone universally wants, worships, loves and needs... The only thing that can buy everything else we want, worship, love and need -- especially if it's on sale or being sold at a discount!GPK SMEThttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10844260976638167009noreply@blogger.com