Translation of article n. 97
S.O.S. – Save Our Souls –
S.O.S. from Planet Earth
. . . _ _ _ . . . // . . . _ _ _ . . . // . . . _ _ _ . . . // _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _
This was the radiotelegraph distress message of old times of radiotelegraphy that was sent when a ship was in serious danger of sinking and was requesting immediate assistance to anyone could give it. In Morse Code 3 points are “S” and 3 lines are “O”, while one line is “T”. The message was repeated three times and was followed by 12 lines which had the purpose to activate the alarms in all radio stations of ships receiving the message, and also in the cabins of the radio officers in order to wake them up, if they were sleeping, and run into the radio station.
TI TI TI TA TA TA TI TI TI // TI TI TI TA TA TA TI TI TI // TI TI TI TA TA TA TI TI TI // TA TA TA TA TA TA TA TA TA TA TA TA
The SOS distress message, in this year 2012, has been sent, for the first time in the known history, from our planet, the planet Earth, that is traveling in the infinite space out of control while the souls of its inhabitants are risking extinction. Who will answer to the request of assistance??? Who will be able to assist an entire planet and who will be able to save the whole humanity on it???
The Citizens of the Earth. They only, the Citizens of the Earth, with their union and participation, could give assistance and carry out the rescue of third millennium. The rescue of a humanity who has lost her certainties because the values and ideas of reference, in which modern man has been educated and grown up, have suddenly vanished, disappeared, revealing themselves to be only illusions or utopias without any basis of reality.
The illusions of a boorish and thieving capitalism based on mountains of debts have collapsed with the known disasters of past years. But man, refusing to draw the right lesson from these recent and still enduring disasters, is hurrying up to run, again and faster than before, on the same road of assault already experienced. At Wall Street they have already begun to plunge again into the sea of greed for riches after that the economies of western Countries have been patched, as best as it could be, with the money, sacrifices and suicides of whom has lost the job and of the Citizens of the Earth.
And it seems that no-one and no government can do anything about it. One invokes the growth, the growth at all costs, even more than before and with the same system as before, the only one known by our governors and by them believed an infallible doctrine. But on that much hoped growth it is worth to make some remarks. The first remark is of historical type. Mankind is living today on our planet at the end of a period of a population increase which begun various tenths of millennias ago at the end of a “bottle neck” where a few survivors saved themselves from catastrophical volcanic eruptions or other great natural disasters. For all planet 12 human beings survived and saved themselves.
Toward the beginning of Ancient Rome one estimates that mankind increased to about 50 millions people. At the end of Roman Empire, about one thousand years later, one estimates that the same mankind counted about 200 or 250 millions people. Toward 1810 humanity reached the first billion and in 1925 the world population touched two billions people, until, a few days ago, 7 billions of souls were counted. Planet Earth, instead, has remained always the same. Her total surface is about 148 millions of square kilometers. The resulting density is therefore today 48 inhabitants per square kilometer, which means 21.000 square meters available for each Earth’s dweller, including artic zones, mountains and deserts.
Rounding to 20.000 square meters, each existing inhabitant of the Earth has at his disposal an area, for his privacy and survival, equivalent to a room of 400 x 50 meters, like 4 foot-ball fields. This inhabitant, from this surface of 400 x 50 meters, may obtain all what he needs for his survival:, grain, legumes, vegetables, timber, petrol, minerals, and all products of nature. Given that no-one will take possession of such products on which he trusts for his or her existence.
These 20.000 square meters, unchangeable and non extendible, act as a bond not to underestimate in a global harmonious development. The progress of Nations today is measured with percentages of growth of GNP (Gross National Product). +1, +2, +3 ….., and so on. The Nation is progressing when the growth is positive. But growing continuously involves that always more material things and services have to be produced and consumed, and this can be done only if the resources of the planet were unlimited, namely not tied up to the mentioned 20.000 square metres for each inhabitant. This contradiction is followed by an other one, which is the second consideration, namely the system or mean chosen by the Nations for the achievement of such a “progress” and that is the free market. And the free market is in practice the operational arm of capitalism.
The current non capitalism, which is the denial of the true millenary capitalism as described at the art. n. 16, and also at the art. n. 56, is based on irrationality, namely on folly, as confirmed, even if reluctantly, by the previous chief of Federal Reserve, i.e. the American Central Bank, Alan Greenspan. This degeneration of greed of man has provoked, and continues to provoke, what is called by now the “Economic Feudalism”, namely the concentration of all wealth in the hands of a few. This process continues substantially undisturbed because we do not want to recognize the contradiction and the non sustainability of the doctrine of free market.
One cannot be in favour of sustainability and of free market in the same time. The sustainability implies rules in order to grow respecting tha nature and its growth rates which, for example, would allow to cut a tree only when an other one has grown on its place. Otherwise we will end up just like the inhabitants of Easter Island. If, in addition, we consider the right of each person to rely on the products obtainable from his or her 20.000 square metres of ground then the need to regulate the free market becomes even more an obliged road instead of a choice.
The doctrine of free market selfregulating which alone, without rules, establishes costs, prices and production quantities, was imagined during XIXth century when the belief was that the resources of the planet were unlimited and the number of inhabitants of the Earth was still relatively very small. The development of this doctrine of infinite freedom in the past has progressed in an alternated way through wars and reconstructions because that was its natural propensity. But things have changed and we cannot refuse to acknowledge it.
It appears therefore that the solution is to change completely the idea of “progress”. No more quantitative progress based on positive percentages of GNP, but qualitative progress based on zero increase of GNP in a regulated market economy, of sustainability based on quality of life and not on increased quantities of goods produced. An harmonious growth of quality where the unrestrained excesses of enrichment will be reduced according to what already shown in previous articles, and particularly abolishing, or drastically restricting, financing and operations of stock exchange, that is slowing down the economy relying on our own savings only. Growing slowing down in order to live instead of growing convulsively to nourish the “Economic Feudalism”.
The third Millennium therefore has begun with the launching of the distress message S.O.S. requesting immediate assistance of planet Earth. …..S.O.S. – S.O.S. – S.O.S. – ….. The message will continue to be transmitted until will remain the last square meter of productive ground and till last man will be on the planet. If the Citizens of the Earth are willing to answer to the rescue operation they can express it with a peaceful demonstration in all cities of the world next 21st June, day of Solstice, in order to indicate to all governors of the Nations the road for a new Civilization based on a regulated qualitative progress made of peace, justice, balance, measure, soberness, harmony, respect and freedom for all persons and all wonders of nature.
S.O.S. – S.O.S. – S.O.S. – S.O.S. – S.O.S. – S.O.S. – ……………………
Pensieri dell'Uomo 