A Modest Proposal in the Tradition of Swift.
During one of Ireland's famines, Jonathan Swift suggested to the British that they allow the irish to eat their children to deal with overpopulation. The modest proposal was shocking, but concentrated minds. In the same spirit, I would like to make my own modest proposal.
In the twenty first century of the years of Our Lord, as in most times, the state is the repository of the money and war powers. This should be reflected in monetary policy.
All government-issued money used for the purposes of aid and trade, internationally or domestically, should be in the form of loans, denominated in pounds backed by uranium or weapons rather than gold or government assurances.
This new 'uranium standard' would allow for repayment of aid, once states dealt with problems themselves, in their killing capacity. Thousands of guns, or a smaller amount of unrefined uranium, or smaller still amounts of refined uranium or plutonium would be accepted in lieu of payment.
If a state became rich and stable and was linked to many others by trade deals, it could buy weapons back. Welfare recipients and taxpayers would be in a similar position domestically. If you want your giro, give us things used for the purposes of killing; if you own an expensive house, mortgage it to buy a gun.
Fairly soon, those with no interest in blowing everything up or killing people would have the means to defend themselves and to protect their interests. Those with no interest in social or international order would have such a need for money they would have to give up their weapons.
This would obviously have to prefigured by a period of disarmament.
A modest proposal.
During one of Ireland's famines, Jonathan Swift suggested to the British that they allow the irish to eat their children to deal with overpopulation. The modest proposal was shocking, but concentrated minds. In the same spirit, I would like to make my own modest proposal.
In the twenty first century of the years of Our Lord, as in most times, the state is the repository of the money and war powers. This should be reflected in monetary policy.
All government-issued money used for the purposes of aid and trade, internationally or domestically, should be in the form of loans, denominated in pounds backed by uranium or weapons rather than gold or government assurances.
This new 'uranium standard' would allow for repayment of aid, once states dealt with problems themselves, in their killing capacity. Thousands of guns, or a smaller amount of unrefined uranium, or smaller still amounts of refined uranium or plutonium would be accepted in lieu of payment.
If a state became rich and stable and was linked to many others by trade deals, it could buy weapons back. Welfare recipients and taxpayers would be in a similar position domestically. If you want your giro, give us things used for the purposes of killing; if you own an expensive house, mortgage it to buy a gun.
Fairly soon, those with no interest in blowing everything up or killing people would have the means to defend themselves and to protect their interests. Those with no interest in social or international order would have such a need for money they would have to give up their weapons.
This would obviously have to prefigured by a period of disarmament.
A modest proposal.
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