A Universal Ideology of Economics

“The liberation of the individual from the state experiment has some qualities worth noting.  This relatively small population has produced what is without question the world’s largest and most robust economy – indeed, on economic grounds alone, the American economic miracle, puzzled out in large part by a rationalist named Adam Smith has shattered all historical comparisons.” ~ William A. Whittle (2003)

A Universal Ideology of Economics (UIE) for the world intends to replace the defunct Marxist-Leninist ideology as well as stating, restating, defining, redefining, or modifying the capitalistic ideology or any other economic ideology you may believe.  Yet, statist President Barack Hussein Obama is intent on fundamentally transforming the United States of America into a Marxist-socialist state.

The UIE is stated in a short, simple manner and is universally understandable by anyone, anywhere in the world, regardless of previous exposure to the subject or level of education.  Tuba, Etele, and Uda (2005) document the UIE in a book titled The Third Resource: A Universal Ideology of Economics.  Some of Dr. Tuba’s ideas on this subject were published as far back as 1955, in Budapest, Hungary.

Abstract

Basic to the ideology is the concept of the Three Resources(first recognized and defined by Dr. Tuba in 1955), essential to the economy of the world, i.e., natural resources, human resources, and human-generated resources.  We expand the human resources category and introduce the third category, human-generated resources.  This concept dramatically changes the classical communistic and socialistic economic thinking, which requires wide-scale indoctrination for its adoption into policies of the governments linked to these political systems even after the dramatic changes, which have recently taken place.

To a lesser degree, the implications for the capitalistic system are just as important, particularly in realizing how the newly defined resources can be used to increase the standard of living (SOL) and the quality of life (QOL) in a safe and secure environment (SSE) for all, without the classical accusations related to being an exploiter or being exploited.  SOL and QOL are abbreviated as SQ.

A native of Hungary, Dr. Tuba (now deceased) grew up under a communist-controlled system and, thus, has a broad, personal knowledge of the ideologies of such a system.  Escaping from Hungary in 1956, he came to the United States and enrolled in the Carnegie Institute of Technology where he received an MSME degree and later a PhD degree in engineering from the University of Pittsburgh while working full time for Westinghouse Electric Corporation.

From 1964 to 1970, he worked at the Westinghouse Research and Development Center.  Later, he left Westinghouse to start a number of engineering and research corporations.  Dr. Tuba considered the founding of the International Technology Institute (ITI) in 1976 as his crowning accomplishment.

Introduction

In the late 1940s and early 1950s as a youth in his native Hungary, then a Soviet communist-controlled country, Dr. Tuba was subjected to significant indoctrination in their economic ideology.  This took place not only in school but also at home since his father was an underground leader of the Social Democratic Party of Hungary, which maintained dangerous ties to the British labor movements.

Central to the theme of the socialistic and communistic ideologies is the concept that most of the wealth is generated by industrial and farm labor and that power, therefore, must be in the hands of the proletariat.  From his father, he was bombarded with the notion that all humans are users of wealth generated by society, but not all humans are generators of that wealth.  Thus, the generators, naturally, should be the ones to determine how to use the wealth.

These exposures made a significant impact on young Istvan Tuba but failed to convert him to communism or socialism.  On the contrary, they acted as eye-openers and starting points for seeking the absolute truth without any accompanying labels.

While there was a certain degree of attractiveness to these premises, he began to sense missing elements, which he summarized in the following questions:

• What is wealth?
• What should be society’s goal?
• What resources are available to achieve the goal?
• What are the realistic limits and constraints?
• What are the best mechanisms to achieve the goal?
• What are the roles of the different segments of society in the wealth generation process?

Putting aside all previous definitions and labels, he developed significant understanding just by answering some of these questions.  For example, the “wealth” of a society can be defined to mean whatever controls the levels of SOL and QOL (SQ) in an indefinitely maintainable SSE.

The “goal” of society should be to increase continually the wealth of society by using all of its available resources and continually creating new resources.

In 1955 in Budapest, Hungary, Dr. Tuba defined a “Third Resource” as “Human-Generated Resource.”  This resource is in addition to the commonly accepted two, i.e., Natural Resource and Human Resource.  Therefore, the “available resources” can be listed under three major categories:

1. Natural Resources: Sun, earth, land, soil, water, air, plants, animals, and minerals.
2. Human Resources: People – there are six principal subdivisions:
3. Ability to work
4. Talent to create
5. Intelligence to decide and make wise selections from possible choices and alternatives
6. Desire or will to work and to be creative and innovative
7. Ability to learn
8. Ability and willingness to communicate and share
9. Human-Generated Resources: There are two principal sub divisions:
   • Technology – know-how, information, knowledge, techniques and tools, and new materials.
   • Strategic Capital (money) – as a strategic planning tool and as a measure of generated, but unconsumed, wealth passed on from generation to generation.

The addition of technology and strategic capital as wealth-generating resources affect both prevailing economic ideologies – communistic and capitalistic.

The communists, of course, were quite clear in their definition of the role of capital.  “Capital is the tool of the employer to exploit the workers and a tool of the capitalistic countries of the world to exploit the rest of the world.”

In the capitalistic system, capital (particularly in the form of money) is the principal motivator of the economy.  The validity of this premise has already been challenged from within (i.e., Dr. Robert Solow, MIT, recipient of the Nobel Prize in Economics).  The disparities in the two economic ideologies and the associated political ideologies were the source of world unrest for decades.  A process of change in both ideologies can enhance world peace and prosperity.

Today, in the post-Cold War era and with growing globalization of the economy, it is essential that a new concept of economic ideology, A Universal Ideology of Economics, be recognized and applied in the world population.  This is an idea whose time has arrived.  It can be successful if expedited action is taken with much vigor.

A Universal Ideology of Economics

The Goal

There is presently a universal goal, i.e., to have sufficient wealth available for consumption and enjoyment.  Every individual is a consumer.  We all wish for an ever-improving QOL coupled with a safe and secure environment.  Naturally, there are cases that depart from such a simplistic statement.  However, we view society first as a whole and then recognize the disparities.

Available Resources

The three major resources available to satisfy human aspirations through economic activities have been presented as natural, human, and human-generated resources.

Dr. Tuba understands capital as a strategic, executive tool developed after his arrival in the United States in 1956.  He recognizes that money, although by itself is not capable of generating wealth, can act as the necessary catalyst on the other ingredients – natural resources, human labor, and technology.  The focus is not on the role of money in the exchange process of property and services.  The focus is on the strategic role of capital alone in wealth-generation.

The authors’ area of advocacy for many years has been in “technology,” one of the human-generated resources.  Technology is a most valuable resource and is responsible for generating new-wealth at a much higher rate than ever before.  Merely generating new-wealth is not the whole story, however.

Creation-Related Activities

For the world population to achieve improved SQ in an SSE, new-wealth must be generated continuously.  This process must be understood by the world population in order for any universal economic ideology to be created and to become successful.  Part of this understanding requires recognition of the major groups involved in what has been termed “creation-related activities.”

Based on overall impact to society, the activity groups of society fall into two major divisions: (1) use-related activities and (2) creation-related activity groups.

Use-Related Activities

Every person is a user of wealth and enjoys a certain level of SQ made possible by nature and created by society.  Each one is a consumer, a non-creating activity.  The purpose of all creating activity is to increase the wealth available for consumption and improving the QOL.

Creation-Related Activity Groups

The purpose of all creating activity is to increase the wealth available for consumption while improving the QOL.  There is a continuous spectrum of activity area from the highly desirable, to the neutral, to the highly undesirable exercised by various segments of society.  Eight major categories are listed here, along with a few subcategories, for illustration purposes:

1. Creators of new resources – creators of the new means by which wealth can be created with less energy and human effort than was possible before.  Engineers, scientists, and technologists (ESTs) are in this group; certain educators belong here also depending on the subject areas.
2. The right decision makers – in using resources in QOL generation.  These may include investors, corporate executives, government leaders, educators, and voters who elect some of these decision makers.
3. Wealth generators, maintainers, and improvers of the SOL – farmers, food processors, industrial corporations and workers, shippers, and builders.
4. QOL maintainers and improvers – health professionals, entertainers, sportsmen, and artists; depending on subject areas, certain educators belong here also.
5. Re-distributors of wealth – many government operations through taxation systems and other indirect means, such as imposing laws, rules, and regulations.
6. Non-participants – there is an ever-increasing number of sub categories.
7. Babies, children, ill or disabled, and the aged – society should take care of them.
8. Students – deserve special attention because what they learn influences what they may become, which, in turn, will decide the category to which they belong when they become active participants.
9. The protectors – law enforcement (police), paramedics, firefighters, and military personnel.
10. The unemployed – usually due to unfortunate economic circumstances.
11. The wrong decision makers – in using resources in QOL generation.  These may include investors, corporate executives, government leaders, educators, and voters who elect some of them.
12. Abusers and Manipulators –
13. Freeloaders, illegal aliens, and criminals – who are incarcerated or living within society.
14. Financial manipulators – who create nothing but just manipulate others.  These should not be confused with the genuine capitalist who uses capital as a strategic tool to create new wealth for society and themselves by investing in wealth-creating enterprises.

All eight groups have direct and indirect components.  Every individual, government body, business, corporation, organization, and activity falls in one or more of the above categories.

Education is necessary on a worldwide scale to develop an awareness of how the system works, who is in what activity, and the benefits or consequences emanating from each group activity.  It is also interesting to study how society rewards the members of the various groups.

The Ideology

A Universal Ideology of Economicsis so simple that, once stated, it appears trivial.  It involves:

1. Establishing the proper goals toward QOL improvement in a safe and secure environment,
2. Recognizing the available resources, including the increasingly important Third Resource, and
3. Providing a favorable environment so the new-resource creators, the wealth-generators, and the QOL-improvers can exercise their creative activities without excessive control from the re-distributors, some non-participants, manipulators, and abusers.

The political phenomenon of the past two decades is the shift to democracy by many governments in the world.  This, naturally, is hailed as a most positive change from the oppressive systems that were hitherto in effect.  There is, however, a danger in the situation that could result in a disastrous, regressive pendulum swing.

A democratic society, to be successful, requires a society that is knowledgeable about the:

• Goals of society,
• Resources available, and
• Mechanisms and roles of the various activities that make up that society.

The citizens of those communistic/socialistic countries, indoctrinated so thoroughly in the philosophies of proletariat control, face a tremendous relearning process about the value and process of wealth generation.  In our own country, the cradle of democracy, the abuses of the manipulators (illegal aliens, crooks, and Wall Street fat cats), the increasing number of non-participants (freeloaders and entitlement recipients), and the corresponding reliance on the re-distributors of wealth (corrupt politicians and progressives) are threatening the foundation of the system we hail.

The Proposal

The proposal is purposefully kept simple.  The world needs to develop A Universal Ideology of Economics that is understood by people, politicians, technologists, and economists.  The adoption of such a common, universal understanding is necessary for effective and efficient progress toward both world peace and prosperity.

The process towards achieving such an understanding must start with open debate on the concept, the ideology, and the method of dissemination of the resulting ideology to the world population.  The time for such a debate is at hand.  This ideology is designed to revolutionize Mankind’s thinking about world economics.

Bibliography of Writings on This Subject

Istvan Tuba, “A harmadik eroforras,” (The Third Resource), Budapest, Hungary, 1955.

Ist Van Stephen, “Comments on the Tuba Doctrines,” TECHNOTIMES, International Technology Institute, May 1985 Issue.

I. S. Tuba, “Technology Transfer and the Ideological Defense Initiative,” Technology Transfer Society, International Symposium Proceedings, Indianapolis, Indiana, June 1986.

“An interview with Dr. I. S. Tuba, Founder of International Technology Institute and of the Ten-Level, Worldwide Hall of Fame for Engineering, Science, and Technology (HOFEST),” TECHNOTIMES, July 1989.

Istvan Tuba, “The Universal Ideology of Economics: A Proposal,” Proceedings, International Congress on Technology and Technology Exchange, pp. 58-60, ICTTE90, November 6-8, 1990.

References

Tuba, I. S., Etele, A., & Uda, R. T. (2005). The Third Resource: A Universal Ideology of Economics. Lincoln, NE: iUniverse, Inc., ISBN 0-595-34450-X, 304 pages.

Whittle, W. A. (2003, April 27). “Victory,” an essay written by this ingenious author on his website, which is located at http://www.ejectejecteject.com.  Mr. William Whittle can be contacted by email at [email protected].

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