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From: radford@calgary.UUCP (Radford Neal)
Newsgroups: net.politics
Subject: What Social Credit is.
Message-ID: <530@calgary.UUCP>
Date: Mon, 4-Nov-85 15:36:12 EST
Article-I.D.: calgary.530
Posted: Mon Nov  4 15:36:12 1985
Date-Received: Mon, 4-Nov-85 18:46:32 EST
References: <787@cybvax0.UUCP> <82@ubc-cs.UUCP>
Organization: University of Calgary, Calgary, Alberta
Lines: 30

> >The Social Credit they advocate consists largely of the government
> >minting money and giving it to citizens, instead of taxing anyone.
> >Sort of a trickle-up scheme.  Please correct me if I've misunderstood.
> 
> I *think* that that is basically what Social Credit is about.

Social Credit is a ideology / economic theory developed by a certain
Major Douglas in the early part of this century, and popularized during
the Depression, especially in Alberta.

The theory as I understand it is that the economy has a continually
increasing need for a medium of exchange, which, if not satisfied, leads
to a depression. Social credit advocates printing of new money to satisfy
this need and its distribution to the populace (and also maybe using it
to finance the government, I think). They don't like the present system of
allowing the private banking system and central bank to create money.

The theory is widely ridiculed in Canada as a "funny money" idea. The idea
is indeed flawed, in my opinion, but has more economic truth in it than the
views propagated for public consumption by the ridiculers. 

The theory has not been tried in practice since the 30's. Its last advocates
in Canada were the federal Social Credit Party, which disintegrated in the
70's. The BC Social Credit party is related to the original ideology in
name only.

I think I've heard of a Social Credit party in Australia or New Zealand, but
I know nothing of them.

    Radford Neal