For future reference I will post here a short post in Portuguese:
O futuro da humanidade é negro, e uma das principais razões para isso (mas não a única) é o estatismo crescente, potenciado pelas multiplas vertentes da tecnologia que pemite aos estados controlar cada vez mais completamente todos os aspectos da vida das pessoas, que cada vez mais se aproximarão de formigas perfeitamente alinhadas, igualizadas, conformadas e controladas como robots pelos overlords politicos.
Para quem já leu ficção científica, a futurologia nesta linha é rcorrente.
Usualmente, os herois são pessoas integradas em pequenos grupos que tentam fazer frente aos poderes instituidos, opressivos, dos estados hiper-controladores.
Pois bem, os sinais deste tipo de "progresso" nas vidas reais que vamos vivendo são multiplos.
Alguns são "progressos" bastante claros e até obvios, neste sentido, outros são mais marginais e menos claros - mas continuam a ser importantes para se atingirem os estádios finais deste tipo de utopia negra (como estádio final, imagine-se uma Coreia do Norte mundial, com tecnologia de vigilancia e controle muito mais avançada do que a que eles usam actualmente).
Um dos progressos MAIS OBVIOS é o fim do dinheiro.
O dinheiro foi uma invenção maravilhosa:
Algo que facilita as trocas de bens e serviços de forma espantosa (imagine-se trocar tempo de trabalho por bens fisicos, imaginemos que alguem trabalhava para o dono de um rebanho de carneiros e tinha de dar tempo de trabalho até atingir o valor de um carneiro inteiro para o poder receber como pagamento do seu trabalho, etc..).
O dinheiro tambem pode ser usado para poupar valor acumulado: Podemos conservar todos os meses um pouco do que ganhamos, para depois quando temos acumulado o suficiente podermos comprar coisas mais caras e mais raras, ou para vivermos em periodos em que não temos rendimento.
No entanto, para os estados actuais o dinheiro tem um problema terrivel:
As transacções em dinheiro são, por definição, anónimas.
Não deixam um rasto electrónico (nem em papel). Se se quer controlar tudo o que as pessoas fazem com os seus recursos (com o seu dinheiro) é preciso construir mecanismos de controle paralelos: obrigações de comunicação de transportes, vigilancia (por fiscais humanos disfarçados de consumidores comums) sobre registos de transacções sob a forma de "facturas", etc..
Por isso, os governos tem estado a tentar limitar cada vez mais o uso do dinheiro.
Já discuti isso, com base na progressiva legislação que tem saido em todo o lado para impedir transacções de valor significativo, pagas em dinheiro.
Lembro-me em particular do caso da Itália, há um par de anos, que fez sair legislação muito radical sobre isso (limitando as transacções pagas em dinheiro a uns 500 euros de valor maximo, se não me engano).
E em Portugal tambem existe legislação a impor limites, embora usualmente não se lhe ligue muito.
Pois bem em Israel estão já oficialmente a estudar o fim absoluto do dinheiro!
http://www.zerohedge.com/news/2014-05-27/government-plan-would-transform-israel-world%E2%80%99s-first-cashless-society
Ultima nota:
É claro que a partir dai o estado vai ter acesso a informação completa sobre como cada cidadão gasta até as quantias mais infimas, e vai poder cobrar TODAS as taxas que existem (e que certamente irá inventar), e vai lembrar-se de multiplas formas de condicionar a vida das pessoas para as obrigar a gastar os seus recursos só em bens e serviços que lhes pareçam mais "virtuosos" e mais uteis ao "bem comum".
Mas há um aspecto adicional:
Estando TUDO em suportes informaticos ao invés de em dinheiro fisico, e (para que
as coisas funcionem) estando tudo em rede (e não em servidores fechados em salas profundas e desligados de todas as interfaces com o exterior) é obvio que se criam aqui vulnerabilidades que antes não existiam.
No limite um pais (ou pelo menos a sua economia e a vida das pessoas) poderá ser completamente arruinado por um bom ataque informático...
Enfim, temos o futuro que merecemos, com a nossa tendencia média (e por isso democraticamente maioritária) de preferirmos ser carneiros dirigidos (governados, financiados, igualizados, etc.) pelos estados e pelos politicos, ao invés de sermos individuos autonomos com poder para (e necessidade de) governarmos as nossas proprias vidas...
Para referencia futura vou guardar este texto, mesmo em Portugues, no meu ex-blogue.
Abraço,
Pedro
And, so that the source is not lost I will copy/paste below the article referenced above:
(from here:
http://endoftheamericandream.com/archives/government-plan-would-transform-israel-into-the-worlds-first-cashless-society)
Government Plan Would Transform Israel Into The World’s First Cashless Society
By Michael Snyder, on May 26th, 2014
Will Israel be the first cashless society on the entire planet? A committee chaired by Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s chief of staff has come up with a three phase plan to “all but do away with cash transactions in Israel”. Individuals and businesses would still be permitted to conduct cash transactions in small amounts (at least initially), but the eventual goal is to force Israeli citizens to conduct as much business as possible using electronic forms of payment. In fact, it has been reported that Israeli officials believe that “
cash is bad” because it fuels the underground economy and allows people to avoid paying taxes. It is hoped that requiring most transactions to be conducted in cash will reduce crime and help balance the national budget. And once 98 or 99 percent of all transactions are cashless, it will not be difficult for the Israeli government (or any other government) to go the rest of the way and ban cash transactions altogether. But is a cashless society actually desirable? This is a question that people all over the world will have to start asking as governments increasingly restrict the use of cash.Back in September, it was announced that the Israeli government had formed a committee to
“examine ways to eliminate cash from the Israeli economy”…
The government on Tuesday authorized establishment of a committee that will examine ways to eliminate cash from the Israeli economy – the better to prevent citizens from cheating on their taxes. The committee will be chaired by Harel Locker, director of the Prime Minister’s Office.
This committee had the full backing of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, and some of the goals of the committee included finding ways to
increase tax revenue and prevent money laundering…
Officials in the Prime Minister’s Office declared that “around the world, it is recognized that cash is a key element of the illegal economy and money laundering. It allows a wide gap between reported and actual incomes, with the corresponding effect on tax revenues.” By eliminating cash, the PMO said, “it will be possible to expand the tax base, and prevent money laundering.” The committee will study the issue from all its perspectives and make recommendations, the PMO said.
The committee has had quite a few months to examine these issues, and now they have come back with their recommendations. Just this week we learned that
a three phase plan is being proposed…
A special committee headed by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s chief of staff, Harel Locker, has recommended a three-phase plan to all but do away with cash transactions in Israel.
The motivation for examining a cash-less economy is combatting money laundering and other tax-evasion tactics, thereby maximizing potential tax collection and greatly expanding the tax base. This is important considering the enormous strain put on Israel’s national budget by the army, healthcare system and other public services.
The committee estimated that the black market represents over 20 percent of Israel’s GDP, and cash is the facilitating factor. Cash enables tax evasion, money laundering and even financing terrorism.
So what do the specifics of the plan look like?
Well, there will be very strict limits on the use of cash for individuals and businesses, any violations will be considered criminal offenses, and all Israeli banks will be required to issue debit cards
to all account holders…
What the committee would like to see happen, pending government approval, is greater restriction on the use of cash, limiting the use of checks as a means of payment and exchange for cash, and promotion of the use of electronic (and therefore verifiable) means of payment.
The following guidelines were set out by the committee for the short-term:
- Limit business transactions done in cash or by check to NIS 7,500 ($2,150) immediately, and reduce that further to NIS 5,000 ($1,433) one year from the date of legislation;
- Limit private transactions done in cash or by check to NIS 15,000 ($4,300);
- Any violation of these limits would be a criminal offense warranting a stiff fine.
In conjunction with these new restrictions, Israeli banks would be required to provide all account holders with debit cards to further promote electronic payments.
But of course this move toward a cashless society is not just happening in Israel.
In Sweden, it is estimated that just
3 percent of all transactions involve cash at this point. In fact,
according to an article in the Washington Post, some Swedish banks do not handle cash at all anymore…
In most Swedish cities, public buses don’t accept cash; tickets are prepaid or purchased with a cell phone text message. A small but growing number of businesses only take cards, and some bank offices — which make money on electronic transactions — have stopped handling cash altogether.
“There are towns where it isn’t at all possible anymore to enter a bank and use cash,” complains Curt Persson, chairman of Sweden’s National Pensioners’ Organization.
And the U.S. is starting to move in that direction as well.
According to a study conducted by MasterCard, approximately
80 percent of all consumer transactions in the United States are now cashless.
But isn’t there a downside to all of this?
Just about everything that we do in life involves money. So yes, a government can track electronic payments to make sure taxes are being paid and money laundering is not happening, but it would also enable a government to do so much more.
If a government can track all of your transactions, it will essentially be able to monitor everywhere you go and pretty much keep track of virtually everything that you do.
If you doubt this, just try to live without any money some time.
You won’t get very far without putting some gas in your vehicle.
And without being able to buy food, you will get hungry pretty quickly.
Are you starting to understand?
This is why governments love the idea of moving toward a cashless society. It would give them an immensely powerful surveillance tool.
So let us hope that this does not happen in Israel or anywhere else in the world either.
