Posted 18th October 2011
The challenge for the various Occupy movements is how to create a coherent message. Clearly the movement is born out of frustration and anger but different people have different priorities. In addition, the media and others want to know the purpose of the occupations and their objectives.
If one accepts the root cause of the ills in the world today is the monetary system which enslaves the 99% in debt while banks continue to accrue yet more wealth and power, an alternative system needs to be developed. Fractional reserve banking has evolved over centuries and the financial system has become infinitely more complex over the last thirty years. Coming up with a new system is not going to happen overnight; it will take time and much discussion across a broad range of people with different interests. And so we need a process or framework to ensure the movement doesn’t become distracted or diverted into subsidiary issues which would weaken it.
The first step is to ensure people within and outside the movement understand the problem. Many working in the financial services sector have little understanding of the fraudulent nature of the modern banking system and outside the sector people are intimidated by its seeming sophistication. Everyone needs to understand the banking system is legalised fraud. We need to embark upon a period of education. As people understand how they are being exploited by our monetary system, pressure for change will grow and more people will join the movement, clamoring for change.
A first step in this process is to circulate this 45 minute video to everyone you know. It is an introduction to the development of fractional reserve banking and the role of the central banks: Money as Debt
As people are being made aware of the way in which they are being enslaved by a system of debt, we need to enlist the support of economists and academics who are independent of banks to help with the process of examining alternative models. Undoubtedly, there is no one perfect model and any proposals will need to reflect as wide a consensus as possible (excluding the banks themselves who cannot be regarded as disinterested or else we wouldn’t be in this mess).
Then we come to the political process. Clearly, our politicans are willfully ignorant of the iniquities of fractional reserve banking or they would have been agitating for change years ago. Not even the subprime crisis could alter their view that creating yet more debt is the road to salvation. We either need a new political system, incapable of being “bought” by corporate interests or a whole new generation of incorruptible politicians, a vain hope human nature being what it is. Developing a new political framework will also take time.
In the meantime, the movement needs to shun the current political process and focus on education. Once people understand they’ve been conned into debt slavery, momentum for change will be unstoppable.