Entries in the 'Economy' Category

The European Crisis: Homelessness Spreads To Middle Class

Dr. Michael LaitmanIn the News (from ynet.co.il): There is a new generation of homeless people in Greece, Italy, France, and Britain: the middle class people affected by the crisis, who were dismissed due to budget cuts.

“‘I’ve never thought this could happen to me,’ said Petros Papadopoulos, 40, from Athens, a former chef who lost his job and then his home in 2010. ‘I later realized how thin the line is. It can happen to anyone. We are all potentially homeless.'”

My Comment: I have already written that the crisis will destroy a lot of “extra” professions because in the future society, which is in balance with nature, there are no professions and jobs except for those necessary for existence. All superfluousness is harmful, and therefore is deliberately annulled.

A person will receive everything necessary for normal existence, and the desire to fulfill oneself above the necessities, which we call egoism, will be satisfied by the feeling of connection of a single system. This will give us the sensation of eternal and harmonious fulfillment because initially (before its breaking), our egoism was created to be satisfied specifically in this form. So namely the middle class will lose their jobs….
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Hunger Riots

Dr. Michael LaitmanIn the News (from Technology Review): “If we don’t reverse the current trend in food prices, we’ve got until August 2013 before social unrest sweeps the planet, say complexity theorists…

“Marco Lagi and buddies at the New England Complex Systems Institute in Cambridge say they’ve found a single factor that seems to trigger riots around the world.

“This single factor is the price of food. Lagi and co say that when it rises above a certain threshold, social unrest sweeps the planet.

“This clearly seems to show that when the food price index rises above a certain threshold, the result is trouble around the world.

“In other words, high food prices lead to a kind of tipping point when almost anything can trigger a riot, like a lighted match in a dry forest.”

My Comment: Of course, these phenomena are undesirable, but perhaps necessary for people to start listening to the only correct solution: to create the system of global integral education and upbringing.
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A View From The Tip Of The Iceberg

Opinion: (Jacques Sapir, Professor, Director of the School of Social Sciences, Paris, from newtimes.ru): “In the last two years, Europe resembles a ship in distress. Holes are increasing, and the measures taken in this condition are not working.

“Today, the crisis has entered a phase of no return. This is understood on both sides of the Atlantic. Greece, and with it the entire EU, could be saved only by decisive actions. And as no one wants to take swift and decisive steps, the future of Europe seems grim.

“Over the next three months, we will witness a large-scale crisis of the eurozone. The default of Greece will lead to a crisis of the entire banking system of the Old World with possible bankruptcies or partial nationalization of some French and German banks.

“Following Greece, the economies of Italy, Portugal, and Spain will collapse, and the European currency will undergo a massive attack of speculators who will eventually destroy the eurozone.

“We can only take a seat on the iceberg and observe.”
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The Economic Crisis As A Gate To The New World

Dr. Michael LaitmanQuestion: Modern economy measures economic prosperity using real indicators and indexes. Will the economy of the transition period have its own standard, an “index of mutual guarantee?” How will we measure it?

Answer: It will also be measured by money. Money (Kesef in Hebrew) means covering (Kisuf), the screen.

Question: Who will determine this index?

Answer: A single regulatory body that operates according to needs and also according to the level that everyone is able to connect to it in the equivalence of form. It may very well be that it is already possible to write the formula for it now. These things are not that far-fetched.

First, we have to find the right words and to write several articles about the essence of the current economy, about its history and basis, and about the foundation the mutual connection between people is built on. After all, the economy is the expression of our connections, our egoism. But together with it, it is also related to politics and feelings, to advertising and lies of the modern world. Economics is not a precise science because it encompasses human feelings and connections between people.

If the economy didn’t include our sensations, if it only reflected revenues and expenses, we wouldn’t have faced any crisis or had any problems at all. However, as Baal HaSulam writes in the article “Peace in the World,” we cannot measure efforts, success, satisfaction, and human relations by money alone. For example, I don’t want to work with someone even if I make a thousand dollars a day, and I am ready to work with someone else for fifty dollars.

We are not machines, and so the economy is not an accurate science, but rather something in between. We measure what we can, but quite often our ego spoils the “rigid” calculations, and we can’t cope with that.

This is done on purpose. The Creator “trips us up” from the very start: We are created different, and we can’t measure each other by a yardstick. This is where our economic problems stem from.

When will we be able to build the ideal economy? When we are able to measure our desires and passions, all aspects of our inner world. This is why we see that economists are helpless without Kabbalists. Working alone, they only spoil everything.

Therefore, we have to show them that it is possible to create a new measuring system. First, we must write a series of articles about the economy as the reflection of our relationships, including emotional ones. This psychological rationale will enable us to smoothly bring the reader to Kabbalah.

It isn’t by chance that the economic crisis has become a kind of a “gate” to the new world. It reflects the picture of our world in the most comprehensive way, and by that we will feel what we lack in order to survive and save ourselves.

And what we lack is mutual guarantee. What is it? Mutual guarantee makes up for the human factors that the economy fails to take into account. It is impossible to measure them with money, but we can bridge this gap in advance. It isn’t clear why one person has to receive two pounds of fulfillment, the other a pound, while the third a pound and a half. Economics cannot provide an answer to that, but we compensate for its deficiencies with the help of the spiritual power. When we rise above all our desires, which are so different, we fill them with a higher calculation, which will become a defining feature of the future economy.

Thereby, we supplement the financial economy with the economy of Gematria. According to it, if a person exerts maximum according to the attributes he received from the Creator, he is in one system together with everyone else, in end of correction. Whether you like it or not, you won’t be able to calculate anything correctly in any other way. The crisis will be felt until the end of correction, until the emotional compensation based on mutual connection will compensate for all the economic differences by one hundred percent.

One of my neighbors receives more than I do, another receives less, and a third one receives something totally different. Looking at them, I have to compensate for all these differences with my attitude. Thus the material economy and the economy of the screens will complete one another. The two accounts—the corporeal and the spiritual—will become one and will totally complete one another.

This is why humanity will not be able to bear the economic crisis. And it’s not about the fact that it concerns food shortage—this is because the differences between people are revealed here. We see it as the gap between the rich and the poor, but essentially, this is the manifestation of the need to compensate, to reconcile people. We are looking for an opportunity to compensate for our inborn differences so that everyone could stand equal to others. This is what the economic crisis reveals to us.
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From the Daily Kabbalah Lesson 10/2/2011, Shamati #219

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The World Is Awakening

Dr. Michael LaitmanQuestion: People around the world are awakening and starting to talk about unity. Why is this happening?

Answer: It stems from the inner sensation. A person can study for ten years, hear about the importance of unity daily, and yet it’s all in vain. If he doesn’t feel a need, he won’t hear anything.

But suddenly he begins to understand it from inside, naturally. Unexpectedly, he starts to realize that we all are connected together, that we need social justice and equal distribution, and that we all have to reach balance between us and with Nature. Otherwise, our lives are finished.

Today, a few thousand crazy men exhaust the earth’s last resources and with the help of advertising force us to buy whatever they manufacture only in order to add another zero to their bank account. And we follow their directives as humble slaves: We pursue material goods.

Enough of that, everything is collapsing. We are maturing for our will to receive grows on a daily basis, and as it develops, it starts asking: “What do I live for? What is happening to me? Why do I suffer? Why can’t I reach fulfillment?”

Unemployment in the U.S. has grown tremendously; among others, it especially hits young people who have a hard time finding jobs.There is a huge gap between the rich people working on Wall Street and the young generation. At the age of 20-25 a person doesn’t see any future ahead of him. Without a job he or she doesn’t want to get married and give birth to children. What kind of future awaits his children if his own prospects are bleak?

Spontaneous awakening is taking place. People are going out to demonstrations as a result of their inner impulses; they simply cannot sit still in their houses. It’s pure anarchy: A person doesn’t know what will happen to him tomorrow or even in the next second, and this is how he calms himself down and gets rid of negative emotions. His nature obligates him to do that. People start protesting without having a clear view of the situation, without knowing their purpose, or preparing a program. They simply feel bad.

Gradually, the ups and downs of life force them to wise up, and they start comprehending what is actually going on.

The whole world is awakening today. We’ll see what will happen in China, Japan, and India.… The world is becoming “round.” People by nature demand change. Intuitively, they feel that they have to be connected, that they have to be in balance between themselves and with Nature. This is how the general universal Force reveals itself: Subconsciously we suddenly sense that this is exactly what we lack.

And then everybody starts to oppose inequality and demand something: single mothers, retired people, doctors, and teachers. It’s not a coincidence. It’s a general trend, a common demand for balance. Somebody feels good, somebody else feels bad, and we want everybody to get an equal share. The power of unity and a new approach that obligates us to think that way are becoming revealed in our global integral world.

The question is how do we reach this state? Only the wisdom of Kabbalah offers a solution. It explains how to achieve fair distribution, gain balance, and be compensated for the damages caused by our egoism.

Man still wants to be more than everybody else; he wants to achieve, to advance. So, if we all come to a state where everybody receives only essential things, what’s next for us? How can we reimburse people for what they have lost? Kabbalah explains that it’s possible only through spiritual ascent when our corporeal body receives only as much as it needs, and the rest is being used to develop the soul.
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From the 5th part of the Daily Kabbalah Lesson 10/7/2011, “One Commandment”

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About Capitalism Today

Dr. Michael LaitmanOpinion: (Chandran Nair, founder and chief executive of Hong-Kong based thinktank Global Institute For Tomorrow): “It is important to understand that fundamental principles of capitalism – that human beings are rational and markets behave rationally, and that markets will assign prices – are flawed. It is also important to understand the roots of modern capitalism.

“You could argue that slavery was the first attempt to under-price resources.When slavery came to an end there was colonisation, which was again an attempt by the capitalist model to use resources cheaply. With the end of colonies, we had the globalisation argument of economic growth and then the globalisation of finance.

“What we need to recognise now is that the world is a very different place from what it was 100 years ago when we had one billion people.

“That game is over and we need a fundamental restructuring – essentially about how people will live, and we need to move beyond simple notions about growth to more sophisticated, nuanced discussions about human progress.

“This is not possible and that is where capitalism has essentially hit a wall and a very different conversation needs to take place.”

My Comment: Lack of resources in the world, on one hand, and the natural aspiration to grow, on the other, leave us with the only opportunity of unlimited fulfillment: satisfaction with non-material acquisitions. It is possible to arouse the desire for this through the correct education of citizens. Everyone’s dream will come true through non-material fulfillment.
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State Security Agencies Out Of Commission

Dr. Michael LaitmanToday an economic expert is someone who knows how to make money at another’s expense without breaking the law. But we’re talking about another kind of economy, one which everyone must know because it allows a person to fulfill his soul, and not his pocket.

We provide all the physical necessities, everyone receives what they need, and we make sure that both children and adults learn to stay within the family budget. That is our first task: to take care of people’s basic needs, such as shelter, food, clothes, some work, a lot more study, and so on. And everything beyond the necessities must be purified and transferred to the spiritual domain.

That doesn’t mean that the owner of a factory making decorations will need to shut down his business. No, that is necessary as well, but only in a form and measure that doesn’t involve our ego. Everything must be balanced, but not by a state security agency; rather, it must be balanced by man himself whom we are raising to the human degree.

We cannot and don’t intend to issue arbitrary directives: “As of today everyone gets only one bottle of milk per day,” and so on. We need to elevate people to a level where they would be willingly content with quality, moderate consumption.

In the new economy, nothing can be actualized without education and the ascent of humanity. Essentially, we leave our “beast” in the material economy, while in all other aspects the economy assumes a spiritual form.

So, we have two economies: material and spiritual. The material economy is built upon monetary exchange, just as before, although perhaps the situation will change going forward. Whereas the spiritual economy must immediately complement all that a person is missing. His competitive aspirations, jealousy, hatred, inner impulses, “the grass is greener,” and so on, all these voids must be filled.

One cannot be abandoned midway without assistance. And education is essential for this. When the masses connect to this process and accept these explanations, everyone will have an environment that fulfills, obligates, and elevates him. And the more intensely he is gripped by hatred, jealousy, estrangement, and ambition, the more clearly he will feel that it is precisely the right environment that can fulfill these desires with mutual guarantee, while in the egoistic world they remain empty.

He will not decrease his aspirations, but increase them and actually fulfill them. Our essence cannot be pacified, so let it grow, but grow correctly.
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From the 5th part of the Daily Kabbalah Lesson 10/11/2011, “Peace in the World”

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The Solution To The Crisis Is In Similarity To Nature

Dr. Michael LaitmanOpinion: (Jean-Claude Trichet, the president of the European Central Bank): “The euro zone sovereign debt crisis has become systemic and risks to the economy are increasing rapidly with Europe’s banks in the danger zone, European Systemic Risk Board (ESRB) Chairman Jean-Claude Trichet said on Tuesday.

“‘The high interconnectedness in the EU financial system has led to a rapidly rising risk of significant contagion. It threatens financial stability in the EU as a whole and adversely impacts the real economy in Europe and beyond.’

“Trichet called for governments and European authorities to act together to solve the crisis, adding that delay would be disastrous.

“‘It is a matter of urgency that all authorities act in unison, with total commitment to safeguarding financial stability,’ he said.”

My Comment: It is not just the financial, but the systematic, global, and general crisis of all spheres of human activity, stemming from the crisis of man and society. Only the gradual unification of all people into one whole, as required by integral nature, will bring us to balance with it and free us from all the crises, which are the signs of our disparity with nature.
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The Debt Crisis Deepens

Dr. Michael LaitmanOpinion: (Vladimir Putin, Prime Minister of Russia): “‘The debt crisis in Europe and the United States is being aggravated by their economies being on the brink of recession. There has been no…clarity concerning their recovery prospects, unfortunately for all of us, including for Russia.’

“The prime minister said that the crisis involving the sovereign debt of the industrialized states demands that politicians, economists, and investors reassess their traditional approaches.

“‘The summer-time tremor in the global economy demonstrated once again that the development models, based on debt growth, are not working,’ Putin noted.”

My Comment: And yet, until the crisis erupts fully and the inability of all governmental mechanisms to manage manifest completely, we will not hear anything from the authorities besides talk—and they will not hear us.
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Our Future: Consumerism Or Humanism

Opinion: (Jagdish Kapur, 1920-2010, Co-Chairman and Founder of the WPF “Dialogue of Civilizations,” from wpfdc.com): “The fundamental mistake of industrially developed civilization is that it treats any person with the same measure, so he turns into an abstract economic entity, an element of the herd… and the reverse movement of machine – consumption is serviced here. But that is a violation of the laws of nature. Remaining in the hands of this misfortunate, illusory economy, they do not realize how close they are to a collapse of the whole system… We rapidly approach complete indifference to anything in the world with the exception of bank notes.” (Source: wpfdc.com archives)

“The unipolar power system as a result of the misdirection of its boundless physical vitality outside the corrective ethical and moral constraints is rapidly coming to the end of the road… Many countries are being drawn into this dangerous diversion of vitality towards developmental paths unrelated to their needs resources and cultural constraints. This is creating vast differentials between different strata and diverse ethnic, religious and cultural groups within a society and the world system.

“And then he continues, ‘We must recognize that the world is not just a globalized loot-haven, but a family of nations in a true sense, where all members of the family have a right to pray, work, and establish life styles of their choice. A state or a group of states in the name of freedom, democracy, and human rights or any other contrived or media projections have no right to impose their neo-imperial designs, will, and shattered moral and ethical consumerist frame over others. They have already done enough damage to the human system. It is time to stop.'” (Source: wpfdc.com archives)
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