Foreword
This book is bound to be controversial and engender strong reactions, and I do not endorse all of the viewpoints expressed therein.
Why would a seemingly arid subject matter such as the history of central banking and of the monetary system give rise to such strong reactions? One must wonder why some will attach to this book the stigma of heresy, and argue that Stephen Goodson has gone beyond the parameters of acceptable historical debate.
Goodson has the credentials and track-record to make a credible presentation of a subject matter which he has researched for decades and which he has lived personally as a non-executive Director of the South African Reserve Bank.
I do not have the expertise to say whether Goodson’s findings are accurate, but I do know that the raw nerves he touches are on account of central banking and the monetary system created thereunder being at the core of the persistent profound and inhumane differences in wealth distribution within any given country, and among countries.
For this reason, for several years, my Party and I have argued that South Africa should reform its central banking and monetary system, even if that means placing our country out of step with iniquitous world standards.
Books on economics and banking are generally viewed as being abstruse, whose readers are confined mainly to academia and the business world. In this case we have a notable exception.
This work provides not only a broad sweep of the history of economics over almost three millennia, but insights into how the problems of usury have been confounding and enslaving mankind since its civilized existence first began.
It may shock some to realise that central banks throughout the world, including our own South African Reserve Bank, do not serve our own best interests and are in fact in league with private banks. This not only
undermines our sovereignty, but deprives us of the means of having publicly-issued debt-free money which belongs to the people as its sovereign debt, and interest-free means of exchange. Instead, in our country, as in other countries, we use private money produced out of debt by the private banking system. Shifting from bank-notes to government-notes would provide our people with a decent life, which is blessed, prosperous and sustainable. But such a simple reform would be a real revolution, more difficult to bring about than any other reform or social change imaginable.
Although South Africa gained its freedom in 1994 in all its outward manifestations; inwardly, with the exception of a small minority of black and white entrepreneurs, the general population has neither benefitted nor thrived, and moreover has not realised its latent potential, mainly because of the defects in the monetary system. If we are to achieve real freedom, it is imperative that monetary reform be pursued with the same vigour and intensity as was displayed towards political reform during the struggle years. But that requires understanding the complex issues of how money is created, whom it belongs to and whose interests it serves.
In this book, Goodson has not only sketched numerous successes of previous states rather than private banking systems, but has also provided us with a blueprint which may address many of our entrenched social problems, such as low economic growth, high unemployment and declining services.
Albeit decidedly controversial, this is a book which thinking South Africans should read as an inspiration for political action.
In his address before the American Newspaper
Publishers Association on 27 Apri, 1961, President John F. Kennedy famously stated: “Without debate, without criticism, no administration and no country can succeed – and no republic can survive. That is why the Athenian lawmaker Solon decreed it a crime for any citizen to shrink from controversy.”
Introduction
History is the most crucial subject of any educational system superseding science and the humanities in importance. Within its fabric, it holds the culture, traditions, beliefs, ethos and raison d’etre necessary for the continued existence of any people. If history is compromised by falsifications and omissions, which are frequently imposed by outsiders, then that civilisation will decay and finally collapse, as may be observed in the slow disintegration of Western civilisation since 1945. George Orwell expressed a similar sentiment in ‘1984’ when he wrote: “The most effective way to destroy people is to deny and obliterate their own understanding of history.”
Winston Churchill once made the observation that the further one goes back into history, the clearer the picture becomes. By employing this technique the author is hopeful that any doubts, which readers may have concerning his analysis and exegesis of modern historical events will be assuaged, if not entirely eliminated.
