Why Do We Work?

March 29, 2024

The easiest answer would be, we need to work so that we can make money to survive. But, this answer is the result of modern economics. We will do things, we will work, whether we are paid or not. Work is a result and extension of our necessity, curiosity and identity. It can be mental work or physical work. We know each other by what we do. " You will know them by their works."

Beyond " the pursuit of happiness."

In order to pursue happiness effectively a person must solve the necessity of basic needs: food, shelter, education and healthcare. To accomplish this within the societal agreements of our present involves a pact with "for profit" economics. Economics plays a most profound part in every person's life. We cannot make any move without considering, "how much will it cost?"

In the United States we have honed the functions of a Capitalist Economy to their finest edge, warts and all. We have all benefited from "free" markets, but the long term effect is that they enrich only a few; who for many years after the great depression voluntarily or involuntarily (because of an inspired tax structure) considered their workers and enhanced their lives with living wages and healthcare. That all ended with the Ronald Reagan administration. Breaking the Unions, introducing "trickle down economics" and changing the tax structure from very high taxes to the low 30's, stopped the faint motivation that companies had to consider the welfare of workers. Profit became the foremost concern. Consideration of the worker was labeled "socialism" defined as communist fascism, and as a result a very bad word.

So, what do we have now that everything has been swept aside as unimportant, except pursuit of profit at all costs? Worldwide, people are electing dictators. They are looking for change. Unfortunately they will not get the relief from pressures they are feeling in this way. For many, money has become the "root of all happiness," the only way to balance their aspirations. A closer look reveals that change in economic practices is the way to better living.

There is an urgent need to define the value of Humanity. Individual Human works in cooperation make economics possible, make society possible. We are of intrinsic value. For that reason our Human value must be equivalent to the reception of Human Basic Needs Worldwide; food, shelter, education and healthcare. Only a healthy, educated World population can meet the challenges of the future. As has been described in previous letters, Energy Currency, a parallel currency, can pay for all basic needs without inflation or taxes. The result will be Human autonomy, which will propel us all into a future of enhanced stability, curiosity and peace.

Finally, I come to our initial concept, the Human Energy Renewable Measure, HREM. What is it? It is the energy measurement that has been left out of the economic system. It measures input of Human Energy. Energy that is just as important as fossil fuels or other renewable energies that propel economies and societies. Establishment of an HREM measurement will function as a way of understanding and calculating the financing of Energy Currency.

Directors Letter, 11/5/23

Susan Caumont

"The laissez-faire market- centered approach confuses ends and means. Rather than being a source of dignity, work becomes merely a means of production; profit turns into a goal rather than a means of achieving greater goods. From here we can end up subscribing to the tragically mistaken belief that whatever is good for the market is good for society."

Pope Francis, "Let Us Dream, the path to a better future" 2020

< Older Post

Newer Post >

Philippines, reflections

November 24, 2025

Boracay Island

Chapter Eighteen - Philippines

October 20, 2025

Philippines: Manila

Chapter Seventeen - Taiwan

October 16, 2025

Taiwan September, 2025

A Thread for Humanity

October 6, 2025

A Thread for Humanity

Chapter Sixteen – Japan Part 4

September 26, 2025

Japan Chapter 16, part 4, Looking back

Chapter Fifteen – Japan & S. Korea (8/25)

September 15, 2025

Japan Log, Part 3 General impressions, Japan and Jeju South Korea

Chapter Fourteen – Japan Part 3 (8/25)

September 9, 2025

I went to the Nagasaki Museum of Art. There was a special exhibit there called War in the Eyes of Artists; from Goya to several Nagasaki artists. Though I had deliberately avoided visiting the epicenters of the atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki for reasons I have already expressed, seeing this exhibit at the museum was just as intense. For this log I am going to highlight a display I found most moving. I am including the youtube address where it can be seen and heard. Place address here The display starts with a poem and an illustration. Both commemorate the bombing of Nagasaki. After viewing the illustration and reading the poem you enter a small theater to sit down and watch an animation of the illustration set to music. All the children, adults, animals and Shinto like creatures that are in the illustration (in a huge tree) come to life and move to the rhythm of the music. A male voice sings overall, lyrics that may have to do with the poem, written by singer/songwriter Masaharu Fujiyama and entitled, “Kusunoki; Blown by the 500-year Wind.” The illustration is the work of an artist named Junaida. The lyrics were inspired by the Kusunoki (camphor trees), which survived the atomic bomb.

Chapter Thirteen – Japan Part 2 (7/25)

September 2, 2025

Shizuoka

Chapter Twelve – Japan (8/25)

August 25, 2025

We dock at Hakodate, Japan on the 80th anniversary of the bombing of Hiroshima and Nagasaki. That stands as a singular horror among the many horrors humans commit on each other and Nature and continue to commit to this day. There is no apology possible and unfortunately nothing may have been learned. We still threaten each other with nuclear weapons. No treaty has stopped the building of nuclear bombs. I wonder how the Japanese people keep the memory of this tragedy so that living can continue with some normalcy. Maybe it can be equated to a typhoon or earthquake, like a natural disaster having no morality or intention. It has influenced their imaginations ever since though, revealed in movies like Godzilla and in their Manga. Threatening creatures, imagined power that cannot be controlled or resisted. People can be like a natural disaster to each other. People can also be wonderful. We saw this as we left the city. A small group of dancers appeared on the dock to say goodbye. The dancing they did was so charming and touching. It was a traditional dance, maybe 15 dancers. About 8 people played instruments to accompany them, flutes, drums and other unique percussion. Watching from the top deck of the ship the dancers appear like exotical dolls. Three warriors pantomime their strength, emphasized with elegant gestures of their fans and their golden, brightly tasselled headdresses that bow and flash in opposition. Then the little children emerge, five of them. Their elders position them precisely and they wait for the music to begin. Their tiny movements are sweetly in time as they step then extend their fans to tap the air with it lightly, creating a feeling of certainty and control. Moving to one side with a gliding motion they unfurl their fan, flourish and close it, then glide to the other side and do the same. The dance continues with variations of these movements and some new ones punctuate occasionally. So intent and serious, each tiny performer dressed in elaborate traditional clothing, a magical, miniature display. The dance becomes hypnotic as it continues to the simple rhythms of the drums and flutes repeating and repeating an ancient significance remembered by a few. After they finish, our ship pulls away with several blasts from the horn. The tiny dancers wave goodbye, with their hands crossing again and again in front of their faces, for so long it seems as if they might continue until we are out of sight. Finally we are too far away to hear the children cry out. This experience was fleeting and very moving. A dancing gesture of dignity and friendship. People are not their military, they are not their government. They have to participate in their society but they are first of all human. They want to create understanding beyond language and country.

Chapter Eleven – Alaska Part 2 (7/25)

August 12, 2025

Alaska feels like a different country; not like one of the United States. Maybe its vastness and extreme climate have created this unique presence. People who adapt themselves to living half the year in darkness and half in light, in a lot of cold and rain with magnificent beauty all around, this has an impact. The unique environment of Alaska transforms people. The Tlingit were one of the aboriginal Alaskan groups. They crossed the Bering Strait from Asia, approximately 9,000 years ago. There are also some theories about individuals island-hopping from Polynesia. Both scenarios may be true. Nonetheless, they formed a highly complex social, legal and political structure along with extraordinary creative arts and oral culture. Before European contact their population reached approximately 20,000. Status was based on birth and wealth, creating a hierarchical social structure. There was a noble class (determined through hereditary) followed by medicine men and women, warriors, traders, commoners and slaves. The Clan House was home to three resident classes; nobles, commoners and slaves. The construction of the Clan House was a sacred event involving rituals for the dead. The two ritual groups (moiety) were Raven or Eagle/Wolf, and they were expected to marry outside their group (exogamous). Tlingit followed a matrilineal clan system. Children inherited the clan side of the mother. All rights were through the mother; these include fishing, hunting and gathering places, the use of certain clan symbols, totem designs, house decoration and ceremonial clothing designs. The Clan had spiritual, psychological and medical protection from a medicine man or woman. They were also known to control weather, bring luck, predict the future, expose witches and speak to the dead. They did not cut their hair in order to keep their power strong. Their power would pass to a younger relative when they died.