Difference between revisions of "Money and Dominance Other Resources"

Revision as of 18:18, 28 April 2017

Core Readings

• Wikipedia. "Evolution." Read introduction Link 5 mins
• Wikipedia. "Geological History of Earth." Read Introduction. Link
• Wikipedia. "Timeline of the Evolutionary History of Life." Read introduction. Link
• Enge, Nick. (2010). "Money Makes the World Grow." Link - Enge provides a lucid, concise description of a central difficulty in our monetary system. (5 min)
• Eisenstein, Charles. (2008). "Money and the Crisis of Civilization." Reality Sandwich. Link - Eisenstein describes how our current monetary system is inextricably tied to unsustainable aspects of our society, and suggests ways to prepare for and contribute to its replacement. (20 min)
• U.S. National Debt Clock - History of Money and Banking Link (skim - 10 min)

Quotations from well- and lesser-known political and banking figures revealing the power of, and opposition to our current monetary system.

• Secrets of the Temple: How the Federal Reserve Runs the Country - Link (video) 15 min.

William Greider describes Fed power and criticizes the Fed governors for favoring the affluent and concealing their motives.

• Reuters. (11 June 2015). "Zimbabwe Offers New Exchange Rate: 1 for 35,000,000,000,000,000." The Guardian. Link 3pp. 3 min.
• US Inflation Calculator. Link
• Magic. "Note on 'The System.'" Link
• Wikipedia. "Workhouses." Read the intro and the section entitled "Modern View." Link (skim 5 min)

Roots of 'social Darwinism', class, and the 1% in 17th-19th century England.

• Kelly, Marjorie. (2001). Divine Right of Capital: Dethroning the Corporate Aristocracy. - Link 6pp. (15 min)

Gideon Rosenblatt has summarized the book. Kelly begins with parallels to royalty, continues with discussion of world-view and paradigm shift, and proceeds to critique the current status and operations of corporations and to propose radical reforms. In the first six chapters Kelly treats history and present; in the final six she looks to the future. I predict that the ideas she sets forth here will become common currency over the next several decades. Please read at least the first six chapter summaries.

Interest Readings

• F2015 resource: Video on money creation 7.5 min - Link
• F2015 resource: Two graphics: lobbying, return on lobbying investment - Link
• "When all the trees have been cut down, when all the animals have been hunted, when all the waters are polluted, when all the air is unsafe to breathe, only then will you discover you cannot eat money." -- Cree Prophecy
• Perkins, John. Confessions of an Economic Hit Man. Link
• Cassidy, John. "Who Needs Wall Street." New Yorker. Link - In "Who Needs Wall Street" John Cassidy explains why most of what investment bankers do is socially worthless. 10 pp (20 min)
• Greider, William. Alternet. "Exposing the Secrets of the Temple: How the Federal Reserve Makes Money Out of Thin Air." Link- 15pp, (15min)
• "Monetary reform." Wikipedia. - Link - Brief overview of proposals for monetary reform. See, especially, "Examples of Government Issued Debt-Free Money." 5pp, (5min)
• "The Ascent of Money." - [1] - BBC documentary tracing the history of money. (4 hours)
• Monks, Robert A. G.. "Careless Language or Cunning Propaganda?" - Monks, a member of the social and financial elite who has held positions of power and influence in government and business, decries the "doublespeak" of corporate governance, alleging that executives have used diverse strategies to concentrate wealth in their hands at the expense of stockholders, other employees, and people outside the corporation. Link 17pp., (15 min.)
• Chomsky, Noam. "Magna Carta Messed Up the World; Here's How to Fix It." (29 May 2015). Reader Supported News. With broad strokes Chomsky traces 800-years of Anglo-American legal history regarding freedom and property and describes the fictions by which we've limited the former for most and elevated it for the holders of the latter with devastating results for our common condition. Link 6pp., 6 min.
• Davidson, Adam. "You're Not Supposed to Understand the Federal Reserve." (20 October 2015). NYTimes. - Davidson gives a brief history and description of operation of the Federal Reserve, explaining how its power is distributed through a number of regional banking institutions and affects every aspect of the economy. Link 4pp., 4 min.