The Competence

ON THIS PAGE: • The Competence • Other Characteristics of Binary Economics • Overall View • Binary Economics is Beginning to be Taught in Universities • Visual Summary of Binary Economics • Footnotes

The Competence

Indeed, over time, on market principles, binary economics enables all individuals to build an independent basic income or binary competence. The competence (the word can be traced back to Jane Austen, Alexander Pope and William Shakespeare meaning property or means sufficient for the necessaries and conveniences of life; sufficiency without excess) is defined as:-
a capital estate large enough to supply sufficient current consumer income to support at least one half of an affluent life style (measured in the context of what society as a whole can efficiently produce).

Figures contained in a 1998 study by Northeast Ohio Employee Ownership Center, Kent State University, Ohio and a 2005 study from the Center for Economic and Social Justice, Washington, D.C., indicate (2005 figures) that, aged sixty five, an adult would have a binary income of about $26,000 and a capital accumulation of at least $200,000 with both figures continuing to increase after the age of sixty five.[15) Today those figures would be much higher.

Along with the competence, of course, individuals will also be free to gain income from their labour as now.

As part of binary policy to develop capital ownership for each member of the population there is no estate duty (or Inheritance Tax) on death ON CONDITION THAT the estate devolves in such a way as to spread capital estates, and therefore capital ownership, to more individuals. If it does not do so, then there is a graduated tax.

Other Characteristics of Binary Economics

Binary economics is of particular importance in a world where, increasingly, more of the physical contribution to production is being done, and will be done, by machines and near-robots.[16]

            Automation — bread

With binary economics national debt is lessened and national unity encouraged.

Binary economics creates a stable economy and associated financial system which is not subject to unsustainable booms and resulting crashes.

In binary economics there is no expropriation (as there can be in socialism, for example).

Moreover, because people come to have sufficient income from their own independent capital estates, much less redistribution is necessary (for example, by taxes in order to fund forms of government spending including welfare benefits). Because there is much less redistribution there is much less taxation.

Binary economics cannot be inflationary: it is counter-inflationary whilst developing and spreading wealth.  A suitable descriptive word might be ‘doeflation. Nor can it lead to a global financial crisis of the sort now threatening economies and markets.

Binary economics upholds the periodic political vote but deepens democracy by creating economic democracy.  This is done by ensuring that all individuals have the everyday freedom and control over their lives stemming from an independent economic base.[17]  Without that base, humans can never be truly free.

NB.  Binary economics is NOT Modern Monetary Theory, ‘Social Credit’ or ‘Islamic Finance’ 

Binary economics is NOT Modern Monetary Theory (or similar theory e.g., ‘Social Credit’) which creates (‘prints’) debt-free (non-repayable)  money and does NOT put it into the productive economy and its spreading.  MMT ends up creating inflation,  a maladjusted economy, concentrated capital ownership and loss of real earnings. 

Alternatively, when large amounts of interest-bearing money are borrowed and not put into the productive economy and its spreading, the negative consequences are the same. 

And binary economics is NOT ‘Islamic Finance’ which pretends to eliminate interest but, by using devious legal contracts, in practice has interest rates greater than most Western finance.    Moreover, ‘Islamic Finance’ does not spread ownership.  

Conventional Economics Compared with Binary Economics – see separate page

Overall View

An overall view is that binary economics results in:-
* capital ownership for all individuals in the population so that they produce (and thus earn) independently of whether or not they also have a conventional job 
* housing for all people
* free markets
* an efficient wealth creation including a balancing of supply and demand
* structural economic and social justice
* no inflation
* proper encouragement of small and start-up businesses
* sharing and participatory structures
* a strong ethical sense imbuing everything
* a general end to riba/interest (but banks may lend their own money at interest for non-binary purposes)
* an end to economic colonialism
* public and environmental capital projects
* a direct connection between money and the real economy

There is also:-
* an increase in political freedoms and a deepening of democracy
* policy to unite inhabitants who have different linguistic, religious, geographical and ethnic backgrounds

In particular, over time, binary central bank-issued interest-free loans enable a government to refrain from increasing the National Debt and enable the ownership of an economy to remain in local hands.

Trisakti University, Jakarta, Indonesia
Binary Economics is Beginning to be Taught in Universities. As a completely new paradigm, binary economics could not be understood (and thus taught) in the UK.  It therefore had to be taught abroad.

The first such teaching (by Rodney Shakespeare) was on the Islamic Economics and Finance postgraduate program at Trisakti University, Jakarta, Indonesia. Trisakti is famous as the birthplace of the 1998 Indonesian reformasi revolution and contains plaques and memorial recording the student deaths.  It is the biggest private university in Indonesia and second only to the main state university in prestige.

Visual Summary of Binary Economics
New Monetary Reform Diagram

Footnotes

1. Robert Ashford & Rodney Shakespeare (1999) Binary Economics – the new paradigm.
2. Norman Kurland, Dawn Brohawn & Michael Greaney (2004) Capital Homesteading for Every Citizen: A Just Free Market Solution for Saving Social Security.
3. Robert Ashford & Rodney Shakespeare (1999) op. cit.
John H. Miller ed. (1994) Curing World Poverty: the New Role of Property.
There are five Justices at www.globaljusticemovement.net
4. Robert Ashford (1990) The Binary Economics of Louis Kelso: the Promise of Universal Capitalism (Rutgers Law Journal, vol. 22 No.1. Fall, 1990).
5. Rodney Shakespeare (2007) The Modern Universal Paradigm.
6. Rodney Shakespeare, (2007) op. cit.
7. Robert Ashford (1990) op. cit.
Robert Ashford & Rodney Shakespeare (1999) op. cit.
8. Rodney Shakespeare, (2007) op. cit.
9. Rodney Shakespeare, (2007) op. cit.
10. “Over a fifth of the world’s population still live in abject poverty (under $1 a day), and about one-half live below the barely more generous standard of $2 a day.” Technical Report of the High-level Panel on Financing for Development (United Nations, Dec., 2000).
11. William Shanley Poverty in America: American Dream Now a Nightmare for Millions? One in Five Lives on Less than $7 per day Global Research, April 23, 2007 www.globalresearch.ca
12. Rodney Shakespeare & Peter Challen (2002) Seven Steps to Justice.   Also Money creation in the modern economy by Michael McLeay, Amar Radia and Ryland Thomas of the Bank’s Monetary Analysis Directorate.  Bank of England Quarterly Bulletin 2014, Q1.
13. Rodney Shakespeare (2007) op. cit.
14. Norman Kurland, Dawn Brohawn & Michael Greaney (2004) op. cit.
15. Rodney Shakespeare (2007) op. cit.
16. James S. Albus (1976) Peoples’ Capitalism -The Economics of The Robot Revolution.
17. Louis Kelso & Patricia Hetter Kelso (1986 & 1991) Democracy and Economic Power – Extending the ESOP Revolution through Binary Economics.

Next page: Fifty Nine False Assumptions of Mainstream Neo-classical Economics