The View From the Shoulders of Giants

Why can I clearly see the impending economic depression and economists can’t? I’m not smarter, I don’t have better information, but I am using a better tool.

Imagine a world where everyone had to dig holes using just their bare hands but you processed the only shovel in existence. The shovel would allow you to dig holes at seemingly a super-human rate. In fact you’re not stronger or faster, you just have a better tool.

The tool I’m using is a powerful conceptual device called the Complex-Systems Theory of Culture (Gehlsen, 2009 - Amazon Books). This theory scientifically explains cultures and cultural behavior from the perspective of complex evolving information systems. From this perspective economic systems are fundamentally evolving information systems.

Economic systems are just one aspect of a culture, and they can now be understood scientifically. Evolving systems are open systems that are dependent on a flow. At a practical level our modern economy can be understood from the perspective of the flow of money and goods.

The foundation of the American economic system is based on the flow of money that is produced by consumer spending. The financial institutions that economists are typically focused on are not the foundation of our economic system - they are the emergent properties that are produced by the flow of money.

I can see the impending advance of the next devastating depression because I am standing on the shoulders of giants and using their tools. I stand alone, and use this powerful tool. The power of science is that all of you have access to this tool, and you can also learn to use it to see what I see.