The poison of market forces
Interview with the the Master –, through Benjamin Creme
by Patricia Pitchon

An interview with the Master –, analysing the effects of a new dispensation in which greed will be replaced by social harmony and interdependence, thereby transforming the world and ending the rule of market forces.

The following interview was given by Benjamin Creme’s Master (through Benjamin Creme) to freelance journalist Patricia Pitchon and a TV journalist.

Patricia Pitchon: Maitreya says market forces are ‘blind’, but current economic theory simply points to the law of supply and demand, and present thinking does equate this with freedom.

The Master: It is a question of where you stand initially: this is the basis of your movement in response to supply and demand. One man will demand ‘x’ from life and his demand will be met quickly, with little expenditure of energy. Another demands ‘x’ plus other factors, and a greater amount of energy is required to fulfil his needs. People make different demands on the law of supply. Some demand more of life, command greater resources, and if these are met it can only be at the expense of those who demand, or can demand, but little. This is the blindness of market forces, which take no account of differences in status (economic, social or other) of those who make the demands. Hence the operation of these forces contains inbuilt inequality; they are intrinsically divisive. This is why Maitreya calls them "satanic". If everybody started from the same point, there might be some logic to them. But nobody does. You already have rich and poor people, and rich and poor nations.

PP: Why doesn’t this analysis hold sway with Western governments?

The Master: The developed nations see it as their prerogative to demand a given standard (of life) from the law of supply. They construe that they give much. The poor nations are seen as ‘giving little’ and therefore deserving little from the same world resources.

The essence of market forces is greed, and it has been formulated as an economic theory and process in response to the greed of rich nations and rich individuals.

In the light, therefore, of a new dispensation in which greed is replaced by social harmony and interdependence, market forces can no longer hold sway. They are doomed as an economic theory because they have no relevance for the future time. A sustainable and self-regulating economic process must become the aim.

PP: People seem to be having difficulty understanding the concept and scope of sustainability. The UK Government seems to think sustainability is applicable to the environment, but not to other spheres. What is the guiding principle of sustainability?

The Master: The guiding principle must be that of sufficiency and not waste. At present the world’s economic system is governed by waste. The profligacy of that waste has created our various pollution problems and constitutes a danger to the planet’s well-being. This is only half-realized. A sustainable economy is one that supplies the needs of all within the possibilities of the planet’s health. At the moment this seems impossible to achieve, but the technology of light will transform the situation for humanity, and give unlimited, ecologically sound energy for all our needs. This will transform the approach of humanity to this problem of supply and demand and therefore of market forces.

Already many people are aware of the dangers inherent in the blind following of market forces. More and more commentators are denouncing the greed which lies at the base of our political thinking. A new consciousness is growing which is seeing greed in a new light. The greed of the present is now being seen for what it is — an aberration — and it will soon be replaced by Cooperation.

PP: How do you envisage the immediate aftermath of the stock market crash in the West?

The Master: After the preliminary shock, the nations will meet together to discuss the means of coping with the future in ordered fashion. Those who have stood most emphatically behind the rule of market forces will find themselves outvoted in the dispensation which will pertain, and those advocating Cooperation will gain the ascendancy.

This will not happen overnight. The process will be gradual, but will not be long delayed. Already there are those in various governments who are awaiting the time to act.

PP: Are these conscious disciples of the Masters?

The Master: Some are working with the Masters. Some have met Maitreya. They have been trained and prepared to carry out the changes which a more equitable world demands. Through the democratic process — which will still hold — these people will bring forward the proposals which, with greater or lesser amendments, will constitute the norm in most countries.

PP: What points of view will the newly-changing Communist countries have to give up in order to go in the new direction?

The Master: It is rigidity of thought which has brought about the collapse of the communist system. They have been unable to adapt to the changing needs in their societies. On the whole, the political groups in Eastern Europe and the Soviet Union are not enchanted by the blandishments of Western capitalism. They do indeed want to regenerate their economy. That they wish to have a more successful social democracy is not in doubt. That they desire more goods is certain. That they wish to have greater participation in government is already evident. But this is not to say that they wish to swallow capitalism whole. On the contrary, there will be many experiments, successes and partial failures before a working synthesis is achieved which will satisfy their physical needs and social ideals.

PP: What will be the response of Third World governments who are now embracing the economic approach of supply and demand when this reorientation begins to take root?

The Master: No two Third World countries are alike in their needs, their potential or in their state of development. A variety of methods will be tried. Some will look more to the Western ideal, some more to the Eastern communistic way of thinking. More and more, however, the nations of the world under the impulse of the sharing of resources, and aiming for sustainable sufficiency, will gravitate towards a democratic socialism, or, as some call it, social democracy.

This is as true for the Third World as for the developed world. This is not to say that all nations will go forward at the same pace, but this will become their ideal. And there is a place for the individual and for free enterprise within the context of a social management of the economy.

PP: Which countries are closest to that ideal?

The Master: There are a few in Western Europe: Holland, West Germany and the Scandinavian countries. France, Italy — the Common Market countries in general — reflect something of this ideal. But there, as everywhere, the evil of market forces has poisoned the economy. Politically they have a social democracy which can be completed or perfected by a greater participation of all groups in government, but they are still infected to a large extent by the poison of market forces. Politically these groups are more mature. There is a better understanding of political structures than of the destructive effects of some economic structures. All of them live under the hegemony of American economic totalitarianism, just as the communist nations of the East have lived under the hegemony of Russian political totalitarianism. But just as one group has thrown off the political yoke, so will the other discard the economic chains.

The following questions were forwarded to the Master by the TV Journalist:

TV Journalist: Maitreya has stated that the earth has become warmer in order that the world will be able to grow sufficient, organic food for its people. How soon will we see the major agricultural nations make the changes necessary to convert from chemical — and pesticide — based farming to safe, organic methods?

The Master: In pockets, this is already under way. This process will continue in ever-widening ripples until, from five to 10 years from now, most farming will be organically based. The extensive use of chemical fertilizers, which increase the yield but deplete the vitality, will give way to sounder methods. This will enhance the vitality, and therefore the health, of the people.

TV J: Will we see new areas of fertility appearing, such as in the Northern regions of Europe, which at present are unable to sustain a wide range of crops?

The Master: Most assuredly, bumper harvests will become the norm throughout the Northern hemisphere and indeed throughout the world. There will be food in abundance for all the earth’s people, and this without the use of harmful chemicals.

TV J: British education is undergoing a serious crisis of resources and morale. Teachers are leaving because they feel undervalued. Schools are struggling to fulfil their obligations often without the basic materials. Meanwhile, parents feel their children have become forgotten pawns in a political game, and the incidence of semi-literacy among school leavers is one of the highest in Europe. Will education once again become a priority in this country, and in what new directions will it evolve?

The Master: Most certainly education will have to take its place among the top priorities facing this nation. A revolutionary change in educational ideas and aims will gradually unfold throughout the world. From its own background and traditions, each nation will contribute its ideas and experiments, with the evolving child as the centre of its thinking.

The present low status of the teaching profession in the UK is a temporary phenomenon. With the demise of the present government this will soon change as market forces no longer rule, as they do today, even in education. A profound transformation in the understanding of the meaning and purpose of education will take place, in which the child as an evolving soul is considered in his individual uniqueness, and all educational facilities and techniques will be geared to serve the unfoldment of his divinity.

TV J: Enormous changes are planned for broadcasting which many feel will threaten the independence and quality of programmes. The UK Government’s Broadcasting Bill aims at selling off ITV (that is, independent) companies to the highest bidder, suggesting that profit will be a greater priority than programmes. Meanwhile, the BBC faces internal economic pressures as well as the effects of a hostile Prime Minister and Cabinet. How does the Master see the present television services evolving and what role will they play in the New Age?

The Master: Like all aspects of life in the UK at the present time, communications are subjected to the play of market forces. This is crippling their development along right lines and must be reversed at the earliest opportunity. Television as a medium has enormous potential in linking nation with nation, brother with brother, and humanity with Maitreya and His group. It is the means, par excellence, for the dissemination of information, and rightly handled, a key factor in the new education. Its importance cannot be overemphasized.

The present is a time of treading water preparatory to a great leap forward and the linkage of communication networks around the world.

From now on, problems will be seen to be, in essence, global, and global solutions will be sought. This requires worldwide distribution of the requisite data and ideas for their resolution.

From the April 1990 issue of Share International