It’s great seeing society move closer to a Copiosis reality. It’s greater still seeing experts in many fields expressing ideas which get ever closer to what Copiosis promises. Such ideas come to those who know everyone is worthy of love.
I enjoyed hearing from one such person while listening to a recent podcast. The show featured Thomas Piketty who spoke about Participatory Socialism. Piketty has written many books on economics. Several of his works became best sellers. He’s probably best known for Capital in the Twenty-First Century. That book explores deeply how humanity got where we are.
In the podcast, Piketty explores potential solutions that might divert humanity from its current path. He offers brilliant ideas which stand out from what others offer.
For example, he suggests that a nation-wide inheritance tax could amass enough money to pay every citizen over $150,000 no strings attached. I don’t recall whether that payment is one time or annually. Such a policy, according to the Piketty, creates freedoms reminiscent of those Copiosis creates. Through such a scheme, he says, people needn’t work because they need to. Instead, they could explore. They could be more selective. Being selective they could better align their work with their passion.
It’s an excellent idea, were it not requiring a wealth redistribution. But Piketty’s ideas – pretty much all of them – involve extrapolating on historically successful wealth redistribution schemes. That’s a train of thought I’d expect from an economist. Piketty is a good economist. But he also thinks out of the box.
The trouble with other people’s money
Wealth redistribution isn’t something Copiosis advocates. Anytime someone takes money from another, resentment usually follows. Especially if the taking involves using that money in ways the person you’re taking from doesn’t support.
This explains why so much political churn happens. So many people aren’t happy with what government does with money they pay in taxes. Political affiliation doesn’t matter. As a result of their displeasure, people organize then try to put “their guy” into power. They hope their guy will use money coming from people’s pockets in ways they agree with. The problem is other people usually enjoy more influence in who gets elected. Sometimes “the people” prevail though. That’s why we have the gridlocked see-saw of today’s politics on issues people care about.
Copiosis eliminates taxes and every other way anyone can take money from other people. In the place of taxes, Copiosis awards everyone producing net benefit with an income. That income comes, not from sales or taxes or another person’s wallet, but instead it literally gets created specifically for “paying” actors who create net benefit.
That means “government workers” get awarded when they do net beneficial things. In this way, it doesn’t matter if a group doesn’t support what government workers do. If what they do creates net benefit, doers get income. If someone doesn’t like what those people do, the person irked by others’ acts can do what he thinks should be done. Should he generate net benefit, he’ll get an income too, just like those he complains about.
Back to wealth redistribution
Another problem with Piketty’s brilliant solution is it still involves money. As we’ve said over and over at Copiosis, money comes with all kinds of problems. That’s why we do away with all kinds of money in Copiosis, replacing it with Net Benefit Rewards.
Piketty’s idea does acknowledge something Copiosis acknowledges as well. It acknowledges that people needn’t “earn” income they get. This idea that people must earn what they get goes against all natural laws. It’s an idea those in charge created long ago in order to stay in charge.
Getting humanity off this trope won’t happen easily. But it must happen if humanity wants the future it knows is possible. That future really is humanity’s future. That future thrives on wealth that needs no redistribution because everyone enjoys equal access to that wealth. And that wealth is so expansive, it’s unlimited for all practical purposes.
Social, political and economic challenges humans now face indicate human progress towards that future. So do ideas Piketty offers.
In truth, this future we know as possible represents just one potential, or probable, future. Humanity could just as easily move into a future identical to what we live today. Which future we actually move into depends largely on how deliberately a select few selects what they focus on. That’s why Copiosis’ sister organization, Positively Focused exists. Through Positively Focused and organizations like it, humanity’s select are getting how powerful they are. Then they’re directing their focus deliberately.
The good news is those select few shaping the future – contrary to popular belief – are not necessarily the richest, the smartest, the greediest or even the meanest.
Those shaping the future are those who love humanity. Listening to Piketty, I get a sense he’s one such person.
