What is the driving force in capitalism which decides if a new technology or ideas gets done in society?
In other words..
What are required for implementing an innovation?
Is it the technical efficiency?
Well..kind of. An technical machine like a sawmill instead of a manual saw would be considered an effective way to cut timber. Would the manufacturer of that sawmill produce a durable long lasting machine with the best possible raw materials? Of course not! It would run out of the sawmill and spare-part business. He has so gain a share in the market and compete with similar products out there.
Do we produce goods so they are easy to repair, long lasting and sustainably made?
No sales, no jobs, no purchasing power = lower "standard of living" in todays economy.
Is it the possibility to stop climate change and loss of biodiversity?
No. We would have done it already if it would be market efficient. You don't make a huge profit in a short time by planting trees or saving biodiversity.
Is it implementing new technology??
Well sometimes.. If you can calculate in advance that this technology makes profit and is cost efficient to compete with other companies.
Is it to create maximum value to all citizen on our planet and our precious ecosystem?
No. Sustainability, efficiency and abundance are the enemies of market efficiency.
What is it then? What decides if a good idea can be implemented most of the time?
It is money and funding. Without money you can not research, develop and innovate your idea, you cannot hire anyone nor buy resources.
When there is enough money to invest in new technology or an idea it gets usually done.
Who decides if you can have enough money to create an idea into reality?
Well in most cases it is the private bank. They create the money from nothing by pressing enter on the keyboard. Not everyone will get a loan. Even if your idea would benefit the planet and all creatures on it you cannot try if one criteria is not fulfilled.
You have to make a profit with your idea, it has to be cost efficient and it has to be able to compete with other similar products in the market.
What is the easiest way to increase profit? Well your product has to be cost effective. Use lower quality raw materials and pay less salary for workers.
The bank will decide if you get a loan for your idea or not.The more profit you can make the more interest it also draws private investors.
Imagine if you could make most profit of nature protection. In other words it would be highly paid.
What if maximum profit would be payed for technological efficiency. Doing more with less.
What if you would make more profit if your product would be sustainable and durable?
Two summers ago I was on a sailingboat with a architect friend of mine. I've traveled around Europe in different sustainable villages and communities. I wanted to know why eco building is not mainstream yet when we all know the huge benefits of ecohouses. My architect friend enligtened me that there is one guy in their company with a calculator. When a corporation builds a house he sits down and types in all the costs of building materials in the calculator.
Most companies who pays the archtecht to design a house want maximum profit when they sell the house. Guess if expensive ecofriedly raw materials are chosen?
There is a economic survival game going on between all companies in the world. The people in that company are depended on the profit it can generate. They have to eat, live somewhere and pay their bills.
Even if a innovation would clean all plastic from the sea, develop alternative rare metals which would replace the mining industry you need the make profit. We could grow super fast growing hemp for the paper industry and let our old forests rest and mature. But NO, competition for economic survival and profit is the name of the game.
How crazy is that? What will the future generations think about our primitive behavior? I mean we have all the resources and technology to turn our planet into a sustainable paradise, but an archaic outdated socioeconomic monetary system stops us from evolving.
What about decisions on a national level?
The government decides where the money will flow. What decitions serves the private market and it's owner on the best way? How to cut welfare from the people so that the state can pay their illusional debt back to the banks and the elite?
They discuss about fiscal policy, eu grants, taxpayers money and other economic jargon. If we would discontinue money and organize society as a tribe of people of planet earth the fact who gets money and who not would become obsolete.
Still here are some questions different political parties argue about:
Who gets the money from taxes? Who will pay taxes? Where do we cut welfare?
This is when politics come in. They bring in the stick and the carrot. Its easy to stear production with subsidies and taxation.
The government of Finland and European union for us.
Here is a prime example how market efficiency work
Americans can sell their wheat harvest for lets say 70e per kubic meter. To produce this it costs 120e. Agriculture subsidies make it possible to sell cheap. Americans ship it to India and foreign wheat can be bought 50% cheaper than the Indian wheat from the north of the country. Huge harwest just rots when no one buys it. No one buys ghee which is traditional buffalo fat when foreign butter is so cheap. Bringing food to developed countries is like bringing unemployment to the farmers and all who work with food.
This is reality today!
It doesn't have to be like this anymore.
Copiosis reward system will change it all on local, national and global level . If your idea is good enough and you can convince other people and the manufacturer of raw materials that it will benefit all people and our planet you can start. No bank loan, no outside investors, no patent needed!
Instead open source, durability, abundance seeking and sustainability. The more of these attributes the more you get paid just like today.
Read more about Copiosis and join the new future that can be ours!
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Sources: The Zeitgeist movement defined 2014
If you want to read more about how competition, market efficiency and patent rights hinders humanity to evolve please read the Zeitgeist Movement Defined book from page 101.
