Throughout my life I have been a capitalist and have always believed in the value of democratic institutions in government and the concept of democratic capitalism as a model for an economic system. The system has worked well for me, but during the last quarter century and especially in the last decade I have become quite disenchanted with how our economic system appears to be operating.

The capitalist system is only slightly more than 200 years old and was conceived in a very different time. That was a time of small manufacturing businesses; a time when capital was scarce. Neither of these is true today. In many respects the system has served us well over the years, but we have moved into a very different period, and yet are continuing to be enslaved by economic ideas that are no longer appropriate for a very changed world. As I will point out, capitalism has already taken a number of different forms, and it would appear that we may be on the brink of another change so that it will become a system of economic development that could work well for everyone.

Long established habits of mind have tended to lull us into thinking that what we have is simply the norm, even though it may no longer be functioning well for much of the world. Many who have done well under the present system tend to have a blind spot for the increasing problems with our system and how it functions in the world.

We have moved into an era where global communications are instant, where global businesses operate in several continents, where it is not unusual for people of different religions, nationalities and background to live and work together. In many respects we are moving in the direction of an integrated world.

We are changing in other respects as well. Our scientists are discovering that we are not only physical beings as we had always assumed, but in some sense we are spiritual beings as well, with abilities and powers we had not realized were any part of our being. I hesitate to use the term spiritual because of its long association with established world religions, but it appears to be the only suitable word we have that fits the situation. It would seem that we are, in some sense, energy beings as well. Our bodies are made of atoms; energy and matter being two aspects of the atom. Prophets of our age have concluded that we may experience God as the energy that pervades our universe. Everything is an energy body and everything is connected. This is a very different way of viewing our universe and our place in it. This awakening may well turn out to be the great equalizer.

If we consider for a moment these new interpretations of our reality as expressed by our scientists and give any credence to them, it may soon be apparent that our civilization must move in a very different direction from that which we thought was the established norm. Polluting our air, land or water will be seen as damaging a part of our own being. What a different understanding of our universe. Making all living things healthy will appear to be a prime objective rather than piling up endless fortunes we could never spend, while at the same time damaging the universe that supports all of life.

Well, how do we change our institutional forms, our governments, our industries and our economic institutions? They can change bit by bit by gradual addition and deletions, or they may occasionally change in a dramatic sweep when we become aware that our understanding of the world has changed. What we consider to be of value is changing. Creating more and more billionaires, while at the same time our activities are destroying the very atmosphere we all depend on for life, does not seem a desirable objective.

Historians sometimes refer to the situation in the middle ages, where most everyone believed in the theory of ‘The great chain of being’. This concept maintained that God established the social system. It appeared to follow that the natural order was for society to be ruled by a king and noblemen, and that the land be farmed by serfs. Everyone knew his proper place. This system, which had been the norm for hundreds of years, disappeared rather quickly when people came to realize it was not the work of God, or the natural order of things, but merely a system, which supported the gentry of that day.

Our economic system appeared on the surface to be operating more or less normally, although the top 2 percent were being rewarded out of all proportion to the wages of the middle class. That is clearly not how democratic capitalism is supposed to function.

Those with much more skill and experience than I, have been sounding the alarm bells about our economic system. George Soros, himself a notorious speculator on the world money markets, has written two books underlining our current economic problems. Warren Buffet, the consummate investor, has recently been indicating his concern about the immense speculative hedge funds and their possible effect on the world money markets.