One major topic was defining 'real wealth'. Atcheson says, "Ultimately, all wealth comes from natural capital. Things like fertile soils; viable forests; intact gene pools; abundant minerals; clean water and living oceans; sustainable fish stocks; flourishing ecosystems; a stable, life-sustaining climate." Mr. Mud would subtract the word 'all' and include the value added by labor to the definition of 'real wealth'.
Another topic was that endless growth within a closed system is an oxymoron. This time Atcheson hits the mark perfectly when he asks, "Isn’t the whole infinite growth on a finite world thing just a giant, tragic Ponzi Scheme designed to sell out the future?" Because that's exactly what it is, a scheme to steal the 'real wealth' not just from the natural capital existing today but from the people and flourishing ecosystems of the future as well.
"Our current version of capitalism is good at generating more currency, not greater wealth. And we forget that currency is merely a surrogate for things of real value, with no tangible value in and of itself. There are alternatives," says.Atcheson. {Real wealth}..."is being siphoned off by the richest and most powerful in a spiral of inequity. Capitalism – pure, unconstrained capitalism, the kind Reagan promised us would bring morning to America – is instead bringing mourning to America, and to the world."
Our culture seems hypnotized into believing the endless drumbeat of the advertising industry that a momentary satisfying of our induced wants will fulfill our real needs. So our materialist culture continually lives in a daze, continually goes along with the obvious lies to get along. It's the Stockholm syndrome writ large, our culture goes along with such obviously illogical and perverse ideas as interest and profit that enrich the few while draining the 'real wealth' - natural capital and the value added by the productive work of the many both in the present and the future - so the few can live lives of excess. Whadda world, glad i'm a dropout.
