The Indianapolis times. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1922-1965, 1934-04-28

FoIIoyinr IS the second three articles nv Mr.
the social credit idea launched by Major
c. H. Douglas and other British economists.
THE social credit program led by Messrs
l. Douglas, Soddy Martin and Hattersley
combines three movements designed to put
capitalism on a rational basis:
ID The democratic conception that pro-
duction must be controlled by expert engineers
rather than by logged and confused producers
for profit
% The basic conviction that production
must be guided primarily by the needs and
powers of the consuming public, and
80 The conviction that our whole monetary
system must be overhauled.
In short, social credit opponents envisage
an age of plenty, made possible by chronological
progress, and the ability to exploit this through
consumers capitalism"
Production must be in the hands of experts,
bat this productive efficiency has no logic unless
it is designed to serve the consumers.
Major Douglas and his associates recognize
that the major evil of our economic order is not
capitalism, but the particularly type of capital
ism which has developed in the last half CEN
fury, namely, finance capitalism.
THE latter is intent upon immediate financial
profits at the expense of productive indus
try. It's formula is to launch, water build at
great expense, nlismanage, reorganize and ulti-
IndIeIy SCedl, industrial, transportation ana
financial enterprises. It's goal and methods are,
by and large, anti-social.
Industrial capitalism on the other hand, has
made a great social contribution. It has solved
the problem of efficient production and has
brought production from handicraft to advanced
mechanical methods.
Finance capitalism. or "creditism" as Mr..
Douglas calls it, has all but destroyed industrial
capitalism by insisting on nonsocal or anti-social
prOfitS a the PXOenSp of business and mass MIR
chasing power.
The problem, therefore, is to wipe out finance
capitalism and to preserve industrial capitalism.
Such is the ambition of the Douglas followers.
Social credit advocates recognize that we
can not buy without money They see that to-
necessary volume of purchases and that such
money as exists is concentrated in the hands of
a few who can not and should not purchase and
consume in proportion to their holdings.
They further hold that the real source of the
wealth of nation is not in its precious metals
an archaic notion-but in the supply of useful
goods and services.
HENCE. they propose to abandon the gold
standard in both form and reality-hold-
ing that it has been abandoned in reality long
ago. The state will assume and monopoze
credit and money. 1t will base the latter on
the necessary and useful goods produced within
Gne country.
The social credit protagonists lay special
stress upon the inadequacy of our present none
tary resources Our real wealth in goods has
increased enormously, but monetary wealth
remains but slightly more than it was in the
days before high-speed production. To try to
consume adequately under our present system
Of finance capitalism and "creditism" is like
attempting to take away the dirt from a steam
shovel with a wheel-barroW.
The social credit group goes farther than
does the new deal in holding that must
adjust our perspective to an age of plenty and
leisure. They would have scant patience with
the production limitation notions of the Roose-
welt regime in either industry or agriculture.
Instead of trying to limit production to the
present purchasing power of American con-
sumers. they would raise the consumers pur-
chasing power until it equals the cost of the
goods which should be consumed in order to
attain a civilized standard of living
Tomorrow I shall indicate just now the So
cal credit conception would be put into practice.