Economy

As our global economy has developed, wealth and financial power have generally become consolidated in the hands of a small minority. As individuals and corporations consolidate control and market share, buying other companies or forcing them out of business, they build economic pyramids and monopolies. As a result, the distribution of wealth is more uneven than ever in recent history.

In a time when the super rich constitute a tiny fraction of the population (.001 percent), they are offering less and less to support the wellbeing of the general populace. Income taxes for corporations and for the wealthy are at their lowest point in decades at this time. While income for the wealthy has skyrocketed, after-tax income for the bottom 50% of america has actually declined in last 30 years. This means that the poor are much poorer and the rich are much richer than 30 years ago. This trend may continue as time passes, unless serious and foundational changes are made to our financial systems.

We have to ask ourselves what kind of world we want, and how that equity can be established going forward. It seems clear that the goal is not in stripping the wealthy of what they have, but in building a paradigm where the wealthy can play a vital role in building a beautiful flourishing world for all people. Many young philanthropists from the international Nexus community are modeling effective redistribution of wealth through a focus on specific projects addressing local and global needs.¹ We need Guardians to find new economic models that provide for earth’s population while incentivizing new progress and innovation, and rewarding the wealthy for the hard work they have done.

Today’s economy is more competitive than ever. As international trade has opened up markets from Asia to Africa, businesses are competing to get their products in front of as many consumers as possible. Around this need, marketing has built itself into a multi-billion dollar industry. In its pure form, marketing is supposed to be a way to inform consumers on the best products to buy to fit their needs, but as we are now aware, it has grown into a beast of more epic proportions. A highly evolved marketing/advertising system has emerged seeking to bring product placement into every aspect of our lives. This mass marketing drives mass unconscious behavior that caters to vicious cycles of emotional need and a false (or short lived) sense of material fulfillment. Advertisers devote their entire careers to learning how to create desires and manipulate people’s emotions to get them to buy products they may not really need.

We must ask, what would life be without commercials, billboard with subliminal messages in every aspect of society? How can we transform our systems of commerce to be beneficial to humanity? We need Ambassadors who can cut through the temptations of our lower nature and change the systems that advertise to our most basic natures.