To the Editor:
“It is well enough that people of the nation do not understand our banking and monetary system, for if they did, I believe there would be a revolution before tomorrow morning,” said Henry Ford.
My purpose in writing this letter is to spread an understanding of the fraudulent and immoral nature of our current monetary system more widely. The fact that our current monetary system is unsustainable and destined to fail based on simple math should motivate people to educate themselves on the subject, because the consequences will be painful and devastating for our civilization. Fundamentally, however, the issue is a moral one, one of ethics, as well as one of economics.
Although people engage in monetary transactions on a daily basis, and spend a considerable percentage of their time devoted to earning and investing their money, most have no understanding of the origin of our current “money”, nor are they taught much about it in our public schools. Once one understands the inherent fraudulence of the system and who benefits by it, it would be easy to conclude that this omission is deliberate.
The Bible devotes considerable space to the subject (there are over 250 verses on money), and rightfully so, since money is involved in many of our interpersonal interactions and an honest money is essential for a moral society. I would argue that the present debt-based monetary system is the epitome of usury and contravenes all of the Ten Commandments. It infects and corrupts everything it touches. It is responsible for much of the social ills and corruption which plague us, and once one gains an understanding of it, it is impossible not to be outraged. I would also conclude that social justice and peace will not be achieved by democratic means and true freedom is impossible unless the monetary system is reformed.
Many words could be used to describe our current money — the words hoax, fraud, illusion, and tool of neo-feudal debt-slavery and control spring to my mind. One thing that it could not be described as is honest weights and measures, which is what Bible-believing Christians should be using in their monetary interactions with their fellow man. How can a system that allows a few the privilege of creating money and manipulating the value of it, thereby cheating others of the fruits of their labour, be honest or moral?
The money issue lies at the heart of the so-called global financial crisis, which is far from over, and although we have been fortunate here in Canada to have been spared much of the pain thus far, I would argue that it will be too late for us to address many of the issues if we wait until we personally feel the fallout in our own pocketbooks.
It is my hope that this letter will provoke further discussion, research and a debate about alternatives. Some useful Internet links on the subject are www.youtube.com/watch?v=e6LWqgohO4E, www.financialsensearchive.com/fsu/editorials/2008/0723.html and www.silverstockreport.com/email/commandments.html.
Ildiko Rekeszki
Canyon