Socioeconomic Psychology (Thinking In Cycles)

By: Marcus Perriello

The world operates in cycles. Everything in nature adheres to the natural terms and conditions of these cycles by design. There is one exception, however: People.

As far back as man has been able to record its history, humans have tried to make sense of these natural cycles in ways to enable them to adapt to their environment so they could survive. Unlike certain animals that hibernate during Winter and mate in the Spring, humans can thrive under many different conditions. Our unique ability to reason, invent, innovate and rationalize comes at a price.

We have yet to utilize our abilities in a manner that does not take the environment around us for granted. Most civilizations tend to think of how their society should operate in terms of vectors and hierarchy rather than in harmony with the cycles of nature. This only works to a certain extent. Once our reasoning is put into practice, we are often at odds with what nature brings us – especially in a Capitalist culture.

Regardless of which ism a given society chooses to bind their philosophy, the presence of vectors and hierarchy always presents said culture with a shared array of inherent resistance from one rung of society or more. Because we all depend on nature for our very existence, we need nature to be healthy and plentiful. Therefore, it is only right that we adjust our thought process with regards to our methods of economics and commerce to reflect that which we depend on as a species. We shift from vectors and hierarchy in this respect to thinking in circles.

People have mainly viewed the world as a summation of limited resources, which it is – but only as far as inorganic material is concerned. Organic material is self-replicating and therefore, practically has no limits because it moves through cycles.

When apples go out of season before Spring, their active cycle is slated for the coming Fall once the Spring and Summer crops have had their turn. When the apples are consumed, they are not forever gone from the Earth. They will return during the designated cycle. The same goes for all forms of sustenance – IF they are properly cared for and maintained, in which case they will reward us more-so than before.

In terms of economic growth, it is important to realize that the amount of physical money in circulation cannot be limited by the dictation of a given body; otherwise, we end up in the same quagmire that we have found ourselves in repeatedly throughout history. The money itself, in order for it to be truly reflective of the cycles of nature, must merely be a representation, by its intrinsic value, of how strong that natural cycle is at any given point. This requires a shift in societal consciousness from rationalizing money in terms of vectors, indicating a potential zero-sum game, towards that which is indicative of the cycles of nature.

Ironically, through the use of the Hydrodollar system, cyclical thinking actually simplifies socioeconomic philosophy and the behavior patterns that ensue from it’s implementation would reflect that. Instead of modern-day annoyances like debts and macro-budgeting, we could finally have things like Universal Basic Income to supplement employment. This would not only ensure our own survival as individuals, but would also allow companies to prosper on their own terms without squashing the competition to ensure their survival.

Inherent negative aspects of any system always complicate matters, both directly and indirectly. Most cultures practice economics and commerce with the rigid notions of bi-directional vectors – wealth accumulation and/or depreciation – and try to manage this practice through power-based hierarchical means.

But what if economics and commerce were rationalized in cycles rather than rigid vector or hierarchical terms? Instead of setting a society up for participation in a zero-sum game where there are winners living and losers dying, we can put into practice a socioeconomic strategy that operates as natures does: In cycles.

Let’s start with abandoning the budget variable from the equation. From here, all funds that are needed in society can be smoothly attained without risk of hindrance due to inflation or budgeting. Knowing how the cycles of nature operate, we can safely predict who will need more funding at a given time. Apple orchards in the Fall. Cabbage potatoes and gourds in Winter. Oranges and cherries in the Spring, and so on. Universal Basic Income is most useful to areas of the economy that are not in season around these times, which can allow people in these areas to pursue alternatives until their season comes around again. From this, we begin to notice that societal behavior is becoming cyclical rather than linear. People are becoming more productive, and due to the shift in climate health, people are becoming healthier too.

Because people are becoming healthier at this point, Healthcare becomes a central focus. Since we are no longer looking at the path of life as a realm clouded by uncertainty, stress levels are sure to go down. When stress goes down, health improves, therefore the cost of healthcare goes down as people become healthier and happier. The possibilities surrounding the Hydrodollar system are endless. In shifting our thought process of the economy from linear and hierarchical to cyclical, we reconnect with our environment in ways that were otherwise severely hampered under historical and modern perceptions. The trick is not to try and be someone wading in the ocean trying to stop the waves from crashing all around them, but rather to be the surfer who rides the waves and utilizes the power of nature as their own.

In our cyclical thinking as it is put into practice, we become like a wheel traveling down the road to the future. There will be various twists and turns. There will be obstacles to be navigated. But because of the nature of this system, we now have the mechanism by which we can successfully guide ourselves and each other through the rough patches with minimal risk. We perceive time as a vector. But in a cyclical environment, time is irrelevant. Different events occur during any given cycle, but we are aware that certain events are due to come back around – and will do so inevitably.

This is further proof that our perception of life as being a zero-sum game is not only deeply flawed, but completely irrational. Part of the human cycle is that as our awareness changes, so does our rationale of our environment. In keeping with a system that reflects the circular motion of our environment, we are constantly engaged in nurturing our environment to ensure our survival – as there are no inherent incentives to destroy that which permits our very existence. All superficial differences are inherently irrelevant, be they physical, financial, social, or political differences. In the end, because of the Hydrodollar system and what it provides, all people are able to exist in harmony and no one is left behind.

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