Salient. The Newspaper of Victoria University College. Vol. 19, No. 6. May 31, 1955
"Social Credit"
" Social Credit"
Major Douglas named one of his books "Social Credit" because in that book he elaborated the theory that social credit as he called it, could be the basis by which the human community could step out of one type of civilisation into another type of civilisation. From derivation the word "social" immediately suggests "association" and the word "credit" suggests "belief'. These in combination give rise to the widely accepted definition that "Social Credit is the belief inherent in society that its individual members in association can obtain the results they want." Many Social Crediters throughout the world have cursed the day when Major Douglas first used the term "Social Credit," not because they disagreed with his theories, but because the appellation left itself open to so many misconstructions. Even today we are constantly identified with Socialists, despite the fact that the two philosophies arc worlds apart.
Social Crediters are Insistent that our financial and economic systems are only the means to an objective, and that objective is a new civilisation based on economic security, a civilisation in which all the fundamental freedoms are realities, a civilisation of prosperity, culture, happiness and peace. To come down to earth, the Social Crediter does not believe that it is a supreme function of our economic system to provide work for everyone. Rather we believe that human beings would be better served by our economic system if it relieved us of the deadening, dally routine of toll, leaving individuals free to enjoy Byron's "eternal spirit of the chainless mind." This is one of the most misunderstood conceptions of Social Credit. Our Labour critics sneer that we are against full employment.