Relay-Version: version B 2.10 5/3/83; site utzoo.UUCP Posting-Version: version B 2.10.2 9/18/84; site calgary.UUCP Path: utzoo!utcsri!ubc-vision!alberta!calgary!radford 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