Chapter 3.7 – The cycle of life

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

»If we hadn’t planned for the money in our system to be perishable, there would be inflation. Decay is a natural law and so inflation would be unplanned decay. The cycle of growth and decay makes the gradido a self-regulating system. The money supply is stable and can’t be manipulated. It automatically evens out at the value where money creation and perishability are in balance.« 

– Joytopia

From the atom to the galaxy, everything in the world follows cycles, everything comes into being and decays with only the duration of the cycles differing. We encounter this cycle of life everywhere in nature. And in our daily life we are also subject to a variety of cycles. For us the cycles of hours, days, weeks, months and years are the most important cycles that likewise influence leisure and business life. All life plays itself out in these cycles.

And life itself can also be seen as a cycle of growth and decay. Life plays itself out between birth and death. Many religions see physical death as a rebirth in the spiritual world. In any case death belongs to life, dying to birth, exhaling to inhaling. No living being can only inhale. Nobody can only take without giving. But in the existing economic system they always only want growth without consciously making provision for the related decay.

But the natural cycle of growth and decay is inevitable. All human attempts to escape it only brought death. Almost the entire indigenous populations of America were exterminated in cold blood because of gold, which was valued as a means of payment of enduring worth. Today gold mining is devastating the environment. And the attempt to create enduring money, which if possible increases through interest, regularly leads to calamities. We know them as economic crises, financial crises, inflation, monetary crashes, poverty, hunger, wars and natural disasters.

Economic crises, poverty and hunger..., that is easy to understand. But what do wars and natural disasters have to do with the monetary and economic systems? A lot, if not everything!

Wars

In wars it is never a question of protecting human rights or differing religious views. Such issues only serve to fuel people’s emotions so as to get their consent to a war. All wars without exception are about economic advantages or power (which in the end is the same). And oil - the black gold (!) - is one of the biggest businesses in the world. That is why genuine alternatives to oil are always suppressed. Besides the oil industry, the war industry is one of the most profitable industries in the world. In an economic system where growth ranks first the war industry naturally has to grow as well and that means new wars.

Natural disasters

Natural disasters are partly sparked by environmental damage. And whether natural events have disastrous consequences often depends on the man-made circumstances. Here are three examples from recent history.

When the tsunami overran the coast of south-east Asia on 26 December 2004, it swept away everything that stood in its path. More than 200,000 people died in the monster wave. If a smaller number of coral reefs and mangrove forests had been destroyed on the coasts, the impact of the tsunami would have been drastically reduced and many people would still be alive. The coral reefs act as breakwaters and mangroves inhibit coast erosion and form a second buffer to protect the interior of the country. There is a growing consensus among scientists, environmentalists and Asia’s fishing communities that the consequences of the tsunami were considerably aggravated by tourism, shrimp farms and other industrial developments. For they have destroyed or degraded the mangrove forests, coastal dunes, coral reefs and areas of sea grass so that these were scarcely able to provide any protection from the big tidal wave. Our present economic system compels the promotion of industrialisation and tourism to boost the economy and raise the standard of living. This would not be necessary in the Natural Economy of Life as everyone is provided for through the threefold creation of money.

The earthquake in Haiti on 12 January 2010 was force seven on the Richter scale. The epicentre was approx. 25 kilometres south-west of Port-au-Prince, the Haitian capital. The buildings were so badly constructed that they collapsed like houses made of cards. The slums of the megacity were badly hit as the slopes where the huts were situated mostly slid down. According to a United Nations estimate, the initial situation was more devastating than the tsunami disaster in the Indian Ocean in 2004 because of the lack of infrastructure. The number of dead is estimated at 316,000. Haiti was already a poor country before the earthquake. That is why the inhabitants were apparently not able to afford better types of constructions to provide more security in the case of earthquakes. With the Natural Economy of Life Haiti would be a wealthy country like all others. There would be no more slums and people could afford sturdier buildings which could withstand earthquakes better.

The earthquake in Tokyo on 1 February 2012 was also force seven but damage to buildings were not reported. Japan is a rich industrialised country and the Japanese are prepared for earthquakes. On the other hand, the tsunami in Fukushima on 11 March 2011 hit them all the harder as they had built their nuclear power stations along the coast. They had hitherto not considered alternative forms of energy to be economic. The Equalisation and Environment Fund would have subsidised environmentally friendly technologies to such an extent that nuclear energy would have been unprofitable. The worst nuclear disaster in human history would thus have been avoided.

The consequences of all three events would have been less severe if the Natural Economy of Life, which follows the cycle of growth and decay,  had already been introduced.

Hunger

But let’s come back to poverty, hunger and thirst. 24,000 people die of starvation every day. That is more deaths every month than all the victims of the three natural disasters mentioned above together. Nature appears relatively gracious compared with this greatest of all man-made disasters.

Sometimes we have to think a bit laterally to recognise the direct and indirect connections between today’s system of debt money and the disastrous situation on our earth and then open ourselves for the Natural Economy of Life, which brings solutions due to its system.

Nature – a self-regulating system

Life is transient, death is constant. That is the one side. On the other hand, nature brings off a feat which economists can only dream of – eternal growth in a limited space. This eternal growth is inseparably linked to eternal decay.

The cycle of growth and decay is a self-regulating system. It enables nature to constantly give birth to new living beings and make new products with the total mass staying constant. This self-regulation has the effect that the system automatically settles into its optimal state with just as much flowing back into the cycle as what is created. This simple principle is universally applicable and therefore also works with the gradido.

Let’s have a look at the gradido cycle. Its »growth« is the threefold creation of money with 3,000 gradidos. Its decay amounts to 50% a year. That is approx. 5%  a month. The average credit balance per person automatically regulates itself at the value at which the monthly decay is equal to the monthly creation of money. This is the case with 60,000 gradidos, for 5% of 60,000 is 3,000. If the credit balance increased, the higher decay would bring the amount down. If it was lower, creation of money would predominate  and drive it up again. Here we speak of a stable balance because any deviation from the normal state is automatically regulated back to the norm.

The self-regulating system is thus constantly striving to level off at the norm of 60,000 gradidos as the average assets per person. It permanently ensures a gentle equalisation. We can imagine the self-regulation as the surface of water: there are repeatedly waves from time to time but in the long run the water level remains constant.

Let’s summarise the main points:

• Together with the decay the threefold creation of money forms a self-regulating system that keeps the money supply constant. The money supply cannot be altered either by debt or speculation or any other manipulation.
• The cycle of growth and decay is a natural law. If this natural law is not voluntarily integrated into the monetary and economic systems, we get to feel it in an involuntary and painful way, in the form of economic and financial crises, inflation, monetary crashes, poverty, hunger, diseases, wars and natural disasters.
• As the cycle of growth and decay is integrated as a permanent component of the Natural Economy of Life, the above-mentioned involuntary forms of decay are avoided or at least greatly mitigated.

The mathematical foundation of our new monetary and economic model has now been elaborated. We have developed a self-regulating system after the pattern of nature that furnishes the needs of the threefold good with the necessary financial resources and keeps its optimal state in a stable balance. How can people save for the future and how can major investments be financed? In other words, will there still be a lending system? If so, what will it look like?

Chapter 3.17 – Summary

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

Now that we have the single elements together, it is easy to assemble everything into one whole. The single components have been described in detail. The next chapter is entirely devoted to the beneficial effects. That is why a brief summary follows at this point.

Let’s begin with the most important decision criterion of the Natural Economy of Life, by which we measure all our thinking, talking and acting – the threefold good.

 

The threefold good

1. The good of every single participant - win-win.
2. The good of the community – family, community, country, humanity…
3. The good of the big scheme of things – nature, environment, mother earth, universe…

The natural law of growth and decay

The threefold good is, so to speak, the ethical foundation of our monetary and economic model. For it to work we have to develop it in harmony with natural laws. The most important law for us is the cycle of life, the cycle of growth and decay. It is integrated into our model in the form of creation of money and perishability.

The threefold creation of money

The threefold creation of money is derived from the threefold good.

The community, represented by the government, creates three amounts of 1,000 gradidos for each citizen every month to be used for the following purposes:

1. Basic income, either unconditional or active,
2. Government income, including health and social services,
3. Equalisation and Environment Fund (EEF) to protect and decontaminate the environment.

Basic income

The model supports the two options of an unconditional basic income, which is paid out »just like that«, or an active basic income.

The active basic income follows from unconditional participation in the community: everybody has the right to work for the community for up to 50 hours a month in accordance with their inclinations and skills. The community remunerates this work with 20 gradidos an hour up to a maximum of 1,000 gradidos monthly. Because of the manifold beneficial effects of unconditional participation, we prefer the active basic income, particularly as the money thus created is covered by services and full employment is automatically achieved.

Government income

The second amount of 1,000 gradidos is sufficient for a generous national budget, including health and social services, on the scale which currently exists in the Federal Republic of Germany. Taxes, social insurances or similar levies are therefore not required: gross and net income are the same. A huge reduction of bureaucracy is possible. Illegal work no longer exists by definition.

Equalisation and Environment Fund (EEF)

The third amount of 1,000 gradidos constitutes an additional fund of the same amount as the national budget. The Equalisation and Environment Fund serves to eliminate economic and ecological contamination, primarily to remedy as far as humanly possible the disastrous environmental damage humans have caused over more than the last hundred years. It is the largest environmental fund in the history of humanity. Protection and decontamination of the environment will become the most lucrative sectors of the economy. 

Self-regulating system stabilises the money supply

The cycle of growth and decay is already integrated into the gradido. The threefold creation of money is subject to decay of 50% a year. Only 50 gradidos still remain from 100 after one year. After the pattern of nature the gradido is thus a self-regulating system, which keeps the money supply per person constant. The money supply cannot be manipulated.

Creation of money without debt

The creation of money follows the pattern of nature without debts having to be incurred. The gradido only provides for credit balances. Loans are still possible. They are agreements between lender and borrower. As only existing money may be lent, the money supply is not altered by loans. Although interest is not forbidden, it has no chance on the market.

Common good currency

As  you see, each part of the money created is spent on a contribution to the community. The gradido is thus a currency for the common good. The call for an economy of the common good is getting louder and louder. Besides the gradido, there are already several projects in this direction but so far they have not considered the monetary system. While reading this book it should have become clear to you, dear reader, that an economy of the common good cannot work in the old monetary system. With the gradido every sector of the economy will become an economy of the common good all by itself. 

Understanding it is child’s play

The entire model is described in essence in this summary. It is so simple that even children can easily understand it with an appropriate explanation. The Natural Economy of Life has many life-saving benefits over the old monetary and economic systems although these may not be recognised at first glance. In the next chapter you will therefore learn the 100 most important advantages of the Natural Economy of Life. Let yourself be inspired!

Advantage 4 – No goods coverage

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

»Mankind must put an end to war,

before war puts an end to mankind.«

– John F. Kennedy

35th President of the USA, assassinated in 1963

Have you ever had the doubtful pleasure of listening to a war report on the radio, TV or in other media? In it they speak about human life, among other things. But sooner or later

they also come to speak of material damage. Who has to bear what costs of the war? And when the war is finally over, governments and firms are already queuing up to secure the biggest pieces of the reconstruction cake for themselves. One cannot escape the feeling that war is welcome business and much more important than the people who are killed.

I have a similar feeling when I hear the argument that the money supply must be equivalent to the goods and services produced. This argument is based on the assumption that money only keeps its value when you can buy the equivalent amount of goods for it. That is indeed an interesting approach but what consequences ensue from it? Quite simply, a large supply of money is allowed to circulate in countries that produce a large quantity of goods. On the other hand, there is only a little money in poor countries although the people there badly need it. The amount of goods thus has greater importance than people.

Should people serve the economy or the other way round? The Natural Economy of Life serves both people and nature. The supply of money is proportional to the size of the population. The quantity of goods is the answer to people’s needs and not the reverse. Humans and nature are in first place. In spite of and perhaps just because of this, we have a stable supply of money and a self-regulating system which ensures that the right quantity of goods and services is always available. 

Advantage 6 – Stable money supply

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

»Only when there is compassion does the intelligence exist that gives humankind security and stability, an enormous feeling of strength.«

– Jiddu Krishnamurti

Indian philosophy and author

If we want to fathom nature’s secrets, we cannot do this with our mind alone. We need compassion to explore the cycle of life. Only when we have united mind and compassion do we achieve wholeness and thus the intelligence to discover the inventions of living nature and translate them to our model. The cycle of life is a masterpiece of nature. Only through continual becoming and decaying can growth take place in a restricted system with the total mass being kept constant at the same time.

In the Natural Economy of Life the cycle of growth and decay keeps the money supply stable. In the self-regulating system the supply of money per person levels off at the amount at which the monthly creation of money and the monthly decay are in equilibrium. With the amount of 3,000 gradidos being created and decay of approx. 5% the average per-capita supply of money amounts to approx. 60,000 gradidos. Neither credit institutions nor speculators can change anything.

An average supply of money means that one person may possess more and the others less. That is quite normal and consistent with the variety of life. Some people will live from their basic income and have only small balances on their accounts. However, good business people can still become millionaires. This changes nothing in the total money supply, which depends solely on the size of the population.

Advantage 7 – The money supply cannot be manipulated

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

»In doubt the Fed can rotate the dollar press as much as it likes and if necessary make a helicopter drop of  money to boost the economy.«

– Ben Bernanke

FED President

Since 2006 the Fed (US central bank) has no longer published the M3 money supply. Why not? Has the calculation become so confused and difficult that no reliable results are possible anymore? Or is the money supply so outrageously high that they no longer want to publish it?

The main aim of a central bank is to maintain the stability of prices and the value of money. It tries to achieve this by fixing the so-called prime rate so as to influence the money supply. The financial crisis shows that this is not possible. In the old system the money supply is manipulated by many uncontrollable factors, resulting in the usual suspects, such as inflation, deflation, economic and financial crises or even financial crashes.

The gradido money supply cannot be manipulated. It is fixed by the creation of money and its perishability and can only change with the size of the population. Hence, the money supply is the constant which the other parameters, such as the level of prices, have to align themselves with. After a levelling-out process the self-regulating system operates in a stable manner.

Advantage 10 – Self-regulating monetary and economic system

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

»If we do not demonstrate our determination to organize national finances sustainably, we will have neither financial stability nor sound economic growth«.

–      Ben Bernanke

FED President

The central banks have for a long time been unable to cope with their task of regulating the money supply so as to create financial stability. How are they supposed to be able to stabilise a complicated system whose basic functions are constructed in a way that is dysfunctional and contrary to nature?

The Natural Economy of Life is a self-regulating system. The money supply stabilises automatically through the cycle of growth and decay. And how does it work with the supply of goods?

Let’s assume that a vital product, for example an item of food, is in short supply. There may be different reasons for such a situation. The crop may have been destroyed by hail or production has become too cost-intensive and is no longer worthwhile. The distances for transporting the product may be too long or the work too laborious and there are not enough people who want to work in its production. Whatever has caused the shortage, the item becomes more expensive.

If it is an essential product, the costs of living will increase and some people will no longer be able to live so comfortably from their basic incomes. As a consequence, they will want to earn some extra money. The highest wages and salaries are to be found where an urgent shortage needs to be remedied, in our case in the production of a food that is in short supply. Job-seekers will first and foremost apply for such jobs.

The scarce product will be produced in larger quantities again. Prices fall again and production evens off at a normal level.

The system has automatically regulated itself without the need for external intervention. If attempts had been made to influence the money supply, something uncontrollable – a bubble – would have resulted. 

Advantage 11 – No financial bubbles

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

»It must now have become clear to any responsibly minded person in the branch that the international finance markets have developed into a monster that has to be cut down to size.«

– Horst Köhler

former President of Germany

In the recent past we have had a lot of so-called »bubbles«. Real-estate bubbles and financial bubbles are created when the system does not have any functioning self-regulating mechanisms. Disasters are pre-programmed in a system that has to be most stringently controlled to prevent it getting out of hand. It suffices for something to happen that the controlling bodies had not expected for bubbles to emerge, grow and finally burst. Controlling bodies react to such incidents with even stricter controls (they have no other possibility). This leads to increasingly unbearable restrictions of personal freedom without it being possible to establish genuine stability.  

Really sustainable stability is created when pressure is kept as low as possible and gentle self-regulating mechanisms are in place, as in the case with the gradido.

Bubbles emerge at pressure points: we get blisters when our shoe pinches. An increase in pressure leads to bad blisters or bubbles. No pressure needs to be exerted in a self-regulating system, and nobody will rebel when there is no pressure.

As the money supply is constant and cannot be changed by either borrowing or speculation, no finance bubbles are possible in the gradido system. The self-regulating system runs in a stable manner without external control. 

Pia asks : “How did you manage it?“ – Part 1

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

A story from the future

Part 1: The new time

The visit

“Oh Pia, it’s nice that you’ve come to see your grandmother.”

“Hallo Granny, look what I’ve bought! That’s Joy, my new bio-robot from the Far East. They’re on special offer at the moment at Alibi and only cost 2,999 gradidos. Joy, come here! Joy to Pia!!! – Good!”

<!-- Joy is very good friend -->

“All right. – It’s still switched to English. – Joy, speak German!!”

<!-- Joy sprechen Deutsch -->

“Whoops, they’re still working on the translation. – Where is Grandpa?”

“At senior citizens sport.”

“Oh, what’s he doing today?”

“Parachute jumping! He’s still fit as a fiddle. No wonder with our healthy diet of spring water, organic fruit and vegetables, wild plants and hardly any meat…”

“Do you know what we had in History today? The waste age! That was in your youth, wasn’t it? Was everything really toxic waste? Your clothes, houses, computers, TV sets, vehicles, fuel and tarmac? Our teacher said people even had to take toxic waste when they were ill! Is that true, Granny?“

“Well, Pia, we called it medicine. But you’re right. When we had medicine left over, we weren’t allowed to just throw it away; we had to dispose of it as toxic waste, for the sake of the environment.”

“My bio-robot is 100% recyclable. Most of its parts can be composted and the others will be recycled. It is driven by free energy and is absolutely eco-friendly. Joy, show what you can do! Clean the kitchen, Joy,!”

<!—Clean kitchen menu: dust, hoover or wash up? -->

“Hoover.“

<!—Compost collected dust: yes/no? -->

“Yes.“

“Well, Pia, it’s just fantastic what technology can do nowadays!“

“All that came through the Natural Economy of Life. We owe it to this brilliant economic model that poverty was eradicated and prosperity for all was created worldwide. And completely in harmony with nature. NEL is my favourite subject at school.“

The natural law of growth and decay

“Well, Pia, you must explain something to me. I find everything wonderful – our active basic income that provides for everyone, our health service, our generous national budget and the subsidies for the environment. But one thing still puzzles me: how does the Natural Economy of Life work? Where does the money come from when we don’t have any taxes or levies?”

“Yes, Granny, that’s still strange for you, isn’t it? After all, you went to school in the waste age, didn’t you? The economy of that time ignored the most elementary natural laws like the cycle of growth and decay. But decay is inevitable, as every child knows nowadays. Because they ignored it, it surprised them in the form of inflation, monetary crashes, wars and so on. Although you were still faring well in Europe, people on other continents were starving. And you nearly destroyed the whole earth!“

“That’s right, Pia. You’ll reproach us with that as long as we live. Fortunately the Natural Economy of Life spread like wildfire over the internet and because of that there was a quantum leap in the development of humanity. But how does it work exactly?”

“I’ll be pleased to explain that to you, Granny. I have to make a presentation about it at school next week. The Natural Economy of Life is based on the natural law of growth and decay. As you know, we now have »living money« called gradidos. Our money is created through life itself. And it decays, like all of nature’s products.”

“Money is created and decays?”

“Exactly! Society creates 3,000 gradidos for each person per month. One gradido is equivalent to the former euro. The first 1,000 gradidos are intended for the active basic income that every person can earn through unconditional participation. The second 1,000 gradidos go to the government and the third 1,000 are for the Equalisation and Environment Fund, the EEF.”

“The EEF does a lot of good for people and nature.”

“Yes, the Equalisation and Environment Fund serves to make good the damage to the environment that unfortunately still exists today. So an extra pool of money of the same amount as the national budget is available for the environment. Protection and decontamination of the environment are the most lucrative branches of the economy.”

“So that’s the reason for the good development! – Pia, you said our »living money« comes from life and society creates money every month. How am I to understand that?”

“Depending of the form of government, the money is created in the municipalities or a central bank. Every person has one creation account and the amount is the same for everyone. Creation of money starts at birth and ends with death so that the living money is created by human life. All people and all nations have the same conditions.”

“So money is virtually created from nothing? What is the money covered by?”

“By the most precious thing we have – human life itself. Economically speaking, every person serves the community as a worker and a customer. The community is all of us. Everyone can contribute to the community through unconditional participation in a way consistent with their inclinations and abilities, meaning in accordance with their nature. Everybody can do what they love doing and they earn 20 gradidos an hour for it, up to a maximum of 1,000 gradidos a month. Gradido means »thanks« and with the 1,000 gradidos we say to each person: “A thousand thanks for being with us!”

“But if money is created every month, it will get more and more. Why don’t we have any inflation?”

“Inflation is enforced decay. Our decay operates according to a schedule and roughly 5% of the balance is debited from each account every month, making about 50% a year.”

“So after a year half of each gradido has gone from my account, right?”

“That’s correct.”

“In return I get an active basic income of 1,000 gradidos a month? After all, I do a lot of work for the community, for example in the Citizens Advice Bureau, looking after children, giving music lessons…”

“Yes, exactly, Granny.”

“So everyone always has the same amount of money at their disposal?”

“No, they don’t. Someone who works in addition or does business earns extra tax-free income. Some people do without unconditional participation because they earn more money in business. As you know, there are millionaires but there isn’t any poverty anymore.”

Let’s see if it adds up!

“I’m not a mathematician or an economist, Pia. Can you explain to me in a simple and plausible way how the whole thing works on a big scale?”

“Gladly, but we will have to do a few calculations. Today, like under the old system, we have some 80 million inhabitants in Germany, a government budget of about a trillion gradidos or euros respectively, including the health service, and a total amount of four or five trillion gradidos or euros on all accounts. Are you following me, Granny?”

“Yes I still am, so far.“

“The money supply is constant because of the interplay of money creation and decay. It evens out at the value where the creation of 3,000 gradidos per citizen and 5% decay are in balance. That makes 60,000 gradidos per citizen since 5% of 60,000 is 3,000.”

“I see. Decay belongs to money creation and that’s why the money supply stays constant and the value of money stable. Everybody has their basic income, every country has a national income and the environment is decontaminated. Is that right, Pia?”

“Exactly. The total money supply is more or less the same as it used to be. In Germany, for example, it is 80 million citizens times 60,000 gradidos, totalling 4.8 trillion gradidos. That’s why our prices are so similar to what they were before.”

“And the state budget?”

“We have 12 months times 1,000 gradidos times 80 million citizens. That makes a state budget of 960 billion gradidos a year, or a little less than one trillion. That has stayed the same as well. And in addition we have the Equalisation and Environment Fund of the same amount.”

“Ah, that’s why there’s enough money for all expenses, including the necessary decontamination of the environment and all without taxes, insurances or other deductions. Fantastic!”

Unemployment? Provision for old age? No problem!

“A lot of old problems have thus been solved: unemployment, illegal work, pension problems… are all things of the past. Everyone, from little children to the elderly, is provided for with the active basic income. Anyone who works as well earns extra tax-free money. A lot of people independently pursue their inclinations, for example art, crafts, research and education or simply have time for each other. Everything is possible without any problems. The working climate is excellent as nobody is compelled to work. Employers and customers who place orders court their employees and suppliers. Work is meaningful and enjoyable, or it doesn’t happen. Illegal work doesn’t exist anymore by definition because there are no taxes.”

“And the unpleasant jobs?”

“The hard, inhuman jobs have long since been done by machines. – Oh, by the way, what about my little friend? – Everything all right, Joy???”

<!— Kitchen hoovered. Dust put in compost bin-->

“Super, Joy, you’re wonderful!”

<!-- Joy is very good friend -->

“Yes, that you are, Joy. – You see, more and more work is being done by machines, Granny. The conditions of the other jobs are so good that it’s always possible to find people who like doing them. More dangerous jobs are very popular with adventurers as they are the best paid. By the way, they are less dangerous than they used to be because all the safety precautions are taken.”

The system regulates itself.

“But there were still bottlenecks sometimes for a short time. Food was in short supply during the changeover to organic farming but that problem was soon solved.”

“That’s right, Granny. Food got more expensive and the basic income was tight. A lot of  people looked for additional work. The EEF promoted organic farming and offered courses in permaculture. Numerous families built a country house and sold organic foods. So prices fell to a healthy level again.”

“Exactly. Today food costs a bit more than in the waste age but, in return, it is organic and its quality is excellent. Everybody can afford this good and healthy food.”

“The system regulates itself, as you see, Granny: if goods become scarce, prices rise. As a consequence, people want to work more. The best job offers are in connection with scarce goods, which now have to be produced in bigger quantities. Then prices fall until the balance is restored.”

“It’s plausible and amazingly simple.”

Both lenders and borrowers win with loans.

 

“But tell me, Pia, your bio-robot was awfully expensive, nearly 3,000 gradidos. How can you afford something like that?”

“ Joy is an investment. I bought it with a loan.”

“You have got into debt, Pia???”

“No, I got a loan from my classmates to finance the investment. We learnt how that works in NEL and, after all, I’m very business-minded!”

“Just listen to my 13-year-old granddaughter!”

“Shall I explain my calculation to you, Granny?”

“I see you’re absolutely dying to, so go ahead.”

“You know I get a basic income of 1,000 gradidos a month and in return I have taken on some interesting tasks at school. Among other things, I have organised a NEL study group and inform my schoolmates. I give my parents 600 gradidos for rent and board, I need 200 for current expenses and I have 200 left over.”

“And you could save them for the future.”

“Basically you’re right, Granny. Only you don’t save for the future, you invest in it.”

“Well, what’s the difference?”

“If I tried to save money for the future, it would soon be gone because of the decay. We can invest by giving or taking loans. I decided to take a loan and buy the bio-robot. I take it to the neighbours and help in their household for 20 gradidos an hour. In that way I can soon repay the loan and after that the money will be my profit.”

“My little Pia has become a clever businesswoman!”

“At the same time I’m investing in people since Joy can do nearly everything on its own. I only have to train it. Then I can talk to my neighbours or entertain their guests. Good neighbours become friends who help each other privately and professionally. I call that neighbourly help in the best sense!”

“I’m more and more amazed, Pia! – But what about your classmates who lent you the money?”

“Both of them happened to have some money to spare and offered to lend it to me. The two of them are really professional: by giving frequent loans they preserve the value of their money and are already accumulating a small fortune. I’m sure they’ll become bankers later.”

“Do they charge interest?”

“No! A lot of people want to preserve the value of their money and that’s why they grant interest-free loans.”

“So the girls also benefit without charging interest.“

“Yes, Granny. The Natural Economy of Life is a plus-sum game with win-win situations everywhere.”

“Are all your schoolmates so good at doing business?”

“Some of them have other interests like sport, art, music, science, research, development, crafts... Every pupil is involved in at least one project. They all win, as even if the project doesn’t bring in any extra money, they are all provided for through their active basic income. It’s just the same with adults as well.”

“I remember, Pia, we also financed our house with an interest-free loan. A bank arranged it for us for a fee. Because we were working and had tax-free earnings as well as our basic income, we were able to repay the money in just a few years. In the waste age would have had to pay it back our whole life long.”

Open source for all

“I can hear a flymo.”

“That must be Grandpa coming back from his parachute jumping. Since these public flymobiles started parachuting has become a national sport.”

“There he is. – Hallo, Grandpa!”

“Hallo, my sweetie! That was a wonderful day outdoors in nature.”

“Just imagine, Sven, your granddaughter has become a businesswoman. She has bought a bio-robot that has already hoovered our kitchen.”

“That’s wonderful, Pia. Then I insist on becoming your first regular customer.”

“You’re too late, Grandpa! The Meiers next door are already my customers.”

“My word, you really are a good businesswoman!”

“Pia and Sven, I’m afraid I have to leave you now because there’s going to be a LAN party in the Senior Citizens Centre.”

“Granny, do you still play with your old computers that emit EMFs?”

“My dear Pia, we do in fact still have the old nostalgic computers but we have linked them up to G-Com, which works without any EMFs just like your bio-mobile phone and Grandpa’s bio-computer.”

“I’m proud of you, Granny. Have a good time and see you again soon! – It’s amazing, Grandpa, that your old computers already have G-Com.”

“G-Com – communication over the gravity wave – has been known for a long time but the development of unconventional technologies used to be slow and laborious. As you know, I myself am an inventor and for a long time suffered from the patent law, which really obstructs innovations. It was quite different with software, where open-source software was often the best choice.”

“Exactly. With the introduction of the Natural Economy of Life patent law was amended and the general open-source principle was decided on. We learnt that in NEL.”

“Yes, Pia, all knowledge belongs to everyone. Only in that way was humankind able to survive. The general open-source principle wasn’t possible until the active basic income was introduced and everyone could have a good life at last. Unconventional thinkers, researchers, artists and craftsmen were also able to pursue their inner destiny. A quantum leap in the development of humankind followed. Just think of the flymos – flymobiles propelled by free energy and autopilot. They don’t need any roads, parking spaces or petrol.”

“And they’re perfect for parachute jumping, aren’t they, Grandpa?

“Yes, that they are, Pia!”

“Since the amendment of patent law there can be no patent on life anymore.”

“That’s right, Pia. The spook of patented seeds and dangerous genetic technology is a thing of the past, thank goodness. It was only just in time as corn feed had been almost completely destroyed by genetic modification.”

“Tell me, Grandpa, you used to work for the Equalisation and Environment Fund and helped to organise a lot of things. Can you help me with my presentation for school next week?”

“I’d be only too pleased to, my love.”

Equalisation between poor and rich countries

“Besides decontaminating and preserving the environment the EEF has other tasks, doesn’t it? Specifically, they are equalising previously poor and rich countries and asset exchange.”

“Yes, it does, Pia. I was in the team that saw through the equalisation of poor and rich countries. It wasn’t enough for all countries to create their money themselves. First of all, food supplies had to be assured for the population. We collected some facts and came to an astonishing conclusion.”

“What kind of facts were they?”

“We examined people’s meat consumption and its consequences. At that time 20% of the world population ate 80% of the total meat production. The huge meat consumption in the industrialised nations was the cause of considerable environmental damage. For a piece of meat 30 times more natural resources were used than for vegetable food with the same nutritional value. The largest number of diseases caused by diet were to be found in the countries with the highest meat consumption.”

“Ah, I can already guess the result.”

“Our thinking was that people in the industrialised nations would be healthier if they reduced their enormous meat consumption. Environmental damage decreases and enough food can be grown for everybody. It’s a great win-win situation for everyone.”

“For the meat industry as well?”

“Yes, indeed. We financed the changeover of the food production businesses and farming. We created an advertising campaign with the slogan »culinary – vegetarian – solidly united« with cookery books, gourmet guides and much more. By the way, there were no problems with ethnic or religious groups as vegetable food is allowed in all cultures.”

“But how were the poor countries able to catch up economically?”

“It happened almost automatically; the industrialised nations had a surplus of goods and were looking for new markets. Because money is created every month the poor countries had enough money to buy goods, technology and know-how and thus to gently align their development. Now they produce what they need themselves. The economy cooled down, sparing the environment.”

“But some companies had to close down, Grandpa.”

“That happened in the waste age as well. But now one thing is quite different: when companies close, nobody suffers from poverty. Employees and employers have hardly any risk as everybody has their basic income.”

“And incomes have equalised worldwide.”

“Exactly. After taxes were abolished labour costs in the industrialised nations decreased. Wages in the other countries caught up and so there are no low-wage countries anymore.”

“So there’s prosperity for all.”

Land and property

“Grandpa, you also drafted laws, for example the environmental requirements for property.”

“That’s right, Pia. Land is not sold anymore but leased over a long period because of the decay of money. This generates continual income for the owner. But ownership of land is linked to stringent environmental requirements. A person who lives on or farms their own or leased land easily meets these requirements. But large estates that are not ecologically farmed can quickly become a burden and are not worthwhile investments. So it happens that many owners of large estates give their land back to the community which then takes care of renaturalising it.”