On October 22, 2014, we attended, as an economist, a roundtable on "The meek shall inherit the Earth", discussing the subject "The New Economy", at the 3rd Spiritist Congress: "Celebration of the 150 Years of The Gospel According to Spiritism". The Congress was organized by the Religions Program of Studies and Research - PROEPER, the Centre for Social Sciences at the State University of Rio de Janeiro - UERJ, and Mrs. Nadja do Couto Valle, Professor, represented Spiritism.

With the aid of the data-show we made our speech, and among other fundamentals of the New Economy, we discussed the answer given by the Instructors of Humanity to Allan Kardec, question 930 of the Book of Spirits: "In a society organized according to the Laws of Christ, no one should die of hunger".

Etymology of the word economy and its definition

Then, we started to explain the etymology of the word Economy, which comes from the Greek oikos that means the house or property and nomos, rule or norm. Etymologically, it meant, at that time, housekeeping. In order to give it its current meaning the political adjective (polis, from the Greek and meaning city) was added to it. It then became clear that the economy had the specific goal of society, not the individual or family unit.

Continuing the subject, we presented the definition of Economics as a social science that studies the production, distribution and consumption of goods and services, and examines the forms of human behavior resulting from the relationship between the needs of men and the resources available to satisfy them.

We clarified also that this science is closely linked to the political nations and to people's lives, and one of its main purposes is to explain how the economic systems and the relations of the economic agents work, proposing solutions to existing problems. 

Basic elements of economic systems 

Given the definition of economics and its scope, we believe that the basic elements of an economic system are:

1) The stocks of productive resources or factors of production, which are the human resources (labor and entrepreneurship), capital, land, natural resources and technology;

2) The complex production units, which comprise the companies; and

3) The set of political, legal, economic and social institutions, which form the basis of social organization. 

Economic systems classification

Presently, regarding the classification of the economic systems, we can say there are two systems: capitalism and socialism.

The capitalist system or market economy is governed by market forces, predominantly free enterprise and private ownership of production factors. The capitalist system predominates in most industrialized countries, or in an industrialization phase and its economy is based on the separation between legally free workers, who have only the workforce and sell it for wages, and the capitalists, who own the means of production and hire workers to produce goods (goods directed to the market) in order to obtain profits.

Socialism refers to any of several theories of economic organization defending public or collective ownership and management of the means of production and distribution of goods, and a society characterized by equal opportunities/resources for all individuals with a more equal method of compensation. The current countries that follow the one-party socialism are: the People's Republic of China, the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (North Korea), the Republic of Cuba, the Socialist Republic of Vietnam and the People's Democratic Republic of Laos. 

Economy and Spiritism 

After having conceptualized the Economy, the basic elements of economic systems and their classification, and supported by the basic foundation of the new economy, in which in an organized society, according to the teachings of Jesus, "No one should die of hunger," considering that all men are children of God and considering that we are all immortal, and that our evolution is obtained by means of reincarnation, we proposed the following considerations:

1st reflection - The evolutionary process of the Spirit

Then we showed the graphic of the Evolution of the Spirit, from our book Reincarnation it is Possible to Prove It, in order to prove that all Spirits created by God will reach one day spiritual perfection, the same perfection achieved by Jesus. Therefore, it is important to say that God created us to be perfect and happy. The Doctrine gives man this great hope through his spiritual and eminently evolutionary philosophy, revealing him his glorious destination reserved by the Creator. When man understands this goal, which he is to win by means of his own effort, he feels fully motivated to regenerate and change himself into a good man.                                                                      

2nd reflection - Before the proposal for a new economy 

Continuing, we present the issues 806, 806-a, 811, 811-a, 812, 812-a of the chapter Law of Equality in the The Book of Spirits, making it clear that social differences are the work of man and not God, and that they will disappear one day as man progresses morally, fighting selfishness, social scourge, according to the Humanity Instructors when answering Allan Kardec, the Spiritism Encoder. 

3rd reflection - Economy and Ecology 

Now, considering that economy is the science that studies human behavior and the relation between its needs and available resources to meet them, it is essential to think about the relation between Ecology (environment) and the New Economy. In short: "Preserve to grow and grow without destroying".

In the introduction of the Project of our own "Preservation of the Environment", sent to the CEERJ - State Spiritist Council of Rio de Janeiro in 2005, we emphasized the environmental insanity, by stating: 

It is true that the world never needed much of a refreshing thought and a new philosophy of action as this moment, in which the environmental process is being accelerated out of control. But we cannot forget that man is the administrator of earthly goods, as correctly said by the Spiritual Benefactor Emmanuel, through the pen of Francisco Candido Xavier, when he explains on page Evolution and Improvement (in the Book of Hope, CEC Edition): "Indeed, on behalf of the Eternal Wisdom, man is the master of evolution on Earth. All elements are subject to his discretion. All kingdoms of the planet render him homage". 

4th reflection - Population Growth 

We must agree that the Earth has limited resources in all fields. And these resources are constantly decreasing. Each year, 15 million acres of cropland are taken over by the desert in Africa. In many countries there are no forests left. Oil may end before man finds you a replacement. Humanity is spending the riches of the Earth and overloading it of debris at a pace that is becoming untenable. With so much selfishness and shortsightedness, especially by the richest countries, how will the planet deal with the billions of new inhabitants set for the coming decades and centuries?

The human species, using the intelligence with which it is endowed, creates forms of production necessary to maintain them in the terrestrial orb. However, these forms run into a difficult obstacle to be overcome: the consumption of the planet's wealth combined with the saturation of debris at a rate that may be unsustainable due to the population growth already noted, according to well known projections.

The estimated world population, which until 1500 was of 500 million inhabitants, in 1961 reached three billion. On August 13, 1987, that is, 26 years later, the world celebrated five billion. In 2005 the Earth reached 6.5 billion people, meaning an increase of 1 billion people compared to 1993, despite low fertility in developed countries and high mortality in developing countries. Finally, according to a report released by the UN, it reached 7 billion in 2012 and most probably 9 billion in 2015.

The growth rate decreased from 2% at the end of the 1960s to 1.2% today. 

Conclusion 

Our proposal, in short, is based on the following Basics for the New Economy:

1) In a society organized under the law of Christ, no one should die of hunger;

2) Consider that the population growth should be dealt not with policies such as abortion, but with better income distribution policies, such as the control of selfishness and not through birth control;

3) Ecology, as a way to preserve the planet, should keep in mind: preserve to grow and grow without destroying; and

4) Man's education on moral grounds, i.e. forming a good man, through the education of his Spirit.

Gerson Simões Monteiro, a former University Professor and Economist, is vice-president of the "Radio Rio de Janeiro".