'Introduction to a Resource-Based Economy'.

The goal of the following brief presentation is to outline

the basic train of thought that arrives at this new economic model

which is based not on the movement of money

but rather the intelligent management of the Earth's resources

drawing inference from the physical world

as to the most efficient, strategic and sustainable method

for meeting the needs of the human population.

In the world today, societal decisions are essentially

the responsibility of individuals or groups

within the arena of politics or business;

in fact, one could note that politics and business

are the governing group entities of the social order as we know it.

And as history has shown

whenever anything goes wrong on the societal level

the tendency is for one group or a sub-group

to simply impose blame on another.

The left will blame the right, the Conservatives will blame the Liberals

a new administration will blame an old administration, etc.

Yet rarely do we hear any criticism

of the foundation of the social operation itself;

it appears to simply be presupposed by most.

In other words, the culture seems to unconditionally accept

the socioeconomic paradigm without question

and politics and business are assumed to be

a natural human state of affairs.

Even in a world of growing unemployment, growing poverty

growing mental health disorders, drug abuse, raw resource depletion

overall environmental degradation, violence and war propensities

systemic global debt defaults

accelerated inflation, atmospheric destabilization

and many other social and ecological problems

- too numerous to name at this stage -

there still exists a general refusal to consider that

maybe the socioeconomic system itself could be at fault.

What if the very game we play is really the problem?

What if the very nature of the dominant institutions

and methods of our time are actually creating

and reinforcing certain behavioral tendencies

which are (to put it simply) unsustainable and destructive

yet we simply don't see it?

As time has moved forward with the

exponential increase of human knowledge

we've seen a natural erosion of various forms of superstition

and provably non-progressive social practices.

We are slowly inching into a true age of reason

which recognizes that there are indeed proven governing natural laws

with direct physical reference

and that this method of thought, which we can term scientific

allows us to extrapolate viable approaches to our conduct

which almost virtually guarantee a tangible return

- if of course properly assessed.

This 'Scientific Inference'

is what has produced the vast technology we see around us

from airplanes to life-saving medicine

to even our understanding of the universe itself.

Simply put, science is an approach to our comprehension of the world

and ourselves, guiding us

to the closest approximation of reality as we could possibly have.

And of course while we all see the obvious fruits

of this method of thought and its vast applications

there is however still one area

which stands virtually untouched by the scientific methodology:

our Social System.

In this context we appear to be stuck in time

using antiquated traditionalized practices

which show clear signs of deficiency.

For instance:

we give dictatorial powers to politicians and political parties

under the guise of something we label 'Democracy'

- politicians who on average clearly have no education or training

in the technical affairs of social organization.

In a world where one child unnecessarily dies every five seconds

from poverty and deprivation

many look to government institutions for resolution

not really considering the scientific reality

that feeding and caring for the people of the world

is not a political issue.

It is a technical one

resolvable by simple resource management and allocation

and the intelligent and strategic application of technology.

Likewise, we have these things we call corporations or businesses

which are able to arbitrarily claim property

of the finite natural resources of this planet -

resources we all need.

They utilize those resources for the betterment of an isolated group

through a self-interest-based system we call free-market exchange.

In fact, when it comes down to it

the message of this system is quite clear:

either you submit to this game of differential advantage and self-interest

or you simply do not deserve the right to live.

You must earn your right to life on this planet, if you will

which, to a thinking mind, is clearly a pseudo-totalitarian construct

to perpetuate one group or class over another.

Yet again, this inhumanity goes unnoticed

for it is structurally built in.

We are born into this system and we are groomed to think

it is a natural fact, an empirical way of life...

Just as if years ago perhaps you were

born into a society as an abject slave

since you have never been exposed to anything contrary

you might even believe that you are supposed to be a slave

as though it is again a natural order of reality.

And if we couple that fact with a monetary system based explicitly on debt

which, unannounced to most, mathematically guarantees

that a subclass of the human population will always be deprived

we begin to see that we live in an

advanced variation of feudalism and nothing more.

It is technically impossible for everyone to

have their needs met in the current system.

The economic game of differential advantage

simply isn't designed to allow everyone to live and prosper.

It is a win-lose system, regardless of the state of the natural world

and what we are able to produce and technically accomplish.

Put succinctly, our economic system is completely decoupled

from natural processes of the physical world

a characteristic which can only lead to further problems

if a radical shift away from these outdated assumptions

is not commenced.

So, let's now take a large step back

putting aside everything that we might have been taught

about our social constructs and consider the following question:

What are the immutable foundations of human health and prosperity

and how do we construct a system which meets those needs

for the entire human population

- understanding of course, we live on a finite planet -

while ensuring the sustainability of this habitat

for future generations?

To answer this question we need to first consider the issue

of human need itself.

For eons now, philosophers have contemplated the nature of mankind

trying to find those 'human universals' we all share.

This of course, is an ongoing debate with many speculations

yet when it comes to the arena of human needs

we do find a virtually universal set of commonalities

amongst the entire species.

Needless to say, if we do not get proper nutrition

food, air and water we will cease to exist over time.

If we are exposed to substances which are chemically toxic to our biology

such as ingesting mercury or the like, we will likely get very sick.

If we suffer serious vitamin deficiency as a child

there is a predictable detrimental outcome for one's personal health

such as stunted growth or immunity problems.

But as human sciences have progressed we find that

human needs do not stop at this basic, commonly observed level.

Humans are bio-psycho-social organisms

meaning we are affected by our environment symbiotically

in many subtle and often complex ways.

For instance, if a mother in the late stages of pregnancy

suffers extreme emotional stress

flooding her system with cortisol (a stress hormone)

the nervous system of that unborn child

could be predictably compromised

in a negative way for the rest of his or her life

for the fetus itself technically is learning

about what the world is going to be like.

This also goes for infancy and early childhood as well

a critical developmental period where the organism is literally

being programmed or adapted

to the possible nature of the world they exist in -

an impression which has been found to carry over

for the entire life of that person in many ways.

And if that critical period is met with

negative stress, suffering and pain

that child's development could possibly evolve

into predictable tendencies of behavior

including propensities for addictions and violence in later life.

The point here with respect to human need

is that the physical, mental and emotional health of a person

can no longer be considered an isolated or temporal affair.

We are socially and environmentally connected

in a very real and multi-faceted way

and if our intent as a society is to produce

psychologically and physically balanced human beings

the whole of society must be designed to meet those needs -

not to mention adapt as our understandings change

and knowledge progresses.

So public health in the broad view

is really the ultimate measure of the performance of any social system

along with of course, the intelligent

sustainable management of the earth

which provides the core resources we need

coupled as well with a social arrangement

which is actually conducive for a healthy individual

to prosper and hence the health of society itself and its progress.

So given this basic understanding

how do go about designing a society that actually

supports the human species

while maintaining environmental balance?

This brings us to the concept of a Resource-Based Economy.

A Resource-Based Economy is a direct response

to this natural, physical, scientific understanding

inferentially derived to calculate how to best meet

the spectrum of human needs in the most efficient and sustainable way;

taking into account what actually supports us

which again, is the symbiotic relationship

of this delicate, providing biosphere we all share.

From there we are able to arrange society

with very little need for human opinion

if of course our collective goal is to maximize

our sustainability and economic efficiency.

The system that we describe is self-generating; it is self-evident

once these parameters are assumed.

There are three dominant economic considerations

which need to be considered immediately:

Resource Accounting, Dynamic Equilibrium and Strategic Design.

As far as resource accounting:

we live in a virtually closed planetary biosphere

with a set of mostly finite resources at our disposal.

Given this reality the logic becomes quite clear

as to our responsilbility

if we wish to allow our habitat to sustain itself

for future generations

and meet the needs of the current population.

We must organize and account.

Proper economic resource allocation really can not be made

unless we have a clear understanding of what we have

and where it is in a complete unified way.

Eventually this understanding will lead to what we could call

the 'Carrying Capacity of the Earth'

which is very important information.

But this accounting of course, is only the first step;

we also need to track the rates of change and regeneration

where applicable.

Here we have what we call 'Dynamic Equilibrium'.

The classic example of this issue today is deforestation.

Trees have a natural growth rate and cycle

and if our use of wood exceeds the rates of natural regeneration

- which is of course the case today unfortunately -

we have a problem. For it is, by definition, unsustainable.

Remember, the monetary market model

requires as much consumption as possible

to keep the growing population employed and the economy operational.

This is of course, simply Eco-cidal.

Remember, a core requirement of a true economy is to economize

or be strategically efficient and conservative.

Today we live in what could be called an 'anti-economy'

and this leads us to Strategic Design.

Efficiently meeting the spectrum of human needs

on a finite planet in a sustainable way