24 Aug 2012

Louis Even and the Michael Journal

My thanks to Paul Nollen for pointing me towards the work of a truly remarkable man - Louis Even (1885-1974). He was a lay Christian leader who founded the social credit movement in Quebec and a movement called the Pilgrims of Saint Michael. The Pilgrims produce something called the Michael Journal which turns out to be a treasure trove of fascinating ideas.

Take for example Louis Even's fable about five people washed up on a desert ile, which explains how money is created as debt by private banks. The story was first published in 1940 in the magazine "Vers Demain".  It's a great story - just 8 pages long - that you can read in English "The Money Myth Exploded", French "L'île des naufragés", Spanish "La Isla de los Naufragos", Portugeuse "A Ilha dos Naufragos", German "Die Insel der Shiffbrüchigen" and Polish "Wyspa rozbitkow". No excuses - you have to read this.!

The "Michael Journal" is available in several languages.

In the English section you can find many true gems. For example:
As I say - a real treasure trove. 

1 comment:

  1. Simon,
    Issuing money debt-free is a step in the right direction, but a second step is missing to complete a pace: issuing money interest-free. To do so it is necessary to shear money of its parasitic function called store of value, which makes usury possible. Defined by Silvio Gesell 100 years ago for the first time, usury is the tribute that those who need money as a medium of exchange must pay to those who hoard it as store of value. Neither C.H.Douglas nor Louis Even saw this point. Debt- plus interest-free money circulates fast, thereby making it unnecessary to have great quantities of it around. It also forces banks to lend only the money they have, preventing them from creating it out of thin air.
    I usually reside in Nairobi, Kenya, but am currently in Toronto (Ernescliff College, St George Street 156) for another week. If you are interested in discussing the issue further, do not hesitate to contact me.
    Regards, Silvano Borruso

    ReplyDelete