Main Pipeline : the chain of production
One of the fundamental design flaws in the traditional economic system is the fact that it’s a pipeline, producing consumer goods from raw materials and agricultural products. Of course, it’s possible to recycle goods after use, but, do we readlly change the flow of money with that. Because that’s what counts in economics, isn’t it?
Follow The Money
An old trick is to try to follow the money instead of the goods: money travels in the opposite direction. But, what happens before the chains of production start and what happens afterwards? Economic theory does not have a simple answer to this. The recycling industry – for the used cans – is considered a separate industry, offering a brand new chain of production letting used cans in and producing recycled tin and steel. But where did the tin and iron ore come from, and where did the meat end up?
Simplified Chain of Production
Life Cycle Analysis
To solve this puzzle, environmental economists started to work on LCA: Life Cycle Analysis. They look at the entire use of energy and materials throughout the chain of production. So far so good. But, do we now get money back in return for used cans? Or, for our human excrements containing valuable minerals? No. LCA’s is a technical affair which can save companies a lot of money, but these analyses do not change the way money work.
Next Step: Cradle to Cradle
An even more powerful business attempt is to bring ecology into business: cradle to cradle. The idea is to use nothing but products which can be recycled, energy-efficiently and non-harmful for anything. This is a strong idea, because any spill during production will become less expensive: no cost to bring materials to a landfill, no extra financial punishments, no extra protection needed for employees,more healthy and happy employees and no extra costs to buy replacement goods to make up for production spills: we just recycle our own goods.
Is this enough?
This idea can bring ecology into business, but is it enough to transform the entire way the economy works? Do we always get money in return when handing in goods for recycling: No. We still have to pay to get rid of valuable goods. Does the mining company have to pay big for exploration? No. Are exhausts still for free? Yes. The business cycle may be closed almost perfectly using cradle to cradle, but our money system is not compliant: money is still in the pipeline model and it can’t be bent into a cycle.
Pipeline ways of thinking
Pipeline Thinking is one of Money's best friends
Similar to the production of our daily needs,thinking is often in an up-or-down manner: a flat one-dimensional way of thinking, reducing complexity and nuance into simple statements like Better, Good or Bad. Pipeline Thinking has many causes and effects, such as Shortage of Raw Materials, Waste Everywhere, Right/Wrong thinking, Inflation and Interest and their requirement for eternal growth. All of these need to be replaces by cyclic-based thinking, which is one of the best friends of colourcash.
So what are we going to do about it?
Colourcash offers a set of alternative ways of thinking. Instead
