OUR BASIC STANDPOINT
Consider the three recent major shifts:
- The economy has become digitalised, fundamentally changing the nature of money itself
- Interest rates at an all time low to the extent that monetary policy as a mechanism for controlling inflation and economic activity has died: rates that let it work cannot be recreated in the near future.
- The adoption of the United Nations’ Sustainable Development Goals set the baseline for all economic policy: eradication of poverty and hunger, transition to ecological practices for transport, housing and food; and world peace.
The challenges we face are the result of system failures. Our aim is to provide perspective based on the following:
Given the present conditions in our nation, how can we design economic rules and management systems to sustainably ensure the 2030 goals are fulfilled to encompass all dimensions of human life including environment, society, enterprises and individual security?
The promise of digitalization. The economic system is unstable – booms and busts have occurred many times in modern history. Control engineering is a relatively new discipline. Once unstable mechanical systems can be controlled using digital techniques connected to sensors and actuators. Most modern cars have some of these features and modern jet fighters are unstable without the computer controlling flight.
TSSEF has proposed a series of mechanisms to stabilize the economy mirroring the developments within engineering.
A description of the mechanism – stabilizing feedback – is given in the white paper aligning TSSEF mechanisms with the Natural Step conditions and FSSD approach. (page 35)
and here EFISSSD
On emain purpose of the economy as TSSEF sees it is to provide the basics to all citizens, and some form of guarantee should be built into the system.
Approaches tried so far include:
- Social Security benefits – unemployment, sickness, pension and child benefits
- Relying on Charity – making charity tax-exempt
New approaches being developed include:
- Universal Basic Income
- Universal Basic Services
The foundation believes the economic system needs to be designed to fulfil basic needs whilst maintaining /regenerating biosphere and sustainable use of lithosphere materials.
The natural step conditions provide a solid scientific basis for the working of the economy in this way.
The other potential comes from the TSSEF insight that in the digital economy, money is not in limited supply what is limited is the distribution and velocity.
(Links to bath tub model)
Money and markets can truly serve human values and the Earth
This means that TSSEF hypothesis is framed thus:
Given the potential of the digital economy, using feedback and stabilizing mechanisms like those developed by TSSEF, it is possible to offer a basic guarantee to all citizens, fulfil the SGD goals and create systems that ensure society develops towards the needs met /biosphere maintained quadrant.
We welcome applications for grants to write research papers on the above.
Read more about the grants we offer here.
More TSSEF publications.
An Economic Policy for Stable, Sustainable Recovery – TSSEF 2010
an-economic-paradigm-for-robust-sustainable-progress-alh-march-2012