Sacred Economics with Charles Eisenstein (and COVID-19 led Economic Crisis' and Global Awakenings)

Our guest this week is Charles Eisenstein, a teacher, public speaker, gift economy advocate, and writer who focuses on themes of civilization, consciousness, money, and human cultural evolution.
About Charles
He is the author of several books including The Ascent of Humanity (2007) inspiredevolut..., Sacred Economics (2011) inspiredevolut..., The More Beautiful World Our Hearts Know Is Possible (2013) inspiredevolut... and Climate - A New Story (2018) inspiredevolut.... Sacred Economics traces the history of money from ancient gift economies to modern capitalism, revealing how the money system has contributed to alienation, competition, and scarcity, destroyed community, and necessitated endless growth. Today, these trends have reached their extreme, but in the wake of their collapse, we may find great opportunities to transition to a more connected, ecological, and sustainable way of being.
His on-line writings have generated a vast following; he speaks frequently at conferences and other events, and gives numerous interviews on radio and podcasts. He also occasionally writes for the "Comment is Free" section of The Guardian and The Huffington Post on topics including genetic modification and the patenting of seeds and debt. He is a contributing editor at the website Reality Sandwich. In advance of appearing on Oprah's Super Soul Sunday on July 16, 2017, Eisenstein wrote "The Age of We Need Each Other." Check out his latest essay on the Coronavirus pandemic at bit.ly/2xfaK8A
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In this Episode We Canvas:
How We Make Money
This has been one of the three lines of his work for over 20 years because he feels any questions that anyone asks about society and the way we are doesn’t stray very far from money. An example is the fact that how the world works kind of revolves around money. We often operate based on what we have to do and what we can afford to do. A person’s survival is highly dependent on money. His experience has been that money always seems to pull him back into a person that he no longer wants to be and it brings out his worst impulses, and he wants to look at that and be who he can be, so he looks into what role money can play in a person’s evolution.
The Gift Economy
It comes from a basic impulse that one is offering something as a gift to someone, and if it’s precious to that someone, then any amount of money that someone charges is going to be too little, because the gift is infinitely valuable, and so putting a price on it would devalue it. Any amount the person receiving the gift charges would also be too much because that would put it behind a paywall. When the price of something is too little and too much, one can’t set the price. He applies the same with his online courses where he lets the users determine the price of the courses. That takes the pressure off him to provide value and it allows generosity to come in, and for him to be funded without having to compel people to give the funding to him.
How Money is Created in Our System
This refers to how money is created through the lending of financial institutions to individuals and corporations. Banks lend to people who will pay back and they focus on lending to people who will make more money when they get a loan so they can pay it back with interest. For example, if someone wants to protect an ecosystem, the bank will determine that there will be no money to be made there, but if a person intends to pave over an ecosystem and build a strip mall, the bank will determine that they can pay back the loan they get. That demonstrates that the system is geared towards endless growth of the monetized realm simply because of the way money is created, which puts people into competition because at any given moment, there’s always more debt than there is money. Money is created through lending and there is always interest in it. When a million dollars is created, one point five million dollars of debt is created. And so people are always in competition with each other because there’s never enough.
The Scarcity and Competition That Enslaves People
People never get the opportunity to tune into alignment because they live in so much competition and a scarcity created by the fact that everything they have is dependent on their ability to pay their debts. This is one of the biggest limits on people’s capacity to follow their dreams because they feel enslaved to their mortgages, rent payments, student loans, and other forms of financial debt.

[@InspiredEvolution]

YEW !!! Thank you ALL for WATCHING !!! 🙏🏻If you could humbly do us a massive favour, please hit subscribe and turn notifications on it helps us more than you know - it let's KZbin know that this content is important and allows it to be shown to more people that may benefit from Charle's wisdom 🙏🏻 Currently we have 94% of regular viewers than haven’t Subscribed 😅 Appreciate You All 🙏🏻🙏🏻🙏🏻

[@penelopeperez5349]

Beautiful podcast! The last 10 minutes are specially beautiful, I I love and admire so much Charles Eisenstein and the way he articulates the possibility to a New Story, that is already there, waiting for us to tune in to and bring it to life..🥰💕

[@InspiredEvolution]

YEW ! Penelope ! Glad you loved it so much ! It was such a pleasure to share in this conversation with Charles - Agreed, the possibilities around a New Story are such an Inspiration ! Blessings.

[@chrstinemalm5189]

Beautiful podcast yes l agree with Penelope the last 10 minutes are especially beautiful thanks 😊

[@ADyingFaith]

KZbin The Zeitgeist Movement Moving Forward to see how we can transition from a monetary system to a natural law resource based economy!

[@InspiredEvolution]

Brilliant recommendation thank you ! YEW !

[@benlatimer9495]

Great stuff, will try to internalise

[@InspiredEvolution]

YEW ! Glad you loved it enough to want to iternalise it so deeply Ben ! Stay Inspired !

[@arielshalem]

Our story can give us freedom. But it can also bind us to our slavery. But not having a story is absolutely depressing. Hence the post modern nihilism: There are no meta narratives. We are all just different parts of the human cesspool. So the question is what is our story. To be human is to have a story

[@InspiredEvolution]

Ariel ! We were having a similar conversation today. What it means to be human and have a story that is... We are often trying to transcend story and even that is a story after all ;) Thanks for engaging and being here a part of the conversation on the Inspired Evolution !

[@thegrowingnetwork3409]

Amrit, your voice goes up and down in volume making it hard to follow you, from a slightly deaf person x

[@InspiredEvolution]

My apologies. I continue to be Inspired to Evolve and the Production of the Show continues to improve. We've come a long way production wise from the days of this recording - have you listened to one of our recent episodes ? Dr. Zach Bush also gave a wonderful conversation on the Inspired Evolution you may enjoy ? I truly appreciate you taking the time to provide such warm and supportive feedback - means a lot that you care - thank YEW !

[@SolomonDouglas]

So great. Inspiring.

[@InspiredEvolution]

YEW ! Glad you sourced so much Inspiration from this conversation Solomon - I loved it too ! New conversations Inspiring your Evolution every week on Monday ! Stay tuned !

[@durdicamaderic8696]

Enjoyed it very much. Sadly there were sound issues.

[@InspiredEvolution]

YEW ! Thansk Durdica !!! Glad you loved the conversation. We have since updated our setup to prevent any and all audio issues. Thanks for being part of the Inspired Evolution !!!

[@helenthatcher2243]

Thank you

[@InspiredEvolution]

YEW ! Thank you too sister !

[@davidchristie5805]

Very enjoyable conversation, but Amrit's frequent glances to whatever else is going on off camera to his right are quite distracting.

[@InspiredEvolution]

YEW ! Glad you enjoyed this conversations David ! Thanks for the constructive feedback brother.

[@ZiadKreidy]

Interesting & inspiring.

[@InspiredEvolution]

YEW ! YAY !

[@kocotube01zacasni85]

What if ?... story...or Archy of All (not just Family-Banking-Intelligence LLC) and An-Archy by Everyone... For a while now I am toying with an idea that ties to the fact that current economic model is like a Monopoly game. Few (or only one) win the game and all the others loose. Since I've only recognized this fact - as if it is a product of societal development and not trying to correct it, - I will now try to develop a simple adaptation, an idea for the future of the world economics. World of free market that would be as fruitful for the people as could be. And would recognize all the effort and sacrifice of the previous generations. Lets reset the "game" then Really reset it, not just tweak the margins. Lets evaluate all that mankind (infrastructure, hardware and knowledge) has accumulated so far. How much is its global worth? Could everyone who is alive right now be a millionaire (in whichever currency)? Lets say we live 100 years and a year has 10 months. That is 1000 months in one's life. If every person at birth is to be given a million (a new million is created by the birth of a new child), he/she would have 1000 units of that currency per month to spend until death. At death that million would be taken out from circulation (individualized money that has your number on it). Question arises: Is this reset good for an individual? Those without the land would have to buy the food. But now the farmers could be in position of independent price forming (getting paid properly for their labor). And with extra money they could directly finance robotics developers who would crate robots that benefit farmers directly (not BostonDynamics "hyenas"). And that would earn those robot developers extra money for food and leisure ... and ... the cycle begins. ... Those who work manually and/or with their brains would accumulate money that could then be invested into new projects of their choosing or leisure. And those who don't work and have no innovative ideas would loose money. If you invest wisely, disperse in many benefiting inventions (and not spend all on food, housing and clothes) you get rewarded with the influx from products that were developed and sold as result of your investments. But remember: whatever you do with your money, wherever that million ends in those 100 years, all your money will be erased after you die. So there is no danger of inflation, there are no central banks needed, there are no banks at all, since there is no interests possible, there are no money lenders, there is no Ministry of Finances that regulates currency flows and no taxation from the state, since there is no money related bureaucracy. The People invest in what they consider worth or necessary investing in and in amounts they judge appropriate by their discretion. And this "monopoly game" has its Objective that is different from to-days economic farce: Aim is not to win by grabbing all the money (the few or only one winner) and thus ending the game, but to play the game as long as you can (the game never ends) while intellectually and emotionally enjoying it. Of course this idea is "just plainly ridiculous" at first glance. And at second. But what if...? There couldn't be more and more currency in circulation. And no arbitrary printing of money by/for the most powerful actors. There would be as many millions as there are living people. Once I've died, all the currency with "my name on it" (my serial number) becomes worthless and is taken out of circulation. Essentially one would start with a million, gradually releasing it into circulation and died taking one's million out completely. And since, during individual's life time, his/hers money has been dispersed, those holding small amounts of that money at the time of death wouldn't "suffer" much of a loss. An Individual would be encouraged, from the start, not to overindulge (1000 point per month doesn't make you infinitely rich) and to live by the motto of 'creating new quality that benefits all' (action that attracts outside investment). Also there would be no need for the State to exist in such a megalomaniac form of bureaucratic regulatory capacity (with standing armies and Intelligence apparatus) that too few individuals would be willing to support. And the problem of intellectual property would fall away also, if there would be none. All access to knowledge would be open. When you create a new code for the worker robots to operate better, you get paid by the investors/investments and later by the sales. One time operation, without any long turn royalties. If someone is prepared to use your already realized idea and works on its further development, that someone gets financially rewarded (new investment) for that particular improvement or for work on replicating that product (sales) and has no extra protection. Development would be driven by the real needs of the People (investors and/or buyers) and all the needles product would be financially discouraged (no consumerism mentality). The People would be initially forced to invest into sectors that satisfy their basic needs and make them more price affordable (food, housing, clothes...) and only then would begin investing in the indulging lifestyles. By giving everyone a million at the start of their life would ensure 'fair play starting position' for everyone and destroy any need for 'vertical social mobility' and 'horizontal exclusivity' cartel associations. Maybe one additional feature of such individualized currency ("million with your number on it") would be possibility of tracking the future use and movement of money you've spent. To see what your money is doing out in the real world is very "regulatory" on its own. As I've said, a very bizarre idea on the first glance and second, ....but what if...? If there are to be 10 billion people on Earth by 2050`s (watch any of Hans Rosling`s presentation of world statistic), then all the currency in circulation would amount to 10 quadrillion. That amount would be more or less constant, since the global population's exponential growth of 18th-20th centuries has already essentially leveled at future constant number of 10 billion people living on the planet. A million more ore less wouldn't change anything. What really creates inflation are the Central banks creating new money by new loans (private and to governments) in amounts of new trillions. And interests on that money lent. And all the financial derivatives and future's gambling financial investments. That casino mentality would be all gone. Together with stocks. Money/currency would be the only "stock". John Doe's million would be created only by his birth, no other reason for creating money would be allowed. So, if the population will have leveled at 10 billion people around 2050, then amount of money in circulation should be relatively constant. And then ... THE questions to answer, for every individual, await: What kind of a world do you want to live in? What will you do to realize that future? After asking those questions, it is your individual "free choice to develop" that future with your money's influence. Money as a 'Future Creating Tool', a tool that is today reserved only for the "chosen" ones (the rich monopolists), who regularly reset the (Monopoly game) system by creating financial crises and property/resources acquisition. Oh, if you are wondering what would become of today's billionaires and trillionaires, Earl John Doe the III`s? ...Well...they would still have a million of their own after this reset - a real re-set and not this phony re-type advertised as re-set by trillionaire Banker Families - just like all the others. This is my what if...EVERY MILLIONAIRE? story. If it doesn't resonate with you, please, move on to others. Or add to it. .................................................................................................... P.S .: People who cherish freedom should run away from UBI - universal basic income - that is tied to your social credit score ("value") and is meant to enslave you permanently and fully. If money is to be given for free to everyone, than it (must be printed) should come in one big chunk and not as monthly allowances. And people should also refuse the Block-Chain technology since it is The Tool for the ultimate and complete chaining, not just in the Money domain but in all aspects of social interacting.

[@InspiredEvolution]

Very interesting share. Thank you for taking the time. it's a fascinating idea if everyone was given their units of consumption at birth and it was set, but like when you started discussing farmers, robots and value changing over time, I couldn't help but see the capitalistic propensity take hold again. Perhaps this is just because I am so entrenched in this model that like a fish, I don't realise water, does that metaphor apply? We I hope you get what I'm trying to say. The idea that UBI and Blockchain are somewhat linked to surveillance rather than Freedom is also an interesting counter-persective. Thank you for sharing 🙏🏼 Appreciate You 🙏🏼🙏🏼🙏🏼

[@airmark02]

Your sound levels are muffled & wonky ~ Not clear enough

[@amrits]

Hi airmark - thanks for tuning in - really appreciate that the show matters enough for you to want to help us grow by leaving constructive feedback - duly noted. Thanks, really appreciate it.

[@InspiredEvolution]

Thank you for honest feedback - helps a lot - I think our production levels have improved a lot now over the years - if you'd care to check out another more recent episode 🙏🏽

[@airmark02]

@@InspiredEvolution I will do that - Thanks

[@InspiredEvolution]

@@airmark02 YEW ! Thanks !

[@dankj1907]

Hello Has anyone asked you about "The Divine Prosperity Blossom"? is it a scam that should be avoided? or is it something beautiful that one should get involved in?

[@energeticbutterfly]

You need to ask , does it resonates with me? Do I feel good when I hear about it? Is it a vibrational match? Does it feel like a scam or a beautiful new paradigm? If it feels good, maybe go back to the person who asked you about it for further information. If it doesn’t feel good, then it doesn’t matter if it is or isn’t a scam. Do what feels right for you, not what you think is right for you. Love and light 💖✨💖

[@InspiredEvolution]

^ @anyone ?

[@Steve-yz9uo]

Charles needs to learn about bitcoin

[@InspiredEvolution]

I reckon he does :)

[@Neprow3000]

Yes, he knows a lot about it and discusses it his book: Sacred Economics

[@Steve-yz9uo]

Good