Fantasy economics

What then, is inconceivable now, that might be possible within a decade, or preferably less, given that we may have less time than that? Social inventions that take into account that we all suffer from Original Stupidity and the range of unsuitable defence mechanisms. Let us be as naive as Jules Verne – and look what happened to his ideas. Let's have eco-fi that considers just how the wonders of sci-fi and Quests are supported and produced.

In our busy world, we are all so busy writing and doing about other things, as the tsunami wave is going out to sea before it rolls back.

In schools, students study Revolutions, not reforms. Revolutions pull down with the aim of building anew – every builder prefers that to renovation. Jericho is built and rebuilt, city upon destroyed city. There are many plans for new economic systems that could be built when the old is wrecked. A clean slate. One type of ecofantasy.

But another type of ecofantasy is reforms, so that the old is not simply destroyed. Consider the goals, and set the vision of artists and thinkers to cast a path to reach them. What exciting TV series, and Mini-Ideas for radio!

Capitalism could be improved – it is only partly developed and still full of bugs. Its major problem is that it is like a bicycle that dare not stop – unsustainable growth has to be sustained – unless we change how capitalism works. "What is the use of saving the planet if the economy is wrecked?' asked NSW Premier Iemma. We could have an economy that does not get wrecked, that grows in quality not quantity.

Suppose the response to the risks of carbon emissions is not to set up carbon trading –to my mind a swiz, and a smokescreen pretending something is being done, so that emissions can continue on their merry way by those who can pay for it, as if planting trees can even make up for all the many more trees being simultaneously clear-felled, and as if their future nurture were guaranteed somehow.

Suppose instead, the production of waste is stopped. Half of all that is produced is wasted at some stage or other. Possibly half our carbon emissions goes to producing waste! And another ten percent on getting rid of it.

Cutting waste would of course drastically affect commerce, as people wasted less and bought less, and refused to buy built-in-obsolescence and unmendability and undurability and biscuits sent for trade across the world to compete with other biscuits.

And of course, the greatest waste is producing armaments and the increasingly horrible means for civilian destruction, and clearing up the destruction of thousands of years of civilisation.

The finance that now goes into producing waste could go into paying for jobs and producing products that are needed – (only work out how to pay.) If all the jobs needing to be done were being done, there would be no unemployment.

Suppose the concept of usury returned, so that only risk capital returned more than 5%. Suppose investors made money from investment, but not share-trading. That there was an end to the continual development of hedge funds and future-trading and money-trading and negative gearing and private equity companies and all those other ways that make financial dealing more profitable and exciting than actually using money as a means of exchange of goods and service and to finance the jobs and products that are needed.

Fantasise - if directors saw no profits for themselves if companies are taken over and asset-stripped and empty-shelled. If pirates could no longer make hostile take-overs of prosperous concerns, how much boardroom action could be directed into actually running companies rather than expending their major energies trying to expand by take-overs and mergers, or trying to expand in order to make themselves safe from takeovers, with themselves devouring as a way to avoid being devoured.