The Sower: An Economic Parable

The era of fossil fuels whose decline has begun, has featured the provision of wealth to an elite. In the U.S. and the world, the degree to which this has created inequality is now well documented. The solution to inequality was provided long ago in the Parable of the Sower:

A Sower went out to sew His seed. As He sowed, some fell by the wayside, and the fowls came and ate them up. Those by the wayside are those who hear, but evil changes their hearts and their ways.

As He sewed, some seed fell on stony places where they had not much earth. Those on the rock are those who hear, receive the word with joy, and having no roots, believe for a while, but in time, because of temptation, they fall away.

Those which fell among thorns are they who, when they have heard, go forth and are choked with the cares and riches and pleasures of this life, so that their faith never ripens.

The seed on the good ground are they who, with honest and good hearts, having heard the Word, keep it and bring forth fruit with patience.

These beautiful and simple words are from The Children's Bible, a book my wife and I gave to our son, George, on December 25, 1977. I began working in international trade in 1975.

In this age of mass media, it is difficult to understand the significance of the simple words of Christ. Those in "stony places," are deprived of the joy of the Word, the Joy of the Gospels, depicted so movingly by Pope Francis in his exhortation of the same name.
There is a deeply moving economic message in the parables of Christ. I have written an 11 chapter manual to explain how this message can transform lives. The Word can transform lives economically and as I will demonstrate, pragmatically. The Word is intended to bring joy to our lives, the Joy of the Gospels.

We are stunned at the degree to which our children and grandchildren are turning to heroin, to other drugs, to alcohol and violence because of the spiritual emptiness of their lives. Many of our youth are unemployed. The unemployment rate among young "recovering warriors," among those who have returned from war, is 40%. Our people live in food deserts and can no longer rely on the social safety net for either their physical or spiritual nourishment. The "recovering wounded," my brothers and sisters-at-arms, are suffering and are homeless and unemployed.

The solution to unemployment is provided us as the chosen people of God. I have decided to fearlessly deliver the economic message, found in the gospels, in the bible, which have inspired me to discuss with you, the solution to the absence of jobs, to the absence of Joy in our lives. I am equally inspired by art, by culture, by history to share the message which is common to our humanity.
In the process of "peeling the onion" of the economic message of the Good News, I have written 476 blog posts, posted in the Strategic Management Forum and other blogs of LinkedIn. I have slowly come to the realization that I am "casting pearls before swine." I have decided therefore to use the gifts that God has given me and more than 40 years of international business experience, to deliver a series of messages of economic transformation.

I must admit that I find joy in connecting the dots, because it is fun and profitable. "I dream of things that never were and ask...why not?" This takes enormous fortitude. I constantly pray for the courage to face the winds of life and the buffeting of the corporate world. I pray for the faith, the faith that moves mountains.

Einstein wrote that science without religion is lame and that religion without science is blind." He also wrote that, "technological progress is like an axe in the hands of a pathological criminal."
Today, we are on the cusp of the global distribution of technological progress in the Internet of Things, renewable energy and energy efficiency. These are areas in which the U.S. can play a leadership role. It is an area which can transform both the U.S. and the world. Technological progress can be the greatest of evil in an age when it is easier to kill a million people than to govern them. It can also be used to create a lot of jobs. The problem, as Pope Francis has noted in his exhortation, is in the distribution of the goods of the earth. It is in the distribution of employment. The solution is found in the Gospels, in the distribution of Joy.

The problem with capitalism is one of distribution, of the logistics of capital. Our economic model has been kidnapped by the short-sighted. It is time for a new model of capitalism.

Non-profits are far-sighted. Non-profits are driven by humanitarianism.
Faith in today's world needs trade finance. It is through trade finance that the goods of the earth are broadly distributed.  I have mastered the art of trade finance. It is not an ego thing. It is a humanitarian project. My purpose is not a selfie, it is not to idolize wealth or to engage in theological colonization or theological narcissism. It is to benefit humanity.

As Barney Frank says, in his video, we have to be pragmatic to effect change; and we have to study accounting. There is a lot of hype about the democratization of financing through Crowdfunding, SCF, just as there is a lot of hype in our society about many inconsequential things. Many "innovations," whether promoted by large corporations or hyped by them are irrelevant to human suffering. As soon as the "democratic" efforts at the distribution of opportunity, income and wealth succeed, they are gobbled up by commercial or investment banks. These giants can't "buy" non-profits. Our tax laws won't permit it. This is not pie-in-the-sky. This is accounting and regulation. It is the law and as Montesquieu wrote, "the spirit of the laws."

Non-profit credit unions can finance international trade. This is the way to transform entire communities. This is very profitable business.The cultural connection prevails. "Culture, as Peter Drucker said, "eats strategy for breakfast."
Credit unions and profit sharing organizations are bent on helping people. Some are religiously affiliated, many are non-denominational. The economic solutions that can transform our communities are rooted in faith and are based in trade finance, and in courage and kindness. Congress declared me an officer and a gentleman. The Marines taught me about intestinal fortitude. My faith has taught me that we cannot stand on the sidelines when there is suffering and deprivation and inequality in the U.S. and in the world.
We need to connect the dots. It is profitable. It is joyful!