Advantage 65 – Self-determined time schedule

Excerpt from the book »Gradido – Natural Economy of Life« 

»A person who does not have two-thirds of his day for himself is a slave.«

– Friedrich Nietzsche

philosopher, stateless

Only a small number of lucky people can claim to be able to schedule their time as they like, plan their lives independently and also realise these plans – in brief,  to be able to do what they like with their time. This is taught in all success training courses but only a few people manage it. And a person who manages it is one of the exceptionally successful »high-flyers«. They have succeeded in organising the only really scarce commodity in this world, which is available to everyone in equal measure, in accordance with their personal ideas.

Could it be that the creative organisation of our personal life time is exactly what our maker, who created us »in his own image«, expects of us? He has given each of us humans 24 hours of time a day. And now he is waiting to see what we will do with it. To give us some help, he has endowed us with our personal wishes, dreams, yearnings, inclinations and abilities. That’s why we also speak of  »gifts«. And what do we do with them? We have long since abandoned our dreams for, after all, we have to earn our living.

What only a few »high-flyers« have succeeded in doing up to now will become easy for everyone with the introduction of the gradido. Although they will still have to earn their living, unconditional participation guarantees them that they may do exactly what they have always wanted to.

For their active basic income they work 50 hours a month. That is less than an average of two hours a day, which they make available to the community in line with their talents and can schedule according to need. They are completely free as to what they do in the remaining 22 hours. They themselves determine whether they work to earn more money tax-free or do something completely different.

Advantage 68 – No unemployment

Excerpt from the book »Gradido – Natural Economy of Life«

»The poorest person is he who has no employment.«

– Albert Schweitzer

German physician, theologian and pacifist

The elimination of unemployment is considered to be the number one political objective in many countries. At the same time, we are experiencing the closure of more and more production facilities either because demand is declining or technical progress is making it possible to produce with fewer workers. Money is lacking for labour-intensive professions, such as the health and social services, nursing, old people’s care, and so on. Unconditional participation guarantees everybody employment consistent with their inclinations and abilities in order to earn their active basic income. The unemployment problem is thus solved overnight with 100 percent employment being achieved.

The author makes no secret of the fact that he prefers unconditional participation with its active basic income to a so-called »unconditional basic income«. For unlike the unconditional basic income, which is paid out »simply so«, unconditional participation has a huge number of beneficial advantages. However, should the majority of people opt for an unconditional basic income, the Natural Economy of Life is probably the only monetary and economic model with which it would be financially viable on an international level. There will be no unemployment in the old sense in this case either. The blessing of self-determined time management will supersede the bogey of unemployment.

Advantage 75 – Significantly less production without social drawbacks

Excerpt from the book »Gradido – Natural Economy of Life« 

»In the case of the consumerism paradigm, the basic assumptions that need to change include: that more goods and services make people happier, that perpetual growth is good, that humans are separate from nature and that nature is a stock of resources to be exploited for human purposes.«

– Erik Assadourian

Director of the Worldwatch Institute

Without the pressure to consume, significantly less will be produced. All the better! Fewer resources will be needed and people will have more leisure. They will have more time for themselves and their dear ones, their hobbies, their health and their further personal development. Isn’t that what most rushed modern people wish for?

Nowadays more spare time generally means less money, loss of social status and a decline into poverty. The person’s standard of living can no longer be maintained and the running expenses of leasing instalments, rents and loans cannot be paid anymore. This is a horror scenario for many people and already reality for others.

In the Natural Economy of Life as well more spare time may possibly also mean less income. But what does it matter if dad earns a bit less money? All the members of the family are provided for by their active basic incomes, which covers the running expenses. If there are loans, it may take longer to repay them but it will not be more expensive as they are interest-free. In the worst case, a luxurious standard of living would have to be cut back to a normal level. In return, people have more time –  a luxury only a few have today.