Walsch: Tomorrow's Economy and Wealth Redefined
Walsch: Tomorrow’s Economy and Wealth Redefined
Walsch moves on to an examination of 'civil society' and commerce with this comment, "the thought that you 'can't afford' a civil society is what is causing your society to no longer be civil" (280). God asks the question, "What's more important, the quality of a human life or the profit margin of doctor's offices, hospitals, and elder care facilities?" to which Walsch answers quality of life (280). But God then argues that our society has been set up so that quality of life is not the most important thing – that profit is considered far more important. We have created a society where we are believe profit is more important than people – at least certain Other people. I have begun to call these Others disposable people – those that can be sacrificed in the name of profit and progress. Of course, in the context of Tomorrow's God
If we are 'scared', if we are convinced that it's a tough world out there and only the fittest survive we will allow Others to slip under the wheels of progress. But we have that choice. And we can choose differently. We can create a different world with our choices.
For instance, we can choose 'wealth' over 'profit', and redefine wealth while we're at it (283). In our current paradigm, wealth is described as possessions and power and is obtained through domination of as many people, places, and things as possible. The more wealth we have, the more power we have.
In Tomorrow's paradigm, wealth will be defined as access and happiness (284). By sharing resources, the example used is a vacuum cleaner, we will be able to increase 'wealth' without growing the economy. More people than ever will have access to the luxuries of the developed world without having to increase the burden on the Earth. This will be a "shift from a 'possessions-and-power' economy to a 'use-and-cooperation' economy" (285). Another example of this would be car share programs. This idea is discussed in more detail in Jack Reed's The Next Evolution: A Blueprint for Transforming the Planet
Oh, and the wealthy have to set this standard. We, the privileged few in the 'developed' nations have to share first and then others will follow us. We have to be the change we wish to see.
Once we change our beliefs to We Are All One, we will want to share, we will "begin at once to devise ways of treating everyone as [we] would want to be treated, giving everyone what [we] would want to be given, and providing everyone with what [we] would want to be provided" (290).
And the economy will become more localized, decentralized in order for the most people to have the largest say in their local economy. This idea is greatly expanded upon by the Transition Town movement, and in the fantastic Transition Handbook
The more locally we can live, the greater freedom we will feel because our needs provision will be in our own hands. No longer will we be driven into the "Bigger-Better-More" mentality of corporate economics that "has done more than any other single thought to keep humans in bondage to manufacturers, corporations, politicians, energy suppliers, and others who they feel are the only ones who can provide them with what they need to be happy" (295). We will realize that our happiness is within our own power.
Then, Walsch lays out some of the economic tools that we will use to create this new economy: "guaranteed minimum income, affordable basic housing, access to preventive medicine, education for everyone, [and] truly equal employment and advancement opportunities" (296). He also envisions the establishment of Common Holdings to equitably distribute natural resources such as trees, minerals, oil and water – "owned by all humankind, to be used by all humankind for the highest benefit of all humankind" (297).