Socialist Economy requires Socialist Finance; “never pour new wine into old wine bottles.” The lessons of the previous century, including the gradual market reforms and downfalls of Socialist regimes, have demonstrated the justification for a proper form of Socialist Monetary Policy (SMP) to complement existing Socialist economic policies. The international financial system of Liberal Capitalism has grown increasingly volatile since the death of Bretton Woods and the rise of Fiat Currencies. The Gold Standard, like the Silver Standard in the late 19th century, has proven itself to be too inflexible and incapable of adjusting to changes in overall economic conditions. This fact alone contributed to the rise of “Monetarism,” “Supply-Side Economics,” “Derivatives,” “Cryptocurrencies” and the more recent “Modern Monetary Theory” as Liberal Capitalist attempts to fill in the financial void since the 1970s.
The Value of all Currencies around the world still remains at the mercy of financial markets and commercial banks that decide their Price according to the Incentives of Supply and Demand. This set of arrangements did not bode well for past Socialist Nations, where they have been forced to enact market reforms that eventually brought about their demise towards the end of the 20th century. Even the People’s Republic of China (PRC), the other powerful Socialist Nation besides the former Soviet Union, had to make compromises with its Currency, the Renminbi. Although Socialism continues to be advocated in the West and maintained in various parts of the developing world and former Eastern Bloc countries, the lessons of those years have yet to be studied with financial insight from a Socialistic worldview in mind.
For Liberal Capitalist regimes and the Western world in particular, the current financial and monetary policies have proven to be unsustainable to the point of being ridiculous. Capital has grown so abstract that it is now possible to speak of a separate economy all unto itself and is virtually unaffected by the realities of actual national economies. It has also become so easy to create in absurd quantities that all the problems of Inflation and rampant Depreciation have not been properly addressed the growing Sovereign Debts of whole nations. Today, all nations are becoming overburdened by an accumulating deluge of Debt. The effects of Debt, even in spite of attempts at renegotiation through refinancing, continue to impact whether the quality of life in any nation thrives or stagnates.
This fact alone has not prevented all sorts of people from advocating for a return to the Gold Standard and others to promote Modern Monetary Theory (MMT). The difference between both proposals is nil; they represent attempts to resurrect some version of Bretton Woods, refusing to address the real questions related to the accumulation of Debt and the US Dollar persisting as the World Reserve Currency. If there has never been enough Gold in existence to sustain the economies of the world by the 1970s, there will never be enough at all to sustain the Gold Standard in the 21st century or even thereafter. Conversely, MMT continues to a naïve attempt to create Capital without realizing the importance of monetary policy and without knowing that there is far more to the concept of Currency than the ability to create it out of nothing. And at the same time, there are those who promote Cryptocurrencies without realizing that financial power has always been backed by the powers of the State. It also does not help that Cryptocurrencies still requires excessive amounts of electricity and some form of access to the World Wide Web (WWW), the Internet used by billions of people around the world to facilitate a digitalized Blockchain.
All of these proposals, in addition to never addressing the problems of Interest Rates, Debts and the abstractions of Capital, will never advocate for Currencies to be backed by the physical, mental and spiritual strength of the people who constitute the nation-state. None of them are willing to address the issues of Deindustrialization, Globalization, Climate Change, Automation, Demographics Decline and Economic Stagnation, especially where the issue of Currency is apparent and unavoidable. Continuing to operate under Liberal Capitalist Finance is senseless for everyone interested in any form of Socialism.
The Concept of The Work-Standard
Five decades after Richard Nixon had declared the sudden, everlasting Death of Bretton Woods, The Fourth Estate is proud to introduce Sociable Currency and its distinct Currency Standard, the Work-Standard. The Work-Standard marks the first serious attempt at the proper conceptualization of a financial model to serve as the revolutionary vanguard of Socialist Monetary Policy (SMP). The term Sociable Currency best describes any Currency pegged to the Work-Standard, distinguishing it from the more mundane Commodity Currencies, Representative Currencies, Fiat Currencies, and Cryptocurrencies.
Issued by the Socialist Nation, Sociable Currency is pegged to the Quality of Work exerted by the national economy. Every economic activity and financial transaction within the national economy flows from the Life-Energy of everyone involved. The Worker’s commitment of physical, mental and spiritual strength into an occupation is their Life-Energy. One may be inclined to argue that this Life-Energy is also related to the Mehrwert concept, the Surplus Value which the Worker attributes to their “Work,” independent of the “Capital” and “Debt” required to sustain the continuation of Neoliberalism.
The Worker pursues their life-long profession as a Vocational Civil Servant, channeling their Life-Energy toward the creation of Work through the State itself. All Works of the Socialist Nation naturally accumulate inside a Life-Energy Reserve, which allows the Central Bank to convert all Works into Money denominated as Sociable Currency. The Money is sent to the State, where it is then allocated elsewhere for the flourishing of the whole Nation. Quality of Work is what ultimately enables Sociable Currency to have any inherent Value. Inferior qualities yield Currency Depreciation and vice versa, there necessitating the importance of a disciplined work ethic and inherent social values.
This Quality of Work is affected by the Work-Productivity (WP) of the national economy within the overall production of raw materials, finished goods, and everyday services. Work-Productivity is tempered by all Expenses and Costs known as Work-Intensity (WI). Allowing WP to surpass WI yields a superior Quality of Work, which enables the Central Bank to put more Money being put into circulation. It is because of these arrangements that the Work-Standard serves as the only Currency Standard to realize Economic Socialization (ES) as opposed to “Economic Liberalization,” paving the way for the eventual articulation of genuinely authentic Socialist Finance and Socialist Financial Technology (Fintech). Economic Socialization (ES) is not just a fiscal or monetary policy; it marks the beginnings of Pure Socialism, the rejuvenation of the National Essence, and the eventual realization of “from each according to his abilities, to each according to his needs.”
Forays into Unrealized Opportunities and Untapped Potential
There is more to the Work-Standard itself than what can be described here. The details surrounding its intended functions and designs are multi-faceted, crossing into various fields and disciplines unrelated to fiscal and monetary policies. Not everything in the Nation requires a lot of Money, just as certain Professions tend to contribute more Work than others to the Life-Energy Reserve. The great challenge is far more than just providing the most accurate information through the most reliable technologies. There is an ontological factor that affects whether anyone, no matter who they are, will be able to realize their fullest potential.
This Political Organization Problem is more than just a governmental issue that only the State can resolve. It is an issue that affects the lives of everyone in the Nation as they live their lives in the service of everyone for everyone (as opposed to “everyone for themselves”). Everyone has their talents, contributions, aspirations and motivations in Life. The State needs to ensure that everyone will coordinate and cooperate with everyone through Economic Socialization, which remains an important area of interest for the Work-Standard.
Categories: Compendium
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