The meeting opened by the club secretary D.Brooke (D B)with an introduction.
The audio-visual though recorded over 25 years previous, D B maintained relevant to the World's current looming catastrophe.
He comments that from most Australians feel comfortable because of the mining boom, in any case what's happening "will work its self out.
Jobs for many because of generous time on site arrangements and transportation both onshore and off-operations in New Guinea and Queensland (Mackey mentioned in this regard).
Australia to have the largest open-cut mine in the World, believed to be established in South Australia - somebody voiced "the Olympic Dam"?!
D B drew analogy with the days of empire: India provided money to pay for infrastructure and bureaucrats; D. Brooke said the same may have taken place with Britain and her African colonies.
He suggested the carbon tax (now introduced) is a means whereby the large amounts of debt can be repaid, predominantly to European banks.
Well there you have it, we've been told Australian resources belong to its people, so lumping public and private debt together seems tenable [Edit. Is Labor/socialism dead ... or is this 'Gradualism" at play?!?!]
D B questions if the carbon tax is rediculous, if so what's real? We don't know the truth about carbon polution but we know that resources are taken from the ground and apparently this pays for foreign workers.
D B thinks we may still have debts like that with the Sydney Harbour Bridge, took over 70 yrs. to repay. Since there are only three credit worthy nations, China being one, might China's equity in our resources be significant(?)
Lecture 1
A lecture by the then president of the National President of the Australian League of Rights (ALOR) 1985.
About the time I was introduced to ALOR and the term Social Dynamics, but for reason unstated failed to enroll for a course then being offered.
By typing the term into a search engine -- or maybe consulting a good dictionary -- links will explain the meaning.
Hoping the brief blog shall correlate with the large screen over head projection and accord with the term as applied to ALOR by its National (past) president.
Eric Butler:
The word "Philosophy" starts the journey to what follows. Political philosophy and dialectics, Western belief, conscience and morality compared to communism and its followers. The Free World exposed to a Judea-Christian understanding whilst a communist to base nature, e.g. end justifying means to an outcome.
E B "What is truth" thereafter "... what is a small 'L' liberal". This person presents a problem, there are no absolutes ONLY consideration (and implementation) of "what ought to be" in this persons thinking.
But according to E B;
(i) "The rules of this universe transcends human thinking".
(ii) "What are the rules".
(iii) "Obey them!"
E B still on the case of the "liberal" who is at heart a "utopian" and responsible for the state of things happening in this World (Edit. means ... things as they ought to be).
But "The ideal is the enemy of the real".
Another classification, the "do gooder" comes in for a serve : he or she knows what's right for you -- you're not consulted -- so this person needs power (authority) to effect outcomes.
E B leaves off at this point remarking "explosive outcomes" when left to the "do gooder".
So from philosophy and truth this leads to consideration of the word "authority" -- with ultimate authority residing with God -- without authority and rules there's anarchy.
Therefore " In the service of perfect freedom", well says (or words effective) E B . it's God and the inspired written work -- "What men believe is what men do" -- and how can you get sound policy (political) from untruthful philosophy(?)
According to the speaker "communism is evil" -- some clergy of the time (1985 and before) saw some good in it -- why is it incompatible with Christianity, because Christ is there/here for the individual not to sustain institutions.
"Equality means no quality" according to E B (except as the speaker says, when applied in pure mathematics) and we are judged individually as Christ words have it. Vocal elaboration whilst passages of scripture are projected on Christ and salvation-judgement and again rhetorically he (Mr. Butler) asks "What is Truth(?)".
"Power" (authority) who should possess it(?):
(i) The individual, OR
(ii) should it reside with a group AND
(iii) The place of "freedom" before or after "power" is established.
E B declares individual freedom comes first as per. Scripture -- Jesus Christ rejected authority to be an Earthly change agent; Matthew 4 -- and all else follows.
Magna Carta mentioned and sighted (in part) -- me thinking where is this leading(?)
Maybe E B thinks a blended authority is the answer e.g. King John an "individual" v's barons "group".
A preface before deliberation on the previous word block:"By their fruits ye shall know them".
Applied to men and women, their philosophies (points of view) regarding power and its investiture.
(i) Centralised power according to E B, especially when liberal minded-"do gooders" (mentioned earlier) are implicated, inevitably leads to absolute corruption (after proverb. Lord Acton) and remembering what was shown and told earlier in the production:
What the state grants by way of rights can also be taken away, e.g. U.N./Soviet Declaration of Human Rights.
So living in a centralised system not only corruption (can) occur at the top, but it corrupts those over whom power is used.
Ceding self-governance to another means loss of self-will and thereby the "temple" of the soul is compromised (or corrupted).
Supplanting centralised by Caesar makes no difference to implied falsity -- to emphasis a mind set of a "liberal" we see an excerpt of an experiment to disprove gravity ( an absolute).
Failure of the experiment can only mean there was no reliance in God.
Whether its institutions or voluntary associations according to God's Word, it must be to serve the needs of the individual and harmony will result; c.f. centralised power equates to disharmony.
What E B is saying is decentralised power is good, in "big brothers" centralised World once the slogans, words and labels are stripped away what's revealed is bad.
He know uses sport as an example, whereby free association of people establish a game to be played by a set of rules, this in turn creates an ethic. However some people playing the game become disenchanted and move on to another sport game with its (different) code of conduct.
This cannot happen (not allowed) with dictatorships or totalitarian (e.g. communist) regimes, for well understood reasons.[Edit. Q.E.D.]
[Also edit. It's apparent Mr. Butler was not enamored with sociology when this production was scripted]
He explores aspects of the history of benefits derived by humans engaged, maybe by necessity in free association, benefits made possible because of God's love and thereby the abundance of resources provided.
Again attention is directed to claims of "liberals" and their masters as to what "man has done". E B "Man discovers what was ..., man does no create."
Likewise Truth is discovered in the pages of the Bible, this to complement the concept E B was promoting.
Science is a path of discovery using what has been made available. Technology made possible by discoveries of Truth within science has allowed people to enjoy more leisure and pursue ("spiritualising" concept E B) avocational interests, THE UP SIDE.
Unemployment due to over-production, THE DOWN SIDE.
He puts forth the questions: In whose service are the means of production to serve? Ans. The individual, OR as in communism "to control ..." (Edit. proletariat).
Over production, unemployment etc. are they manifestations of discovery, caused by (man) knowing God's Truth?
Ans. Wholesome abundance for all has a consequence?!?!
Decentralised power and the dignity of the individual encapsulated by "Life", "Liberty" and "Property".
Private property ownership succeeds, collective ownership e.g. Trialed early American settlement failed.
Free enterprise with money as the means of exchange, with abundance available and freedom of choice in a macro economic organised National ideal, (Edit. Remember the sport assoc. analogy), is a necessary consequence as is a constitution .
He then introduces a history of parliamentary development, emphasis the U.K. where up to 1917 (the advent of "the new enlightenment") Christianity had standing in the unwritten constitution.
The gist here is a question of the degree of abrogation of individual sovereignty in favour of Caesar and other considerations of governance -- "All progress is moral progress".
E B then asks how should someone use "time saved" due to innovation;
(i) by spiritualising e.g. Church, cultural activity, sport ... OR the extreme
(ii) Place oneself under control of others in life's material offerings.
Decentralisation Mr. Butler identifies with an individuals freedom to pursue cultural objectives, he elaborates: art, music and literature etc. and is backed-up with some renowned graphics of subjects from an earlier period, counterpoise by some more recent.
The circle is closing (with the start), i.e. further consideration of the philosophy of Truth its basis; either those privileged to be in the presence of Mr. Butler or as ASC members and support by a media player reproduction, surely by now realise it began with Christ's teachings.
Therefore politics and economics should be limited to serve the needs of the individual so he/she can get on with life, which Mr. Butler would have it, Christ's "blue print" (Edit. doctrine) should not "mechanically" adhered to but be an "adventure".
Lecture 2
Jeremy Lee
Real credit (non-financial) is the production capacity of people to produce what they want. Basic means of production: "Earth", 'Air", "Water", "Minerals" and "Solar Energy"; the latter stored in coal and petroleum (fossil fuels).
If Christian, the means of production is a gift coming from God, but not so coming from academia "labour produces wealth", et al, "The Labour Theory of Value", but labour doesn't produce the basic means of production.
Also another erroneous economic premise "You never get anything for nothing", because God has given economic capital in vast amounts for our "Dominion" and to "Husband" [Edit. "Husband" explained].
Mankind initially on Earth couldn't tap into the abundance, living a nomadic or a subsistant life.
"Man does NOT create, Man discovers. Know (learn) the Truth and the Truth will set you free".
Two discoveries are dealt with i.e. the wheel and the lever, examples shown how over time succeeding generations improved numerous applications.
Undoubtedly from father to sons (and daughters) knowledge handed down till institutional education in recent time moved things on at a pace. This is called "Cultural Heritage" - America its called "know how", et al, "getting something for nothing"(sic).
Here J L relates in the visual monologue how (inexplicably) the retrogression of civilisation happens [Edit. What comes to mind is the so called "Dark Age" period of history]. "But provided you use the Cultural Heritage you've been given correctly, how to use what God has given us correctly in a productive sense, enables a number of great benefits or increments to come flowing through."
The dilemma then becomes do you increase production or vouch for (more) leisure; it's leisure that sustains and advances civilization, the speaker gives two diverse examples of denial of leisure: the brutish life of the bush men (people) of Africa's Kalahari and communist societies.
By 1200 to 1300 C.E. in England and places in Europe, the average working period per year was sixteen weeks, the all powerful church of the period decreed 150 Holy days. Resulting from (enforced) leisure came culture and spiritualisation unprecedented, with the building of enormous Churches evident today, all accomplished with voluntary labour.
Apparently a time of physical growth that allowed cultural transformation e.g. Shakespeare and Bacon etc.
Individual artisans working in cottage type industry thereafter began to be absorbed into the "Discovery of the division of labour", where a worker performed a task in a production line, this resulted in a greater output.
The example used by the speaker, nails for building "Production increase 150 per person instead of 50". Division of labour, Industrial Revolution (advent of machines), and the unlocking of Solar energy (fossil fuels) - Henry Ford cited - draws attention to potential for increase leisure when machines do the work; God lifts from mankind the punishment (after that) delivered in the Garden of Eden Gen. 3:19.
Because of machines in earlier time people were put off work - cotton mills of Lancashire cited - production increased but people starved. So according to the speaker and history to reverse the situation, Voila! Luddites (machine smashers!)
What follows are reactions to over-production:-
1. "Manifesto of the Communist Ideology" (by K. Marx)
2. "Export, Export, Export OR DIE"
3. National Suicide - Military Aid to the Soviet Union (author: Anthony C. Sutton)
4. The Waste Makers (author: Vance Packard)
[Edit. Knowledge of economics, the titles (above), the means whereby Capitalism has dealt with the problem of production, e.g. 4th in the list "inbuilt obsolescence"].
J L compares a Christians attitude (a better World to come with more technology) with that of a communist "full employment for everybody, and a means to this end. J L then relates the American experience - in conjunction with visual representation - when small farms become aggregated into viable economic corporations (better means of production), people move to cities for work as a result, to house them multi-story constructs.
When production surpassed 2. and 3. above, we are told via advertising excess production in America has led to on-shore shortage (Edit. remember this message now dated 25 yrs.). So the US moves off-shore for resources.
The narrator accuses a demand for consumer goods as the cause of Global pollution (remember it's 1985), Apparently the concern voiced by unconstrained social science academics of the day, who in turn instructed children and adolescence engaged in education "Capitalism (free enterprise) Must Go! The Answer is Socialism!"
Despoliation of youth and land he goes on to say, the answer will not come from within churches but God's written words: Exodus20, Luke16, Exodus22, Luke13, Lev.19, Matt.20, Lev11, Mark11"; hereby answers to many perplexing problems are found.
Since God has provided in abundance and by (human) discovery "given us our daily bread", he asks should the cost of production be increasing or decreasing with ever decreasing human effort. So if "Production cost equals human effort" then the costs of items should fall. Example quoted "Man hours (from) Mine to Road 1100" to manufacture a sedan in US after WW11, the Holden Commodore (Ed. yr 1985) "20 man hours".
With all the rhetorical questioning by the deliverer of this Social Dynamic message, the answer almost posted subliminal to the audience, prices and "Taxes - DOWN, Power - DOWN, Food - DOWN" No! Wages (cost of labour) always trend up.
With the alternative harmonious more stable arrangement he returns to the theme of leisure (see earlier) with numerous contemporary ways humans can live. Leisure analogy and a man marooned, a island with coconut trees; man climbs tree (labour) drops one coconut to ground and eats, therefore Production cost = 1 coconut /1 coconut per day; if four dropped Production cost = 1 coconut/4coconut per day and only one consumed, the man can look forward to three (3) days of leisure for the same cost in labour and time. [Edit. All up somethings to think about ...]
