IntegralJournal

Mindful Capital Club Presentation

Presentation and Background Information

From the back cover:

Those who are mindful are beginning to realize that only an entirely new operating system can prevent the collapse of civilization. However, to date, no one has presented such a system. This presentation outlines a system that has the potential to serve as a viable replacement for the current paradigm.

From Greater Fool to Greater Good and Common Wealth

In order to more completely understand the problem of our current "Greater Fool" way of living, it is helpful to review the various posts and related links of this blog.  However, for those of you who want a quick answer, I posted the following in my About section this morning:

The development of a response to this condition [why we have failed to develop to our full potential] follows:

(The details may change somewhat as potential members help shape the rules of the club, but this is essentially the form of the institution that has the potential to move us towards a more comprehensive and sustainable lifestyle. As the details are known, the following summary will be updated.)

What the world needs now is an institution that permits us to hedge against the current "Greater Fool" Lifestyle that dominates the culture in inefficient and insidious ways. This lifestyle includes investing in a stock market that is by historical standards considerably overpriced. If history is a guide, many investors can expect to receive little or no income from the stock market. To my knowledge, there is currently no hedge against this Lifestyle.

Below is a description of a private club that can serve as the hedge and the base for meaningful change:

--Rule changes and trustee selection are by "super majority" vote of both equity and membership.

--The design and atmosphere of club properties will be similar to that of a quality resort and spa w/ approximately 350 to 950 square foot apartments.

--Occupancy will be comprised of three components: 1) Guests who pay market rates for services, 2) Club members who utilize the property as a destination residence club at 4% times cost plus expenses that are pro-rated based on all property revenue, 3) Trustee-selected Club members (a.k.a. Fellows) who operate the property on an independent contractor basis and utilize the property as a non-accredited university

--Trustee meetings will be conducted online over a period of 4 or 5 days and members will have access to the entire proceedings whether in writing, audio and/or video.

--There will be two accounts within the club. One will be for properties in developed environments and the other will be for properties in developing environments. The club and others like it are intended to replace institutions like the debt-oriented World Bank and to also serve as a complement to charitable giving.

--Member's ability to reserve apartments at club properties will be subject to: 1) Guest reservations of up to 50% of capacity, 2) initial commitment date, and 3) ongoing commitment (through fulfilling pledges to "developing" and "developed" capital accounts and to actual occupancy)

This entire process of developing an answer has been very organic.  However, I sense that there is now enough detail to start presenting the concept to individuals and institutions who may be interested in hedging the current "lifestyle" and/or being a part of a new institution that provides a model for sustainable development.

Matt Holbert

A Private Hedge Club

I was inspired to further shape the concept of a new institution after reading R. Buckminster Fuller's Grunch of Giants.  I came across Grunch of Giants through a reference in General Plenty - Always and Only the Path to Peace.  I highly recommend both books.

This post touches on almost every category that I have formerly established.  I am sometimes asked what I do.  Maybe I should start referring questioners to the About area of this blog.  I'm trying to find our why we as a society do not live up to our potential.  The fragility of our present circumstance requires some integral and creative answers.  We have to create a system that competes with the prevailing system. 

Why a "private" hedge club?  A public entity requires the oversight of the government.  Why anyone would want this government involved in their financial affairs is a mystery to me.  Fiscal irresponsibility aside, the government has a "leader" who less than 15 years ago was placed on a board -- through a favor from the well-connected -- and proceeded to distinguish himself during his tenure by telling dirty jokes.

Why a private "hedge" club?  Most people have put all their marbles -- literally and figuratively -- in a system that is fraught with corruption and inefficiency.  They need to realize that there can be a way to "hedge" the current system.  The fragility of the current system is there -- for us all to see -- but yet we remain in a state of denial.  (To be up front, this also permits playing the "fear card."  A tool that unfortunately seems to be required in order to get the general public's attention.)

Why a private hedge "club"?  A private club seems to me to be the only entity that can encompass all of the elements necessary to create a new institution.  Education, a physical infrastructure, lack of dogma and doctrine, and longevity.  The term "society" works as well but makes it harder to define the rules that are necessary for sustainability.

Primary Hedge Areas

One of the dominant -- read thought-killing -- characteristics of the current system is debt.  Debt is all about possessing.  The irony is that so long as debt is involved, the system -- not the bank per se -- possesses you.  This is unhealthy and one reason -- in my opinion -- for the high levels of depression.  (This reminds me of the standard Christian response with respect to the poor: They will always be with us.  Baaad Attitude!)  If one wants to hedge the current system, one would create an institution in which "banking" is equity only.

As has been pointed out in earlier posts, our education is primarily geared towards producing certified individuals, rather than critical-thinking individuals.  Another dominant characteristic of the education system is that it is concerned with turning out folks who work/manipulate behind a desk -- or in a hotel lobby with a laptop -- rather than doing something that is hands-on.  In the new global economy, your desk job will soon be done somewhere around the world where the costs are lower.  Why would anyone want to sit behind a desk for 8+ hours anyway?  The hedge club will commit resources to shaping an education system that includes hands-on activity and real-world projects.

Opportunity, not charity or propaganda.  The current system's tax laws either encourage charitable giving or cause (special interest) giving.  A hedge club can be structured to encourage members to quit giving to charity and propaganda.  Pay your taxes and use the balance to build up equity in a system that builds and provides opportunity, rather than tears down and gives hand-outs.

Anyone who thinks the current system is not sustainable should contact me and make a commitment to help get the ball rolling.  Hit the "Email Me" button (above left) and contact me.  We can change the course of history this afternoon.

Matt Holbert