Major Douglas has twice defined Social Credit. The first time he defined it as, "the policy of a philosophy". This definition which at first sight conveys little, is of tremendous importance.
A policy is a course of action designed to secure a particular result. Now Major Douglas has never claimed that Social Credit is something wholly new; and, in fact, Social Credit bears to the present world situation the same relation as a new strategy bears to an old battle. In this case, the battle is the will-to-dominate of the tyrant and the will-to-freedom of the individual. The philosophy, of which Social Credit is the policy, is the belief that the individual man has a right to self-development and self-determination. It is exactly opposed to the philosophy of collectivism of which Socialism is the policy. The will-to-dominate leads to the organization of mankind into ever larger and fewer units. We call it collectivism, or totalitarianism or Socialism. One of its expressions is internationalism.
Douglas has expressed the situation beautifully: "Internationalism with its corollary of a world state... is one end of the scale and self-determination of the individual is the other... The smaller the genuine political unit, the nearer you are to getting to self-determination of the individual." Collectivism, in all its expressions, means the subordination of individuality to the group.
Social Credit, on the other hand, is the policy which aims to emancipate indivi- duality. It aims to place the achievements of modern industry at the service of the individual, in order to set him more and more free from the necessity of being organized for some collective purpose. Technically, that aim can be accomplished with the greatest ease. The simplest way to visualize the result is to imagine yourself growing richer and independent of the mass of regulations by which, at the present time, we are enslaved. You would be free to make your own world; to go where and when you liked; to order what you wanted. You would have to work for it of course; but with every improvement in the efficiency of industry you would need to work less. This policy is the antithesis of the policy of "full employment" which at the moment is the major expression of the will of the few to dominate the world... The second definition of Social Credit is applied Christianity.
The Australian Social Crediter, March 23, 1946
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