Ulster Bank call no surprise

Ulster Bank’s decision to leave the Irish Marked should surprise no one. It is just another emphatic signal that current Economic ideology is simply not able to cope with or function in an entirely transformed technological age. The key difficulty is “growth”; or more precisely “lack of growth”.

Throughout history, and especially two centuries of Industrial Revolution, “growth” or the constant need to continually increase development and production, has been the great driver and formulator of economic ideology. The system functioned brilliantly as long as the world kept falling short of ever producing enough to satisfy rapidly increasing populations with more affluent consumption. There was constant demand for investment of savings and borrowed capital. Banking, on a reducing curve of monetary transactions experiences difficulty surviving on low interest is moving towards the ridiculous economic enigma of “charges” on savings.

With scant opportunity for investment in production or service industries, all practically saturated with excessive output, investors don’t know what to do with bulging funds. Savings are therefore redirected towards ownership of wealth-generating sources such as property and stock markets which appear more like “stud-poker” flutters every day. Investments depending on “growth” such as pension funds are in real trouble. Some banks see the dangers and are reducing risks.

The world is just emerging from a great struggle with Covid-19 which, thanks to technology, it is winning. The next struggle has already begun between those who would own and control enormous achievements of technological to be used for their own purposes, and those who idealistically wish to share the great benefits with all. It could be the greatest power of wills ever experienced by the human race and it is fast approaching.

Yours faithfully,