Thursday, 21 August 2014 18:12

Why Social Credit is not Socialism

Rate this item
(0 votes)

One of the chief misapprehensions under which newcomers to the subject often labour is that 'Social Credit' must be some form of socialism because, after all, the phrase encompasses the word ‘social’. So that there may be no confusion, let it be made clear that in spite of the appearance of the word ‘social’ in ‘Social Credit’, Social Credit is not only not socialistic but decidedly anti-socialist.

As I explain in my book Social Credit Economics, the economics of Social Credit rejects the doctrine of class struggle, rejects the collectivization of the means of production, rejects the centrally planned or command economy, rejects the welfare state (with its mechanism of redistributive taxation), and rejects disordered and excessive forms of economic regulation. In what way, then, can Social Credit be classified as socialistic? On the contrary, Social Credit stands for free enterprise (personal initiative, the profit-motive, private property, and free markets) provided that these individualistic elements can be properly co-ordinated so as to effectively serve the common good of all individuals in a society. What Social Credit seeks is: "a society based on the unfettered freedom of the individual to cooperate in a state of affairs in which community of interest and individual interest are merely different aspects of the same thing." [1]

While the concerns that are shared by many socialists are legitimate concerns: poverty, exploitation, gross economic inequalities, environmental degradation, etc., the methods that socialists advocate are, to a greater or lesser extent, ineffective in dealing with these problems. They also tend to engender other problems as the inevitable trade-off: the loss of individual freedom, increased servility, and the centralization of power in overweening government bureaucracies, etc. Social Credit proposes that it is possible, through the type of monetary reform that Douglas had advocated, to deal adequately with the former problems without spawning these other difficulties.

 


[1] C.H. Douglas, Economic Democracy, 5th ed. (Sudbury, England: Bloomfield Books, 1974), 142-143.

Last modified on Saturday, 10 February 2018 17:58

Leave a comment

Make sure you enter all the required information, indicated by an asterisk (*). HTML code is not allowed.

Latest Articles

  • Social Credit and War
    Social Crediters have repeatedly warned that there is a chronic economic cause, entirely artificial in nature and, therefore, unnecessary, which inexorably leads nations to take up arms against each other.
    Written on Monday, 11 November 2024 06:20 Read more...
  • To Regulate or not to Regulate Retail Profit-Margins on Turnover? That is the Question!
    Recent events and discussions with both Douglas Social Crediters and others have brought the profit-regulation condition that was sometimes presented by Douglas as being part and parcel of the compensated price mechanism discount into focus. While some, following Douglas’ indications, have defended the profit-regulation mechanism as a necessary and/or important feature of the compensated price discount, others, including some seasoned Social Crediters, have objected to it as unnecessary and/or problematic for a variety of reasons. Rather than attempting to solve the problem or to resolve the dispute (which perhaps can only be properly decided definitively one way or the other by an empirical trial), I will aim to put the issue in context and to outline some of the main considerations both in favour and against the profit-regulation condition.
    Written on Saturday, 09 November 2024 08:23 Read more...
  • Quelques commentaires critiques concernant : «L’Île des Naufragés» – Autrement connue sous le nom de «L'Île du Salut »
    C’est en effet grâce aux efforts des Pèlerins que j’ai pris conscience pour la première fois du Crédit Social Douglas au début des années 2000 et « The Money Myth Exploded » a été l’un des premiers documents que j’ai lu. Pour leur zèle et leur dévouement, je leur serai éternellement reconnaissant, mais mes études plus approfondies de la doctrine du Crédit Social accomplies dans l'intervalle m'ont maintenant obligé à fournir les mises en garde suivantes. Quels que soient ses mérites, et ils sont nombreux, une lecture trop littérale ou hors contexte de « L’Île des Naufragés » peut conduire le lecteur à des conclusions erronées et sérieusement trompeuses. Il est donc nécessaire de les expliquer de manière assez détaillée afin que de tels écarts puissent être scrupuleusement évités.
    Written on Saturday, 19 October 2024 14:59 Read more...