About Emendatio

The name “emendatio” is Latin for “improvement” or “correction”. In old English law, it can also mean compensation for an injury. In our society, which is obsessed by growth of the economy, turnover, profit, income, membership, number of “friends”, “followers”, etc., it is important to realize what kind of growth we really need. It is usually not so much numerical growth as an end in itself, but growth in quality, in understanding, in compassion, in awareness.

Think about it. What does it mean that more money is circulating? This is simply inflation. What does it mean that a factory produces more goods? Often we are simply using up more natural resources. Large numbers of gadgets are not really required, but just a way to show off our “taste”. Precious components are not adequately recycled. What does it mean that helpdesks and websites can handle increasing numbers of questions and complaints? Is this not an indication that too many questions and complaints arise in our complex society in the first place? Much of this complexity stems not from technology itself, but from a lack of real cooperation and standardization. Too much competition is literally killing us, while paradoxically many good ideas are not given a chance because they would undermine the kind of competition allowed by the establishment.

My website is called “emendatio”, not because I have all the answers, but because I believe in improvement and correction, starting with small things, rather than always starting over with so called revolutionary ideas, and then repeating old mistakes. I believe improvement to be the only real growth. Therefore lessons from the past and sayings from sages matter to me. Rather than discarding them as old-fashioned and short-sighted, I believe they provide timeless insights into human nature and the human predicament. But they were not infallible or always mutually consistent, so we need to use a great deal of discernment and work to improve (or at least translate and re-apply) some of their conclusions and applications. This way we can avoid both religious fundamentalism and popular neo-liberal illusions about progress.

Improvement also means simplification, for many philosophies have become far too complex to be credible. May the Spirit of God guide us in these efforts. And finally I have chosen this name because I believe in progress. I believe that improvement is possible if we do not only seek it for ourselves, but for the whole human race and all life on earth. And sometimes a small disaster is the only thing that wakes us up to this reality. Let us hope not too many of these are necessary.

UPDATE 2023

It is now a number of years ago since I wrote the above. I still very much believe that endless growth of the economy is not sustainable and not desirable. By now, this is also admitted by many economists and politicians. Everything is now about sustainability and recycling. There is a catch however. They want to dodge the disadvantages of growth, like pollution, scarce resources, complexity and inflation without making the necessary sacrifices. That is to say, the sacrifices have to come from those who are already struggling. This is yet another way of making additional and continued profit rather than changing the system.

If they can make us believe what is obvious, namely that our current way of life is not sustainable, then perhaps we are motivated to sacrifice some wealth to buy new goods which they promise will be sustainable. And indeed most people that are not poor (yet) are willing to do that. The only problem is that the new products and energies are not sustainable either. Another problem is that for us they are costs, while for the rich elites and large companies, they are investments with a good return. Especially if their initiatives are heavily subsidized by governments with our tax money.

At this stage we need to be very alert to huge globalist scams where the only aim could well be to become even richer, while making us dependent on large centralized industries and power structures, which take us even further away from nature and from sustainability. At the moment so much money is poured into “sustainable” products and energy (as well as other pet projects and restrictions) that the whole financial system is about to collapse. Could this be why they are also pushing a new CBDC currency and are beginning to attack private ownership? If they openly speak about a Great Reset, the World Economic Forum having boasted of infiltration into nearly all our governments, but do not want to give up any of their own riches, what are we to expect?

At this stage it is no longer enough to speak about zero growth and preserving nature. It is not even enough to reduce our so-called footprint. We need to investigate whether the cures we are offered are not worse than the illness. This will not be easy, as the same people behind these plans (WEF, Strategic Development Goals 2030) also control our media. The least thing we can do, is not to assume that these plans are for our benefit or for the benefit of planet earth. History shows that elites are incredibly cunning when it comes to holding on to their power and riches. And they have definitely learnt something since the French Revolution. They have become increasingly successful in making us believe that our interests coincide with theirs. Nothing could be further from the truth.