Ivan Blot: Financial capitalism and it alternatives. Contributions to the 4th Economical Theory

International Conference: «Financial Capitalism and its Alternatives for the 21th Century: Contributions on the 4th Economical Theory»  the capital city of Moldova, Chișinău, on 15th-16th December.

I congratulate Moldavia, president Mr. Igor Dodon, the Popular University, the International Eurasian Movement and the Jean Parvulesco Committee which welcome us on such an important issue, the Fourth Economic Theory.

The present financial capitalism is a version of a dominating metaphysical system which has the ambition to replace our Christian civilization. This system has been called “Gestell”, utilitarian constraint, by German philosopher Heidegger, notably influenced by Aristotle.

For Aristotle, the man lives in a world organized by four causes: the material cause, (technique and economy), the formal cause (law and morals), the efficient cause (the men and their culture) and the final cause (transcendental values, God).

Our traditional Christian world is a world where God is the final cause, which is aimed when we fight the Evil and by practicing charity which can lead to self-sacrifice. The priest but also the military are doing such things. Law and morals (formal cause) are linked with the sense of honor. The man (efficient cause) is a value in itself, as god’s image, and develops his creating talents: he has a mission which determines his firmness, morally and physically, which allows him to perform accomplishments. The basis of his life (material cause) is the family and the economic activity to nourish it.

The modern world is very different. God was replaced by the cult of the self and its whims. The political translation of this philosophy is the religion of “the rights of the man”. But these rights are not founded on something transcendental above the man, they can justify criminal acts as abortion. The “due process of law” can be a pretext to make innocent all kinds of criminals and trafficker. For instance, the European Court of human rights (ECHR) condemned France to pay big allowances to Somalian pirates who were captured by the French Navy because they were not heard in short delay by a judge. But, of course, at see on a military ship, there is no judge on board!  The taxpayer will be obliged to give money to criminals!

The supreme value is no longer the honor but the money. Freud said the arrogant moral super ego of the Americans becomes very small when it is question of money! The finance is the new god. In France, banks can block your money without any dialog during a short period of time. Laws were enacted to give the bank this power on the citizen. The discrimination by origin, religion, sex or nationality is strictly forbidden but discrimination by the amount of money you have is authorized. If you create a club only for men, or for Christians or for French citizens only will be criticized sometimes before the judge. But to create a club only for millionaires is authorized. This corrupted mentality where money is above all explains too the rise of the crimes: in France, the number of crimes and offenses was 1,5 million in 1968 and increased to 4,5 million in 20016 ! Drug trafficking or migrants smugglers bring a lot of money and punishments are weak.

In this utilitarian world, the human person is an obstacle. As wrote Heidegger, the human being has to be the best of the raw materials for the economy. For that purpose, the human being must have no roots and must be mobile as coal balls. To be loyal to your nation, to your religion, to your moral values can be an obstacle to profit hunting without limits. It is better if the cosmopolitan man is drowned in a conformist mass following the mood created by the mass media. For that reason, this materialistic utilitarian system, which follows the whims of the self, is in reality anti human. For the same reason, the culture level is decreasing among the youth in the West. Only immediate useful techniques are to be learnt as computer management or data processing.

Finally, the basis of society is the will to get financial benefits which is more important as to comfort family, defend the production or the national interest. When you have to choose between family life and professional achievement, you will always choose the second. The ideal of individual freedom is to have no children. In the West, we do not say any longer “childless” but “childfree”. It is an horrible word.  This egoistic spirit accelerates the demographic decline in the West.

On the economic field, finance is more important than production and the tendency is to employ people without any real qualification and with short run contracts. Precarious employment is developing tremendously.

Increase of crimes, collapse of all social solidarity and of patriotism, cultural decline, fall of the rate of natality, the countries which are dominated by this materialist and utilitarian ideology are on the path toward the death. They will disappear. Of course, this critical analysis of the Western utilitarian society does not justify a return to communism or fascism.

A fourth type of society, as proposed by the philosophe Alexandre Gulievitch Douguine, must restore the spiritual dimension to avoid that the human self be above everything. It is necessary to develop the spirituality, morals and solidarity, even at an heroic level. Patriotism must be the essential political value because it unites and not divides. The person and the culture must flourish thanks to a big reform of education. And the professional skill and the love of family have to recover their just place.

To do that, it is necessary to get rid of the power of finance circles on media, government and on industry. It is necessary to give back the power to the people thanks to devices of direct democracy because the referendum defends better the people’s interest than the only parliament with its lobbies. The president, thanks to the referendum can decide the major orientations for the parliament and the country. But in the same time, the state must help to a spiritual, philosophic and moral renewal of the nation. Beyond politics, we have to change the metaphysical basis in favor of life and against the forces of death.

Ivan Blot, France, high official, politician and essayist