Sveta’s Essays about Art, Gold and Politics Sveta’s Essays about Art, Gold and Politics 2004 - 2008 Is Craft intellectually satisfying? - by Sveta Political ideology, visual images, mass media and moments of history - by Sveta St. Georges Church: Architectural Analysis by Sveta Bridgewater Shopping Mall by Sveta Analysis of an Object from the Weldon Ceramic Collection, King’s College Library by Sveta El Lissitzky— an Agent for Change by Sveta Gold und Silber hab' ich gern by Sveta GOLD-REBELLOG eröffnet by Sveta 1 Sveta’s Essays about Art, Gold and Politics Is Craft intellectually satisfying? T his is a good question. It‘s sounds like a simple one and the answer to it shouldn‘t be difficult to find, but this is exactly the sort of question, which turns to be tricky, once you give it a serious thought. The four words ―Is Craft intellectually satisfying?‖ touch actually two different subjects: the subject of a craft and the subject of an intellectual satisfaction. In order to give an answer to the ―big‖ question: how one subject is related to the other, it is necessarily at first to answer many ―small‖ questions. What is an ―intellectual satisfaction‖? How to assess it? I guess it varies from person to person. Everybody looks for different ways to satisfy his or her intellect. Some people need to conquer Nietzsche and read front stories of ―Washington Post‖ before breakfast, while the others are completely content with the latest paperback thriller and sports evening on TV. Comparison between both intellectual levels is not relevant for the ―big‖ question. What is ―Craft‖? How to define it in our very diversified world? At first, born from a need of humans to ease the circumstances of their daily life it went along with a progress of development of a mankind: from clumsy chopped wood sticks to intricate rococo carvings; from rough scraped animal skins to the elaborate pieces of fashion; from clay pots of simple form to fine china; from strings of bear claws to exquisite jewelry. Products of craft and processes of making them were in the center of all economical stages: from objects being made for personal needs to items of natural trade, from manufacture production to industrialism. Not to make things complicated I won‘t consider industrial and manufacture mass production qualified for the question of an intellectual satisfaction, were is still enough handmade craft in the world to talk about. There are in a rough outline two groups of handmade products and two groups of people making them. 2 Sveta’s Essays about Art, Gold and Politics Political ideology, visual images, mass media and moments of history Based upon the Book ―Practices of looking‖ from Chapter 1 ―Images and ideology‖, from Chapter 2 ―Reading images as ideological subjects‖, from Chapter 5 ―Media and the public sphere‖ and an essay of Adrian Piper ―Ideology, confrontation and political self-awareness‖. In the mind of many people political ideology is often associated with dictatorial systems, such as for example National Socialism or Communism. But, as the book and essay establish ―By living in a society, we live in ideology.‖ meaning that ideology, also political ideology is an element of a democracy. Adrian Piper called ideologies pernicious and formulated three point essential for identification of ideology: 1. The false identity mechanism. Identification of beliefs, as objective facts. 2. The illusion of perfectibility. The end of selfscrutiny is achieved and there is no need to further examinations. 3. The one-way communication mechanism. Treating own pronouncements as imparting genuine information, but treating those of other people as mere symptoms of some moral or psychological defect. Already the Ideologists of the 20th century realized early enough the possibilities of the new mass media and power of images as the means for carrying out their ideas to the citizens of their countries and the world. As for example movie of Leni Riefenstahl made during the Olympic games in 1936 in Nazi Germany paying tribute to the beauty of the healthy Aryan body. The myth of the photographic truth gave the ideologists additional possibility to claim the objectivity for their course, making viewers forget how easily the images can be manipulated with just a different commentary or by removing or implanting elements from or to them. After Trotzkys emigration from Soviet Union under Stalin regime all of his images were erased from the photos of the Russian revolution thought he was a man who made this revolution happening. Of course to manipulate the public in a dictatorship is much easier as to do the same in a democracy, but not entirely impossible, especially if the owners of the media have an interest in the same ideology and carry out similar beliefs. To produce images and to choose which images the public get to see in order to convince people in justness/correctness of political ideologies has also one important benefit in our 21st century. After the significant political events of the 20th century which were captured for public through the lens of the photo- or film camera the image makes of today know what people want to see, what moves them and which associations they make. The American politic in the last years is for me a great example about the birth of the political ideology and attempt to support it and influenced the public through visual images. As we know today, the idea of a new world order was shaped during the 1990 by the neoconservative thinkers in US. Elimination of Saddam Hussein was one of the key elements for archiving peace in Middle East and subsequently the world. In the January 2001 George W. Bush became 43rd President of America and many of the neocons, including vice president Dick Cheney and secretary of defense Donald Rumsfeld became important positions in the Government. Thought new ideologists came to the power, the case of Saddam was not yet presented to the broad public. Everything changed on September 11. The chilling images of two planes flying low and crashing into the Twin Towers would stay with us forever through the remaining history of a mankind. It is something we never seen before and hopefully will never see again. The photo of a fireman raising flag over the ―Ground Zero‖ became a symbolic meaning and stands in the 3 Sveta’s Essays about Art, Gold and Politics same row as the other image icons: the photo of Joe Rosenthal of American soldiers, raising flag over the island Iwo Jima or the photo of Yevgeni Khaldei of the Russian soldiers raising flag over bomb-wrecked Berlin. The ruins of WTC in our minds are identical with the images we know of the war and indeed they and the image of smoked Pentagon confirmed the statement of the President that America ―was at war‖. The attack was almost immediately established as an act of the Arab terrorist and the image of the Osama bin Laden with the bounty put on his head indicated him not as a political force, but as a common criminal. The images of the debris of WTC united, as nothing before almost all countries under the roof of the UN and provided the maybe only one chance in history to take down the taliban regime in Afghanistan. But this was not enough to satisfy the neocons and politic makers. Iraq was their goal. All three points identified by Piper began to take shape: false identity, perfectibility and one-way communication. In the following months Saddam, W.M.D. and harboring of terrorists groups became center of attention. The White House, Pentagon and other institutions put a lot of pressure on CIA and with every scrap of information became more and more convinced that their beliefs are the actual facts. The media, specially led by right-wing press magnate Rupert Murdoch eagerly took the hint and painted Saddam as evil. His image was always linked to the image of Ossama even then there was never the actual connection. He was always shown in his uniform in uniform before his council or aiming his newly presented gun at some target, the image which rise the question: ―Who is he pointing at?‖ (For those who are interested in history this image of Saddam reminds of the documentary movie image made of Stalin, who in the same fashion aims his newly presented gun at the opening of a Congress of the Communistic party and pointing it at the delegates. From hundreds of them Stalin time survived only view.) Old images of Saddams ready to fight army were shown again and again. Because there were never the actual images of W.M.D they there very vividly painted by Colin Powel in his famous or may be infamous speech in front of the UN and the world and by President himself, ―We cannot wait for the final proof- the smoking gun- that could come in the form of a mushroom cloud.‖ The mentioning of the mushroom cloud is enough to wake up the image of the mushroom cloud over Japan imprinted in our minds. The more time went, the more the President, his administration and, as result of media campaign, the public were convinced that their idea of taking out Saddam by military force would be the perfect solution to many problems, including terrorism. The critical voices were very faint, for America was at war and at those times, after the tradition nobody criticized the Government. Those who raised their voices were simply proclaimed ―unpatriotic‖ and ―Liberals‖. ―Dixie Chicks‖ who were ashamed of the President from Texas were banished from local mostly conservative Radio and TV stations and trashed by the press. Peter Arnett, the famous journalist was fired for his critical remarks. TV did not welcome antiwar aids and banished all the antiwar slogans from Grammy and Oscar events. Administration and American press heavily discredited Hans Blix the Chief weapons inspector. Even more prominent one-way communication became evident in the foreign policy of the US with the countries opposing the war. Rumsfeld sneered at especially France and Germany as the ―Old Europe‖. Old wounds were reopened. The media painted Germany as ―unthankful‖, sells of German products and exports to the US went down for the next months. More punches were thrown toward France. It began with official renaming of ―French fries‖ into ―Freedom fries‖. (By the way the name ―French fries‖ has not as much to do with France as with the cook of Thomas Jefferson who named this particular style of potatoes after the European country.) It went so far as suggesting boycott against French products, such as Michelin tires and French wine, not considering that the tires were made by American workers and wine bought and paid by American importers. Nothing matted at the time and the images of the Americans draining French wine into the sewerage went around the world. Russian President Putin was called ―Chiracs puddle‖, UN as the ―the looming chatterbox on the Hudson‖. So sure in their own ideology and politics the current administrations marched to a war. To use the mass media as a useful instrument for promotion of the war the term of the ―embedded‖ journalism was found. The images of the heavy equipped American soldiers were very impressive and boosted sale of the military equipment from sunglasses to GPS and we were presented with images of the top Iraqi officials adorning playing cards. Everybody waited for the first promised images of happy Iraqis. The images of them from the Gulf war there constantly present in the media, but not many of this kind came from the operation ―Iraqi Freedom‖ and those view there repeated over and over. The swift march toward Baghdad was not a ―cake-walk‖ but still gave us gut impression of the superiority of the American army, while the feared Saddams forces simply disappeared in Iraqi desert leaving us almost no images. Then, from the Arab TV came the first photos of captured and dead American soldiers, which arouse protest from American site, because it went against the international agreements. The famous rescue mission of Jessica Lynch resembles reality TV show, the legend and the icon was created, even if only for the first time. War needs heroes. Then came the fall of Baghdad. But liberated Baghdad did not resemble the image of liberated Paris by the end of WWII and the image of the statue of Saddam taken down did not carry the same power and convey the same fillings as the images of the broken through Berlin wall. Then came the theatrical stunt of the President Bush. Landing on the USS Lincoln in full gear he announce the end of the major combat operations. His image was so impressive, almost like an image of an fearless warrior who led his troops into the battle, that the viewer forget, that most of the war he spent behind his table and like all of as in front of the TV. It was the last time the administration and the media spoke the same language. From that moment, the media went on counting the casualties on both sides and bringing every day 4 Sveta’s Essays about Art, Gold and Politics more disturbing images of violence, while the President and the Administration are trying to insure us that with the elimination of Saddam Iraq and the world became better and safer place. In the years to come the history will judge over the current political ideology and events, the viewer over the value of the images and influence of the mass media. But it is already clear how tightly woven those components are. Today every rebel, terrorist or bandit in Iraq knows the simple formula: behead a hostage, take it on video, send the tape to a TV station, make with that your ideology clear and it would keep terrified foreigners from the country. 5 Sveta’s Essays about Art, Gold and Politics St. Georges Church: Architectural Analysis St. Georges Round Church, named after one of the famous Christian martyrs, stands at the corner of Brunswick and Cornwallis Streets. Elevated on the hill, overlooking the harbour, it harmoniously includes the existing landscape conditions into the building plan. The stairs connect the street level with the floor of the main entrance and the next set of stairs connect this level with the main floor of the church. Originally built in a Palladian style it has undergone alterations and reconstructions, so today‘s plan of the church could be devided into five parts. The original two hundred year old rotunda is still the central part of St George‘s Church. The main aisle, or the nave, cuts it from east to west into two symmetrical halves, giving the building the main axis. The east end of the nave leads through the set of doors to the main entrance. The west end is approaching the chancel, the third identifiable part of the church. The last two additions, the orgelroom with back entrance and clergy room are attached to the rotunda and north and south walls of the altar. The rotunda, as the the originally central planned church dictates the proportions for the later attached parts. The floor plan of the entrance is an almost perfect square, distorted only at the corners where it is attached to the circular outer wall of the Round church. The length and width of the basic square of the entrance equals the length of the radius of the rotunda. The floor plan of the chancel measures three quarters of the rotunda‘s radius in width and approximately the equal size of the radius in length. The east end is connected to the church‘s main rotunda and opens to its interior, the west ends wall has a semicircular shape or the apse, forming St. Georges smaller second rotunda. Two symmetrical buildings on both sides of the altar have the same width, equal to the half width of the chancel, their length follows north and south walls of altar, ending before the west wall begins to form the smaller rotunda. There is a small porch at the entrance to the clergy room. Together, the chancel and two additional buildings at the west side of the church, intentionally planned or not, have a shape of a triptych or a three parts winged altar, their combined width equals three quarters of the rotunda‘s diameter. The length of the entrance and the altar equals the radius length of the rotunda. The length of the entire chirch equals double length of rotunda. Overall, the lengths and widths of the five parts of the Round church point out that throughout the different stages of construction, the proportions of all new parts were based on the size of the original rotunda. The facade and exterior walls of the building are covered in bluish-grey siding, the wooden pilasters imitating supporting columns, and the window frames are painted white. The plain design of the church‘s pilasters with unfluted shaft, simple capital and base, are very chracteristic of the Tuscan order, the simplified adaptation of the Doric order by the Romans. 6 Sveta’s Essays about Art, Gold and Politics The main rotunda has three classical stories: lover, upper and dome. The lower level has four windows on each side, the upper level has five windows on the south side and four on the north. The roof of the rotunda supports the saucer dome, its diameter is approximately half of the diameter of the rotunda. The dome is crowned by a cupola. The heights of the later added parts were adjacent to the rotundas. The chancel has two stories with four windows on the upper level. The lower level of the main entrance is connected to the lower level of the rotunda by stairs, the upper part of this structure with an arched window is on the same level as rotunda‘s upper story. The clergy room with two windows is only one story high, while the orgel room on the other side of the chancel is two stories high, has a small back entrance and no windows. The facade of classical dimensions, length equalling double height, superimposes different elements. As a whole, it reminds of the temple front with missing pediment. The entablature has three main classical elements: the architrave, the plain frieze and cornice with dentils, typical for Ionic and Corinthian orders. The length of the entablature rests on four Tuscan pilasters: two corner pilasters and two just a short distance beside them. In the middle, between the tall pilasters are three dark painted doors, set in the frames of triumphal arches with lower Tuscan pilasters on each side and windows in the arched central sections. The roof of the main entrance supports the almost cubical plain structure with an arched window and a set of dentils below the cornice of the roof. Inside the structure is the staircase. The main doors lead into the small enclosed porch. From there, the set of five dark wooden doors leads into the vestibule with a staircase to the main rotunda of the church. The five doors support the beam of the same wood and an arched window above each door. Beyond them, the wide dark wooden stairs with railings, supported by carved balusters, lead to the next floor on the same level with the main floor of the rotunda. Three double doors and two Tuscan order pilasters on which rests the interior entablatur with architrave, frieze, cornice and even dentils, mark the entrance into the oldest part of the St. Georges. The rich dark colour of the wood, contrasting with the whiteness of the walls and the burgundy carpet are the only noted decorations in this part of the church structure. The rotunda, originally enclosing the entire church, today provides the space for the congregation. The nave cuts the pews in the middle and the entire room into two equal halves. Two side aisles follow the circular path dividing the central pews from those, which lines the sides of the rotunda. The eight rectangular windows of the lower level consists of twenty four lights separated by mullions. Each big window is framed by moldings similar to the Tuscan pilasters with additional square base. Between the windows, adorning the walls, are more plain Tuscan order pilasters and the memorial plates of different classical designs. Six Tuscan columns, arranged in a semi-circle on each side of the nave and positioned between the central pews, support the entablature of the second story gallery with the railing and carved ballusters. The gallery, following the shape of the rotunda, is interrupted only on the west end of the church axel where the rotunda is connected to the chancel. The rows of the gallery‘s pews line up the walls in the same fashion as on the lower level. The windows too have twenty four lights, forming the rectanqular shape, but with an added round-headed arch of six lights on top. The same style plane pilasters are placed between the windows. The gallery is high enough for the additional semi-circular balcony on the east side, facing the chancel. The gallery‘s entablature, supported by columns of the lower level, provides the platform for the next order in the same number. The upper level Tuscan columns, rest on the cubical bases between railing segments, and are connected to each other‘s capitals by arches, forming the support for the entablature of the structure of the dome. The dome, crowning the church, consists of two shells. The inside shell is built of twelve blue colored segments, connected by golden ribs. The outside shell sits on the circular base with a row of windows. The outside walls of the base are covered with the same grey-bluish siding, as the whole church and the row of the dentils is the only decoration of this part. In between two shells, there is an attic and a stair case, leading into cupola with an outside belvedair and a weathervane in form of Halley‘s Comet. Cupola shelters the church‘s bell. The chancel, two stories high has no windows at the lower level, but a clerestory row of four windows at the upper level. The 7 Sveta’s Essays about Art, Gold and Politics arched windows are decorated with half arched moldings on the top. The aisle between choir pews leads to the four steps of the high altar. Triptych, or a three part winged altar, is fixed against the circular west wall. The right and left wings are formed by two pairs of Tuscan order columns, supporting the entablature structure with corniche and prominent dentils. An arch, connecting those two wings, defines the middle part. The altar table is decorated with candles, flowers and a golden cross. Big orgel is built into the room on the north side of the chancel. Of all the parts in the church, the chancel is the most decorated space. Wrapped around its lower level is the wallpaper, resembling in design those of the Arts and Crafts Movement. On the pale pink background there are rows of medallions in sage green, burgundy and blue colours, with symbols of fleur-de-lis, crowns and exotic flowers. A band in golden colour with inscriptions trims the upper edge of the wallpaper; the dark wooden panels cover the bottom part. The prominent spot in the arched middle part of the winged altar is painted the same blue as the dome and fixtures, the symbol of the crown with the radiating rays of light and word Jesus in a golden color. The passage between the chancel and the rotunda and two ends of the interrupted almost circular gallery is marked by decorative intersecting vaults. The clergy room is closed to the public, the other small room is a plane back entrance. There is probably no definite answer to the question of whether Leon Battista Alberti would enjoy this church or not. We can only take his ideas and analyze them one by one. He would probably approve of the elevated position of the building, which sets it apart from the surrounded structures. There is no beautiful square, but we have to keep in mind that at the time that the church was originally built, the houses around it were in lesser numbers and represented a more harmonious architectural ensemble. The facade has some classical temple front fixtures, but Alberti would probably find the absence of the pediment troublesome. The dome, built in saucer design, suggests cosmic existence. The colour scheme of the outside as well as the inside is cool and harmonious. All ornaments are classical, there are no sculptures, but the memorial plates have distinct classical futures. There are no paintings, or frescos, but decorative wallpaper decorates the chancel, as well as inscriptions to stimulate the mind. There are a number of characteristics which go against Alberti‘s theory. The missing pediment and the not very prominent pilasters, or even lack of the columns, take the front away from a classical temple image. The church has more windows than Alberti had ever imagined and the decoration, without any precious materials, is more sparce as in his own work. The fence around the prorperty and the surrounding modern buildings worsen the outside picture. The original plan of the church in neoclassical style, and the second plan, would have been preferred over the final construction, but the orgel addition was no small matter and the problem would not have been resolved without the last additions. Overall, Alberti would likely not have disapproved of the current state of the church, but nonetheless, may have made propositions of how to beautify it. 8 Sveta’s Essays about Art, Gold and Politics Bridgewater Shopping Mall Description This shopping mall is located in the middle of the town of Bridgewater, Nova Scotia right on the bank of the river LaHave near the Old Bridge, on the busy intersection with Dairy Queen, Tim Hortons and a car repair shop. A movie theater, Home Hardware and many other small stores are in a close walking distance. The Mall is a long rectangular building with a flat roof and brown brick siding with some names of the businesses, such as Zellers, Payless Shoe‘s and Sobeys in big letters attached to it. Along the front side of the building stretches a parking lot for customer‘s cars. From this parking lot, three doors lead the way inside the mall: one is placed in the middle of the front side and two some distance to the right and left of it. This two doors lead into the biggest stores: the retail outlet Zellers occupies the right end of the mall, the food market Sobeys the left end. The central entrance leads to a ―central court‖, a spacious square in the middle of the mall. There is an information desk and also two small sitting areas, which belongs to a Chinese eatery and A&W. The other sitting space of the mall is near Sobeys. This one belongs to Tim Hortons and Dairy Queen. Tables and chairs are fixed units made of wood. Only the Chinese eatery has single pieces of furniture. The floor of the corridors and sitting areas is covered in beige tiles, while the floor of the shops is gray linoleum. All the walls are painted white. The mall is brightly lit by electrical light. Along the corridors and above the sitting areas are lamps installed in the ceiling. Each shop has each its own illumination. Some have chosen halogen light, some big lamps and some smaller direct lights. All the shops have huge floor-to-ceiling glass doors and windows, so that I can easily see everything inside when passing by. There are two small private shops: the cobbler‘s business and a children‘s toy store ―Smarty Pants‖. Well-known chains such as Shoppers Drug Mart, Radio Shack, Coles, Reitmans, Eclipse, Dorlene, Payless Shoes, San Francisco, and Charm Jewelry occupy the other places. Employees of Sobeys, Zellers and Shoppers Drug Mart have uniforms, employees of other stores don‘t. There is Scotiabank and the office of a dentist. The mall is well airconditioned. The only smells are is the smell of coffee from Tim Hortons and cheap Chinese burning sticks from San Francisco, when I am close to those places. One quarter of the shops is empty and windows have posters ―for lease‖. Analysis The mall occupies the best real estate spot in Bridgewater. Parking spaces provide convenience for many customers, especially from surrounding areas of the town for many kilometers. The mall itself is absolutely unremarkable. Nothing signifies the connection of the mall to the town of Bridgewater. Architecturally, the building reminds me of a shoebox with many small compartments, walls of which could be taken out easily. The interior design is impersonal and ordinary. The same shops can be found everywhere in Canada. After my own yearlong shopping experience, I can say in general that none of the shops compare to the competition on the market belongs into the category ―expensive‖. Even Charm Jewelry highest prices don‘t go over 300$, which is the low end in jewelry business. The uniformed employees of Sobeys, Zellers and Shoppers Drug Mart could work in any other store of those chains from coast to coast. The Chinese eatery, the cobbler and children‘s toy store are the only ones, where I would look for something special and pay close attention to their products, menu or services, while in others I almost always know what I came for and from which rack or shelf to take it. The food from A&W, Tim Hortons or Dairy Queen is cheap and intended for customers as a fast meal between shopping errands. The sitting areas are clean, but uninviting and chairs, like in all other fast food stores are not comfortable to linger for a long time. The owner of the Chinese eatery tried to get attention and distinguish his business in the mall from the others trough Chinese fans and pictures on the walls and single chairs and tables. The number of empty spaces in the mall is extremely high, especially for this time of the year short before Christmas, while at the same time right outside town Wal-Mart is building a huge department store with a shopping mall attached. Interpretation 9 Sveta’s Essays about Art, Gold and Politics The shopping mall attracts many people along the South Shore because Bridgewater is the only place to get services and to shop between Halifax and Yarmouth. The aim of the management is to attract people from lower and middle incomes. The Chinese eatery is the only place where the customers want to get a fast meal but still something special while A&W, Tim Hortons and Dairy Queen target any customers who takes their services out of convenience. The personnel of Sobeys, Zellers and Shoppers Drug Mart wear a uniform, as in all their chain stores. But even if the employees of other chain shops wear their own clothes, it still doesn‘t make the businesses look more individual. I think that only the offices, the bank, children‘s toy store, cobbler and Chinese eatery have permanently employed personnel. All other positions are temporary and the employees have not much interest in what they are doing. If the answer to my question is not on the label or the box of the product I most certainly won‘t get it from a sales clerk. The probability, that I will see them in couple of months working at Wal-Mart is very high. The closed down shops of the mall probably decided to relocate to the new mall or close down before their businesses take any losses, caused by new competition. Judgment. I think that the idea to build a shopping mall in Bridgewater was good for everybody: for the business community, for the employment situation, for the town and its citizens. The execution of it was extremely poorly done. Investors, putting such big buildings in the middle of Bridgewater and creating an impact on town architecture should think not only about profits, but also about their social responsibilities toward the community. The place, chosen for The Bridgewater mall on the river is surely the best prime land in town, but the architect didn‘t take advantage of it. In fact, the side facing the river is the back of the building with fireproof doors. It would be good for a city design if the mall had a large long deck on the LaHave side, so the management could rent the attached stores to coffee shops, restaurants and maybe some offices. Small lounges could tempt many owners of the boats on the water to stop there, have a cup of coffee, meal or shop during the warm months. Interiors with some small touches, such as, for example blue tiles for flooring could make a connection with the color of the river. A glass roof, maybe of a half circular form would provide a great deal of light during the day time, bring some elegance and eliminate the feeling of enclosed spaces. I am pretty sure, that the management of the mall didn‘t build any relationship with its tenants, didn‘t care about attracting expensive, unusual or interesting businesses. The number of closed down shops is because of management‘s policy in maintaining the image of low prices and cheap deals, but in this market there is always somebody who comes along and is lower and cheaper. 10 Sveta’s Essays about Art, Gold and Politics Analysis of an Object from the Weldon Ceramic Collection King’s College Library This porcelain inkstand, manufactured by Wedgwood circa 1785-1795 in England, is one of the objects from the Weldon collection on display at the King‘s College Library. It is made from fine-grained black stoneware known as Black Basalt, moulded and unglazed. The inkstand has four parts: a tray with a vase-shaped quill penholder, inkwell, sandbox and its lid. The oval-shaped rimmed tray is sixteen centimeters in length and seven centimeters in width and has a nine-centimeter high penholder in the middle. The vase-shaped penholder is the same width as the tray, but is flattened on two sides. It divides the tray in two halves into which, behind the rim, the inkwell and sandbox fit perfectly. The inkwell and sandbox are cylindrical, and are approximately six centimeters in diameter and four centimeters in height. The proportions of all objects are wonderfully balanced against each other and make the parts come together like matching puzzle pieces. Since the inkstand has only one purpose, to accommodate the instruments of writing, its scale is appropriate. The size of a human palm, it could be easily, and thanks to the rim, securely carried and would not take much space on a table or a small writing desk, common in the eighteenth century. Probably moulded after precise drawing plans, each object is basic and simple, yet, together the objects make a sophisticated composition. Symmetry and balance, clean graceful lines, wellthought-out design and compact size -- all these components make the Wedgwood inkstand a proportionally harmonious ensemble. In accordance with the dignified harmony of the Neoclassical taste and fashion of the time, the decoration of the inkstand is minimal. The two cylindrical parts, the inkstand and the sandbox, have on their sides engine-turned decoration, a relief pattern of vertical stripes; the sandbox lid has a scallop shell in relief; the tray has curved cuts on both ends of its length; and the penholder, shaped like a Greek or Roman vase, has two curved handles. There is no other color than the black of the black basalt, and this single color becomes itself an element of the decoration and would have provided a pleasing contrast to the white or gray colour of the quill feathers, which would have rested in the penholder. The inkstand shows two of Josiah Wedgwood‘s own inventions: the clay body called Black Basalt, perfected in 1768, and engine turning, a mechanical etching on dry clay, introduced about 1760. The relief decoration, though not Wedgwood‘s invention became closely associated with his name, especially after his discovery of Jasper ware in 1774. As an object of everyday use, the inkstand was designed for the utmost practicality. The Wedgwood & Bentley Catalogue described it from solely this point and advertised the cone-shaped inkwell ―on account of gradual opening‖ as ―not liable, like the common ones, to soil the Pen and Fingers‖. Another claim about its practicality was its ability to prevent ink from growing thick and spoiling. The use of Black Basalt as a medium prevented ink from corroding or being absorbed by the vessel and made any drops of dark color less noticeable. Yet accurate design and high quality work made the inkstand a fine craft object, which could be displayed and, as ambitiously proclaimed in the Catalogue was ―fit to accompany the finest Work of Art in any part of Europe‖. Dated between 1785 and 1795, the inkstand, with its clean outlines, symmetry, imitation of Classical objects and rejection of whimsical Rococo decorations, is a fine example of the Neoclassical style, established in Europe in 1770. The style reflected the renewed interest in older European civilizations and the virtues ascribed to them, which provided a calming influence in the face of a rapid industrialization. Wedgwood, struggling in the first years of his career to find the right balance between the Neoclassical form of the objects and their decoration, brilliantly executed it in this small inkstand, letting material, shape and color speak for themselves. The minimal decoration gives the impression of the steadfastness and moral uprightness praised by Neoclassical intellectuals. Following the industrial revolution, the educated middle class, including women, opened a whole new market. Bookkeeping, business correspondence, and letter writing, a favorite pastime which in itself was considered an 11 Sveta’s Essays about Art, Gold and Politics art form, created the demand for writing supplies. Wedgwood, the potter, inventor, and businessman, developed his new materials, technologies, and products following and creating this market demand. As an alternative to traditional inkstands, made from silver and other expensive metals or white porcelain, he responded with the production of this less expensive, practical, yet very beautiful Black Basalt product. It could indeed be proudly displayed on a gentleman‘s table or family‘s writing desk, as well as in the same room as David‘s ―The Oath of the Horatii‖, or between Greek and Roman artifacts, as Wedgwood once declared in his Catalogue. Works Cited Kelly, Alison in Association with Josiah Wedgwood & Sons Ltd. The Story of Wedgwood. London: Faber & Faber, 1975. Elwood, Marie. The Weldon Collection. 12 Sveta’s Essays about Art, Gold and Politics El Lissitzky— an Agent for Change ―Space is there for man, not man for space,‖ said El Lissitzky in 1923. Guided by his own words he took his own space in the history of photography after already leaving his mark in the history of art and design. The life of El Lissitzky (b. 1980) was closely connected and intertwined with exiting and tragic events of the twentieth century in Russian and world history: the First World War, the Soviet Revolution, the Russian Civil War and mass exodus of Russian citizens abroad, unrest and upheaval all over Europe, Stalinism in Soviet Union and Fascism in Italy and Germany, Second World War. These were the political changes, the echoes of which we still feel today. Lissitzky saw himself as ―an agent for change,‖ changing art and design and adapting to political changes around him, and in a personal battle with tuberculosis in the last twenty years of his life (Arwas 7-21). After art and design, photography was the last creative frontier for Lissitzky to conquer. However, it would be false to name him as a great photographer. He did not photograph wars and historical events as did Alexander Gardner, or document devastations as did Dorothea Lange; he did not leave a gallery of portraits or places, nor did he develop any modernist technique. He did not have formal photographic education and many photos attributed to him were either not made by him or taken by others at his request. His illness restricted his activities and his photos were taken at ―belly-button level‖, as his fellow artist Rodchenko called it. Lissitzky could not do complicated set-ups and processes and was compelled to take simple shots; his models were friends and family or even puppet-mannequins. Political developments in the USSR restricted his freedom of expression and probably even the freedom to take and publish the images he wanted. With the Soviet Union moving toward oppressive one-party rule and later dictatorship, Lissitzky‘s excitement as an avant-garde painter gave way to his ambitions as a designer and later his photographic activities. The reasons for this transformation are not always easy to follow; the written documentation is scarce and often biased. Lissitzky himself contributed to this confusion, as five months before his death, in anticipating art history‘s impulse to sort his work into ―major‖ and ―minor‖, he manipulated the archive, undermining this type of classification. His engagement with photography evolved gradually, but constantly. Lissitzky‘s first photos were made in 192122 as illustrations during his artistic engagement with Prouns. A year later, he created the first fotopis. In his own words, fotopis was a technique that ―unlike painting ‗paints‘ its image with light directly on a photographic paper, using, depending on the task, negatives, obtained by means of a camera or through the direct impact of a light ray, which on its way to photographic paper encounters objects of different transparency and obtains direct reflection of them‖ (Tupitsyn 26). The word fotopis, created by Lissitzky, is a neologism, based on the Russian word zhivopis (painting or literally live-writing). In the new interpretation zhivo (live) was changed to foto giving way to fotopis (photo-writing). Not many of Lissitzky‘s fotopis survive. V Lampe (In the Lamp, 1923) is a strange image with a dark background and portraits of Lissitzky and a Dutch artist Vilmos Huszar in small light circles. Hans Arp (1924) depicts two overlapping portraits of the poet: one full frontal and one a fading profile. Record (1926), later manipulated into photomontage, was made for the Moscow water-sports and yacht club. Lissitsky‘s next experiments were photograms, a Western term for photographic image, made by placing objects directly onto the surface of a photo-sensitive material such as photographic paper and then exposing it to light. The most famous is the image of Lissitzky‘s hand with a compass (one of his later elements of Self-Portrait). His Negative-Positive photos consist of compositions of pliers and wire, objects which Lissitzky and his students used at VKhUTEMAS (the Higher State Artistic-Technical Workshops) where he taught. Lissitzky‘s interests in these techniques may have originated from Man Ray‘s rayographs from the series Champs delicieux, found in Lissitzky‘s estate. His further interest in the negative images could have come from a very unusual source. In 1923 he became sick with tuberculosis and traveled to a Swiss sanatorium. While there he wrote about the X-ray photos showing spots in his lungs, and remarking that ―the right one looks too much like a work of art‖ (Tupitsyn 26). This certainly leaves room to speculate that even this medical experience served the artist as an inspiration. Lissitzky‘s most famous work from this time is Constructor (1924). Made in 13 Sveta’s Essays about Art, Gold and Politics Switzerland as a layout for his book ―Prounen‖, it combines photographic images of the artist and his hand, holding a compass with his own typographic design in the background. For the first time his photo work was officially exhibited during the All-Union Printing Trades Exhibition in 1927 for which he also designed the layout of the grounds and pavilions, catalogues, posters and invitation cards. The exhibition was certainly one of the turning points in Lissitzky‘s career. During preparations and organization, he befriended many of the USSR leading photographers and became interested in the rhetoric of the Productivist art movement, represented by Klutzis‘s and Senkin‘s designs. In his book ―Artist in Production‖ written for the exhibition, Lissitzky, clearly influenced by new developments in soviet art and politics, Marxist theories of production and the Leninist-Stalinist ideology of the state, elaborated on the meaning of art and the artist in this new and unprecedented historical time. In his view ―it became necessary to transfer the experience of working in an individual studio and the experience of working with easel painting, to the context of the factory and the machine.‖ Painting ―had devolved into a kind of luxury because it reflected a visible gap between energy that was invested into the painting and the scope of its function,‖ consequently it was ―increasingly annihilated by the printed page.‖ Drawing on his experience in design and topography, Lissitzky came to the conclusion that photomontage was ―born and blossomed‖ as a response to the ―social requirements of our epoch and the artist‘s mastering of the new technology.‖ ―Only in our country‖, he concluded, ―was it cast into a clear social art form‖ (in Tupitsyn 30). From the moment of this conclusion about photomontage, it becomes Lissitzky‘s primary form of expression and an increasingly desperate means of economic and political survival. The last decade of Lissitzky‘s life is a complex puzzle of personal and political issues. In 1927 he married Sophie Küppers, the widow of a German gallery owner and settled with her and her two children in a room in a communal apartment. When their son Jen was born in 1930, the family moved to a village sixty kilometers outside of Moscow. In 1928 Stalin consolidated his power, his rival Trotsky left the country, and Bukharin was executed. The first Five Year Plan, a program of industrialization and forced collectivization of agriculture, was initiated. In 1932, the Central Committee of the Communist Party abolished all artistic associations and established the Union of Soviet Artists. The USSR closed its borders and it become increasingly difficult for Soviet artists to have a cultural exchange with Western artists. Lissitzky‘s tuberculosis progressed, but treatment in foreign sanatoriums was no longer an option, and the much-needed money for expensive medicine, was available only through his work for the state press. Lissitsky was welcomed as a designer for a leading monthly propaganda magazine, USSR in Construction, published in five languages for distribution in western countries. As Peter Nisbet states in the Catalogue from Lissitzky‘s selected works: On one hand, he emotionally linked the future of his own son, […] to the future of the Soviet state. […] On the other hand, he maintained some independence throughout the years that he was participating in the promotion of Stalinist Russia. His major works of this kind, for example, were the design layouts for the propaganda journal USSR in Construction, where he was never a regular employee, but worked in a quasi-freelance status, signing a new contract for each job. (44,45) Victor Margolin, in his Struggle for Utopia, adds: This is particularly important in considering the work of Lissitsky […] during the Stalin years. Just as I don‘t wish to recognize an oversimplified repressive force that reduced [his] work to obligatory capitulation, neither do I want to suggest that [he] had an unambiguous positive relation to the Stalinist regime, particularly as information about its repressive policies and acts of terror surely become known to [him]. (166) To a certain extent Lissitzky could choose the themes on which he worked, but as a leading artist he was also entrusted with commemorative issues of the magazine devoted to the Army, the Stalinist Constitution and the Republic of Georgia, Stalin‘s homeland. During the first Five Year Plan many issues of USSR in Construction emphasized huge industrial projects. Construction of the Dniep hydroelectric station, from 1927-1932, was the embodiment of the Soviet Union‘s technological accomplishments and transformation of nature into dams and power stations. The book Russia in 14 Sveta’s Essays about Art, Gold and Politics the Shadows by Herbert Wells, who visited Russia shortly after the revolution and criticized its economy, had hurt the national pride. Lenin‘s vision for Russia was ―Communism in Soviet government plus the electrification of the whole country.‖ The Soviet conquest over nature was the theme of the October 1932 issue of USSR in Construction. ―Lissitzky conceived the issue as a visual narrative that employed all the devices and techniques of modern art, typography, and printing technology, including large bold letters, photomontage, strong colors, and gatefolds‖ (Margolin, 172). His design approach was continuous with the artistic avant-garde publications of the early ‗20s. The colors for the front and back covers were black, white and red, the same as Lissitzky‘s earlier books and poster designs. A contrasting sepia tone was chosen to emphasize the visual flow of the photographs and photo collages. The front cover displayed the nocturnal opening ceremony of the brightly lit station with airbrushed light beams, highlighting the huge name of the project. The same image is repeated toward the end of the issue but as a montage with the image of Stalin, crediting him with the realization of Lenin‘s vision. The bold photomontages of the magazine, the photographs juxtaposed with text and other effective design elements, had a high rhetorical power. Especially abroad, in foreign language issues, they carried out Maxim Gorky‘s concept of ―romantic realism‖, the simultaneous representation of life as how it is and how it could ideally be. In one collage depicting two hands turning on the power switch, a red banner with Lenin‘s slogan ―Unite! Dneprostroi will become a great memorial to the first electrificator in the USSR‖, and the image of the rushing water, Lissitzky captured the spirit of the translation of the leadership‘s ideology into enormous industrial projects by heroic workers. Another magazine spread depicted on two opposing pages Wells and Lenin under the title ―A Conversation Between two worlds‖. But by positioning a photograph of an electric power grid between the two men and making the photo of Lenin of a larger format, Lissitzky suggested the boundless Soviet potential and the superiority of Lenin‘s optimism over Wells‘ pessimism. As the story unfolds the next sequence shows Lenin during his speech at the Eighth Congress of Soviets in 1920 against a background of the map of the Soviet Union. The site of the future hydro station is circled and a dotted line extends across the page, pointing to the airbrushed photomontage of the rushing waters to be tamed. ―Here Lissitzky makes the arrow operate simultaneously as an informational device and metaphor‖(Margolin 175). The final page is a manifesto to the Soviet masses as the driving forces behind Party efforts. The photo is divided into two parts with the tall power grid masts, ―that rise like cathedral spires against a background of clouds‖ above and the demonstrating crowd below (Margolin 180). The banner ―Bolsheviks‖ which runs through the middle of the page symbolizes the union of the ―human mass with the technological achievements of the regime‖ (Margolin 180). The photos Lissitzky used were of a simple technique, some of them taken by other photographers to Lissitzky‘s specifications, but he invented his own style of blended slogans and pathos, information and emotion, which had an impact on the public at home and abroad, giving ―visual form to the forceful argument made by USSR in Construction for the superiority of communism‖ (Margolin 180). The next big issue was devoted to the Soviet Arctic. In it Lissitzky developed a new rhetorical device – ―hyperbole‖ or exaggeration. The Soviet sea captains, explorers and pilots conquering the harshness of nature exemplified two orders of reality, the ordinary and the extraordinary, characteristic of Stalinist culture in the 1930s. With time, the magazine and Lissitzky‘s narrative became increasingly ceremonial in portraying historical and contemporary events. From the narrative style, derived from his avant-garde techniques, Lissitzky moved to a grander style of ―epic narrative‖. ―This new style was characterized by its historical sweep and the way it held together large amounts of visual information—notably photographs, photomontages, drawings, paintings, and maps in a coherent framework. It was also marked by visual devices such as heraldic emblems, banners, and other regalia which gave dignity or nobility to the theme‖ (Margolin 180). As information about mass arrests and murders slowly emerged in the west, Lissitzky was commissioned to create photomontages and layouts for issues devoted to the commemoration of the fifteenth anniversary of Soviet Georgia, homeland of Stalin, and to Stalin‘s Constitution. In later issues, the Soviet occupation of Poland, West Ukraine and Western Byelorussia were presented by Lissitzky as an important theme of the national defense against rising Fascism, revising history and following the official Soviet representation of the events. When Lissitzky died in 1941, after twenty years of suffering tuberculosis, he left the legacy, common to many artists of his time: hope in the new world order and imprisonment in the new regime; the struggle for utopia and the struggle for survival; the creation of heroic and epic narratives in artistic practice and the hard realities of daily life; fulfillment and disillusionment. Paradoxically, Lissitzky and other artists sought the creation of credibility for Soviet Union and its people, but their efforts disguised for the world the regime‘s mass murder and violation of human rights. Lissitzky‘s life and work give enough material to fill a narrative, for which he himself found a name: ―El Lissitzky-an agent for change‖. Works Cited Arwas, Victor. ―The Great Russian Utopia.‖ A&D 1993: 7-21. 15 Sveta’s Essays about Art, Gold and Politics Lissitzky-Küppers, Sophie. El Lissitzky. New York, NY: Thames and Hudson, 1980. Margolin, Victor. The Struggle for Utopia: Rodchenko, Lissitzky, Maholy-Nagy. Chicago: The University of Chicago Press, 1997. Nisbet, Peter. ―An Introduction to El Lissitzky.‖ El Lissitzky 1890-1941. Catalogue for an Exhibition of Selected Works from North American Collections, the Sprengel Museum Hannover and the Staatliche Galerie Moritzburg Halle. Ed. Nisbet Peter. Harvard: Harvard University Art Museum, 1987. Tupitsyn, Margarita. El Lissitzky. Beyond the Abstract Cabinet: Photography, Design, Collaboration. New Haven: Yale University Press, 1999. Links Fine Arts Museums of San Francisco El Lissitzky at the Metropolitan Museum of Art Museum of Modern Art National Galleries of Scotland El Lissitzky at the National Gallery of Art National Gallery of Canada Berlinische Galerie Cleveland Museum of Art Harvard University Art Museum Museum Ludwig Museum of Modern Art Norton Simon Museum Tate Gallery Van Abbemuseum 16 Sveta’s Essays about Art, Gold and Politics GOLD-REBELLOG eröffnet Nach all den Katastrophen die die Welt des zwanzigsten Jahrhunderts erlebt hat, kommt jetzt eine Neue auf uns zu. Aber diesmal gibt es einen Unterschied. Noch nie war eine Katastrophe so einfach vorherzusagen und noch nie haben Politiker, Prominente und Massenmedien so hinterhältig geschwiegen wie diesmal. Diese kommende Katastrophe wird jedes Land und jeden Bürger betreffen, allerdings werden die meisten Menschen erst im letzten Moment das Geschehen begreifen. Die folgenden Generationen werden staunen und ungläubig zurückschauen und sich fragen wie es dazu kommen konnte, wie naiv die Menschen waren auf diese Katastrophe zuzusteuern. Dieses Desaster wird in die Geschichtsbücher unter dem Titel „Der Kollaps des Dollars und der Papierwährungen“ eingehen. Die Kapitel dieses Buches wird man nach den Ereignissen, die dazu führten benennen: 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. Die Geschichte des Geldes und die Entstehung des Papiergeldes. Gründung der Zentralbanken and Zerstörung des Goldstandards. Geburt des Dollarstandards. Kollaps des Dollarstandards. Weltweite Wirtschaftskrise, oder die Große Depression, Kollaps der westlichen Sozialstaaten. Währungsreform, Rückkehr zum Goldstandard. Wir, auf Rebellog, sind keine Hellseher and Propheten. Wir halten uns für realistisch und für besorgte Weltbürger. Aus diesem Grund, und besonders weil wir Kinder haben, möchten wir jetzt einen Beitrag leisten und für die Generation nach uns einige Aspekte und Absätze für diese Kapitel zusammentragen. Wer von unseren Mitbürgern, Freunden und Lesern sich informieren möchte und sich ein wenig auf den kommenden Gau vorbereiten will, der ist herzlich auf dieser Seite willkommen. Wir sind keine Volkswirtschaftler mit einem offiziellem Diplom, das uns die Autorität verleiht uns wissenschaftlich zu äußern. Aus diesem Grund möchten wir oft auf Artikel verweisen die schon von anderen Fachleuten und Interessierten zu diesem Thema geschrieben wurden. Allerdings, im Unterschied zu vielen westlichen Ökonomen, habe ich, als Bürger der Sowjetunion, den Kollaps eines Staates selbst erlebt, und die darauf folgenden wirtschaftlichen and gesellschaftlichen Desaster. Diese Erfahrung ist es, die uns antreibt auf Rebellog unseren Lesern die Augen zu öffnen, Anstöße zu geben, sich zu informieren und auch einige praktische Ratschläge zu geben. Wir, Rebelloger sind keine Pessimisten. Der kommende Gau wurde seit hundert Jahren von den Politikern aller Richtungen, manchmal unwissentlich, überwiegend aber bewusst, vorbereitet. Wenn der Kollaps eintritt und unter dem Eindruck dieser Ereignisse niemand von den Entscheidungsträgern durchdreht und „den falschen Knopf― drückt, dann wird die Menschheit weiter existieren, sich eine neue Zukunft aufbauen können, dann vielleicht ohne die Mehrheit dieser Schwindler und Verbrecher die für diesén Kollaps verantwortlich zeichnen. Der Schweizer Bankier Ferdinand Lips hat die Gründung der Zentralbanken, und insbesondere die Gründung der Federal Reserve (US Zentralbank) im Jahr 1913/14, als das größte Unglück in der Menschheitsgeschichte und als einen Krieg gegen das Gold bezeichnet. Dieser Kampf interessierter Kreise gegen die Ersparnisse und die Früchte der Arbeit aller Bürger und die Folgen wird die Dimensionen eines 3. Weltkrieges haben. Wir stimmen ihm zu. Wir sind ebenfalls der fester Überzeugung, daß alle Tragödien und Katastrophen des zwanzigsten Jahrhunderts nur auf das Papiergeld zurückzuführen sind. Das Papiergeld hat den Ersten Weltkrieg, den Zweiten Weltkrieg und alle darauffolgende Kriege finanziert. Alle Diktaturen des Zwanzigsten Jahrhundert konnten nur mit Papiergeld errichtet und finanziert werden. Papiergeld ist die Basis der Macht der Bürokratie und ermöglicht alle leeren Versprechungen unserer Politiker und die hefeartige Ausweitung des Sozialstaates. Wenn der geneigte Leser sich umschaut und sich über Fehlentwicklungen wundert, das, was in seinem Land und in den Nachbarländern, ja weltweit geschieht, so können wir ihm bereits jetzt einen ein Teil der Antwort geben: Es ist der Fluch des Papiergeldes, es hat unser Bewußtsein, die Weltwirtschaft und die Politik vergiftet. Es gibt ausreichend Literatur, Bücher kompetenter und engagierter Zeitgenossen. Es gibt im Internet zahllose Artikel, die die Interessierten über die Zusammenhänge und die zu erwartende Wirtschaftskrise informieren. Raffen Sie sich auf und lesen sie fach- und themenbezogen. Die meisten Bücher und Artikel sind in englischer 17 Sveta’s Essays about Art, Gold and Politics Sprache. Wir werden auf Gold-Rebellog künftig regelmäßig zu diesen Fachartikeln verlinken und wichtige Bücher empfehlen. In den Mainstreammedien werden diese Themen bewusst gemieden. Das hat verschiedene Ursachen: Einerseits sind die entsprechenden Redakteure die „Klassenkameraden― der Regierenden. Andererseits ist es im keynesianischen Zeitalter nicht opportun sich mit unkonventionellen, dieser Lehre widersprechenden, Themen zu befassen. Und dann fehlt, nach 2 Generationen zeitgeist-beeinflusster Journaille, einfach das entsprechende Fachwissen. Auch unsere Banker und Ökonomen haben ganz überwiegend seit Jahrzehnten nichts mehr zu diesem Themenkomplex gehört weil er bewusst nicht unterrichtet wird. Wir eröffnen heute eine weitere Subpage www.gold.rebellog.com . Im russischen Sprachraum gibt es überhaupt keine Informationen zum Thema. Deshalb werden wir das Wichtigste in die russische Sprache übersetzen. Gelegentlich, wenn es unsere Zeit erlaubt auch markante Informationen ins Deutsche. Für den deutschsprachigen Raum die wichtigste Seite ist http://www.goldseiten.de/ In englisher Sprache. http://www.financialsense.com/ http://www.gold-eagle.com/ http://www.dailyreckoning.com/ Als „Vorkost― … Deutsch http://www.truthout.org/docs_2006/102506E.shtml http://www.goldseiten.de/content/kolumnen/artikel.php?storyid=181 English http://www.dailyreckoning.com/rpt/USConsumerSpending.html http://www.kitco.com/ind/maundn/jun012006.html http://www.gata.org/node/4456 Bücher (siehe auch unsere Bande -rechts- und Buchempfehlungen) http://www.amazon.com/Coming-Collapse-Dollar-How-Profit/dp/0385512236/sr=81/qid=1162378031/ref=pd_bbs_sr_1/102-3051278-2304103?ie=UTF8&s=books http://www.amazon.com/Dollar-Crisis-Consequences-Revised-Updated/dp/0470821701/sr=82/qid=1162378085/ref=pd_bbs_2/102-3051278-2304103?ie=UTF8&s=books 18 Sveta’s Essays about Art, Gold and Politics Золотой Rebellog После всех катастроф испытанных миром в двадцатом столетии, новая подбирается к нам. Но на этот раз имеется различие. Никогда еще не было возможно предсказать катастрофу так просто и никогда еще политики, видные деятели и средства массовой информации молчали так трусливо как на этот раз. Эта наступающая катастрофа коснется каждой страны и каждого человека. Большинство людей поймѐт только в последний момент развитие событий. Следующие поколения будут удивятся и недоверчиво оглядываясь назад будут спрашивать себя: как это могло случиться, с какой наивностью приближались люди к этой катастрофе. Эта катастрофа войдѐт в учебники по истории под заголовком Коллапс доллара и бумажных валют. Главы этой книги назовут по событиям, которые к этому вели: 1. История денег и изобретение бумажных денег. 2. Основание центральных банков и разрушение золотого стандарта. 3. Рождение долларова стандарта. 4. Коллапс долларова стандарта. 5. Всемирный экономический кризис, или Величайшая депрессия. 6. Коллапс западных социальных государств. Мы, команда Rebellog, не являемся никакими ясновидцами или пророками. Мы считаем себя за реалистов и обеспокоенных граждан мира. По этой причине, и особенно так как мы имеем детей, мы хотели бы выполнить свою долю и собирать на нашей страничке информацию и статьи для последующих поколений. Тот из наших сограждан, друзей и читателей, кто хотел бы осведомляться и подготовиться немного к наступающей опастности, тот сердечно пришѐн на нашу страничку. Мы не являемся экономистами с официальными дипломами, какие предоставили бы нам авторитет выражать научное мнение. По этой причине мы просто хотели бы рекомендовать статьи написанные другими специалистами и людими заинтересованными в этой теме. Правда, в отличие от многих западных экономистов, я, как гражданка бывшего Советского Союза, пережила коллапс государства, и последующий экономическую and общественную катастрофы. Это этот опыт, подталкивает нас на Rebellog открыть глаза нашим читателям, дать возможность себя проинформироват, а также дать несколько практических советов. Мы, Rebelloger не являемся пессимистами. Наступающий крах подготавливается уже 100 лет политиками всех направлений, иногда неумышленно, преимущественно, однако, осознанно. Когда коллапс произойдѐт и под впечатлением этих событий никто из политиков не нажмѐт на кнопку, то человечество и дальше будет существовать, сстроить новое будущее, вероятно, без большинства этих мошенников и преступников которые ответственны за предстоящий коллапс. Швейцарский банкир Фердинанд Липс обозначил основание центральных банков, и, в частности, основание Federal Reserve (центральный банк США) в 1913/14 году, самой большой трагедией в истории человечества и войной против золота. Эта борьба заинтересованных кругов против сбережений и плодов работы всех граждан в последовательности будет иметь размеры 3 мировой войны. Мы согласны с ним. Мы также твердо убеждены, что все трагедии и катастрофы двадцатого столетия приписываются только бумажным деньгам. Бумажные деньги финансировали Первую мировую войну, Вторую мировую войну и все следующие войны. Все диктатуры Двадцатого столетия могли существовать и финансироваться только бумажными деньгами. Бумажные деньги - это основа власти бюрократии. Они делают возможными все пустые обещания наших политиков и подобное дрожжевуму тесту расширение социального государства. Если наш читатель оглядывается и удивляется ненормальным развитиям, которые, происходит в его стране, в соседних странах, и во всем мире, то мы можем дать ему уже сейчас одину часть ответа: это проклятие бумажной деньги. Они отравляют наше сознание, мировую экономику и политику. Имеется достаточная литература, книги компетентных современников. Имеются в интернете бесчисленные статьи, которые информируют заинтересованных об ожидающемся экономическом кризисе. Наибольшие книги и статьи являются на английском языке. В будущем мы на Gold-Rebellog будем регулярно рекомендовать эти статьи и важные книги. В средствах массовой информации эти темы осознанно избегаются. Это имеет различные причины: с одной стороны, соответствующие редакторы это "одноклассники" правящих. С другой стороны, в нащем веке, созданным Лордом Кейнзом не модно заниматься противоречущими ему учениями. А также, после 2 поколений просто нет специалистов со 19 Sveta’s Essays about Art, Gold and Politics знаниями. Наши банкиры и экономисты в течение последних десятилетий этой темой не занимались и осознанно она не преподаѐтся в университетах. Сегодня мы открываем новую под страничку www.gold.rebellog.com. В русском интернете мало сведений по этой теме. Поэтому мы переведем самое важное на русский язык. При случае, если наше время позволит мы все важные сведения переведѐм и на немецкий язык. Для немецкоязычного интернета самым важным сайтом является: Для немецкоязычного интернета самым важным сайтом является: http://www.goldseiten.de/ На английском языке. http://www.financialsense.com/ http://www.gold-eagle.com/ http://www.dailyreckoning.com/ Из за хронического недастатка времени для перевода мы пользуемся интернетовским переводчиком. Изза этого предложения иногда получаются смешными, может даже не особо понятными. Но мы надеемся, что в основном наш читатель разберѐтся что к чему. На русском языке http://www.assessor.ru/cgi-bin/ib31/ikonboard.cgi?s=435a1cb295b2ef434bb8a35d8e157950;act=ST;f=7;t=201 http://piterned.ru/articles/other/economy/zakat_dollara.htm 20 Sveta’s Essays about Art, Gold and Politics Уроки истори «Если я попробую найти удобную формулу, для времени перед Первой Мировой войной, в которое я вырос, то я надеюсь, что будет четче всего говорить: это был золотой век надежности. Все в нашей почти тысячелетней австрийской монархии казалось основанным на длительный срок и само государство-высший гарант этой прочности. (...) Наша валюта, австрийская крона, была в чистых золотых монетах и гарантировала вместе с тем ее неизменность. Каждый знал, скольким он владел или сколько ему было доходов, что было позволено и что было запрещено. Все имело норму, определенную меру и вес. Тот, кто владел имуществом, мог точно рассчитывать, сколько в процентах оно ему ежегодно приносило, служащий, офицер мог найти в календаре год, в котором он бы авансировал и в котором он ушел бы на пенсию. Каждая семья имела определенный бюджет, она знала, сколько она должна была расходовать для жительства и еды, для летней поездки и представлений (...). Тот, кто владел домом, рассматривал его в качестве уверенного жилища для детей и внуков, двор и дело переходил по наследству; в то время как грудной ребенок лежал в колыбели, ему уже готовили первую лепту в жизненный путь, маленький резерв для будущего в копилке или сберегательной кассе. Все являлось прочным в этой далекой империи и незыблемо на своих местах и на наивысшем—сам преклонных лет император; однако, если бы он умер, то все знали (...), что другой взошел бы на его место и ничто не изменилось бы в хорошо-рассчитанном порядке. Никто не верил в войны, в революции и свержения. Все радикальное, все насильственное было немыслимо в век разума. Это чувство надежности было самым желанным владением миллионов, общий жизненный идеал. [...] Всѐ дальнии круги общества жаждали участия в этом идеале. Сначала только имущие наслаждались этим преимуществом, однако постепенно, широкие массы включались в этот процесс; столетие надежности стало золотым веком страхования. Дом страховался против огня и вторжения, поля против града и других ненастий, тело против аварии и болезни.» Так звучат воспоминания австрийского писателя Стефана Цвейга в книге «Вчерашний мир». Несомненно этот вчерашний мир был не идеален, но всѐ же какая разница с тем что пришло ему на смену! «Какое дикое, беспорядочное, невероятное время, те годы, когда с исчезающей стоимостью денег все другие стоимости в Австрии и Германии пошли под скоз! Эпоха восторженного экстаза и беспорядочного обмана, неповторимая смесь нетерпения и фанатизма. Все, что было экстравагантно и неконтролируемо, испытало золотое время: теозофия, оккультизм, спиритуализм, бессонница, антропософия, гадание по рукам, графология, индийские учения йоги и мистицизм Парацельзия. Все крайние возбуждения обещающие ещѐ большее чем до сих пор известные, каждая форма наркотика, морфия, кокаина и героина, находила бурный рынок, в пьесах царили инцест и отцеубийство, в политике коммунизм или фашизм—единственная желательная крайняя тематика; против этого где-то отдаленно существовала каждая форма нормальности и умеренности.» Если читателю Rebellog вчерашний мир Цвейга не знаком, то послевоенный мир Австрии и Германии, описанный им, окружает нас в большей или меньшей степени. Для русского читателя это описание точно отражает состояние страны. Даже развал Советского Союза не ударил так больно по психике людей как инфляция и пропажа всех сбережений. Для немецкого читателя это описание в несколько меньшей степени напоминает странности и извращения современного мира. Всѐ зависит от того как быстро, по выражению Цвейга исчезает стоимость денег. Почѐтное место в нашей большой коммнате занимает мишка, простая детская игрушка. Примечателен этот мишка только тем, что он был куплен за пару миллионов марок в разгар немецкой гиперинфляции. Куплен не для потехи, а для того чтобы дневной заработок не пропал. Может наш мишка был обменян на эту бумажку—сто миллионов марок. Звучит не плохо, как будто бы много. Весь вопрос только чего? Ведь мишка он мишкой и остался. Хоть марку, хоть сто миллионов за 21 Sveta’s Essays about Art, Gold and Politics него заплати. Весь вопрос не в том сколько этот мишка стоит, а сколько чего-то другого на него можно обменять. Мишку на куклу, или на платье, или на тарелку макарон. Тогда, когда ценность бумажных денег возвращаются к их настоящей ценности—нулю, тогда люди возвращаются к первоначальной системе обмена—бартеру. Тысячелетиями люди жили и работали и обменивили излишки продукции на что-то другое: рыбу на мясо, ягоды на зерно, горшки на ткани. Этот обмен всегда упирался в неудобства. Тот у кого было мясо не хотел обменять его на рыбу, а тот у кого было зерно не хотел менять его на предлагаемое мясо. Ищя выход из этого неудобства при натуральном обмене, все участники этой системы (рынка) начали искать ту вещь, какая была бы признана всеми как самая желаемая вещь которой можно было бы владеть и которая была бы просто принята всеми в обмен на всѐ. Эта вещь была бы удобным посредническим шагом при обмене. В разные времена и в разных обществах этим средством обмена служили такие вещи как соль, ракушки, спрессованные чаиные листы, но в конечном итоге после проб, ошибок и сортировки рынок и его участники выбрали универсальное средство обмена—золото и серебро, особенно золото. Почему? Вот какие качества присущие деньгам и золоту описывал не кто иной как Аристотель в IVвеке до н.э. Судите сами. Оно не портится. Оно не ржавеет, не испаряется, не преснеет, не гниѐт, даже кислота его не портит. Золотые монеты и украшения пролежав века з земле или под водой не теряют ни своего блеска, на своей красоты, они такие же как и были тысячелетия до нас. Его удобно делить. Золото не теряет своих свойств или ценности с любом состоянии, что в грамах, что в слитках. Диамант например, ценится только по размеру. Расколи его и ценность отдельных частей диаманта не будет равна ценности исходного камня. Оно легко транспортируемо. Золото очень легко по сравнению с другими металлами. Его удобно переносить (из кармана в карман или из города в город). Оно постоянно. Чистое золото (24 карата) постоянный химический элемент. У него есть настоящая ценность. Не зависимо от того что из золота можно много чего изготавливать и использовать как промышленный металл, в трудный момент любой человек быстренько сообразит сколько да чего он может обменять на золотые часы или серебрянные ложки на рынке. Ещѐ более весомое качество золота, то что его сравнительно мало. Всѐ золото добытое за историю человечества составляет 20 куб. метров и добывается то оно трудно, увеличиваясь в количестве только на 1% в год. А самое главное оно никому не принадлежит. Оно в отлиичии от бумажных денег не печатается правителями. То что мы современные люди, считающие себя наиумнейшими, умеющими читать и писать носим в кощельках красивые листочки бумаги с витиеватыми знаками и меняем на них настоящие продукты, принимаем как плату за настоящую работу и думаем об этих бумажках как средства обмена и ещѐ важнее как долговременное хранилище ценностей говорит многое о том, в какой тупик зашла наша цивилизация. Умнейшие люди покрутят у виска пальцем если им предложат в оплату бумажку в сто миллионов немецких марок 1923 года, а в следующий момент возьмут в оплату не менее красивые бумажки современных правительств. А ведь у этих бумажек одна и таже ценность. Два цента стоит печатание американского доллара с любой номинальной ценой, будь то доллар, будь то сто миллионов долларов. История денег и золота это история культур, стран и цивилизаций. Это история небывалого улудшения жизненного уровня, так как только система денег позволила установить систему плодотворного 22 Sveta’s Essays about Art, Gold and Politics разделения труда. Но это и история жадных и эгоистичных правителей, которые с самого начала пытались подчинить деньги своему влиянию, изъять, своровать, подрезать углы, разбавить дешѐвым металлом. Великая Римская империя просто напросто обанкротилась. Войны оплачивались всѐ более дешѐвыми деньгами, последние императоры отчеканивали свои профили на бронзовых монетах. Византийская империя существовала пока она имела надѐжные золотые монеты, когда Алексис I занялся разбавлением залотого состава, тогда и империя пошла в упадок. Средние века в Европе отличались проблематичной денежной системой. Итальянские города-республики начали чеканить золотые монеты, что привело к возрождению коммерции и БУМ! Ренессансу. Испанцы ограбили американских земли, приверли несметные количества золота и особенно серебра в Европу, радуясь богатствам и лѐгким деньгам, что бы выучить урок, что лѐгких денег не бывает. Испания пережила инфляцию, которая всегда сопутствует увеличению денег в обороте. А когда деньги ушли в другие страны то испанцы обнаружили, что в те годы когда они могли позволить купить всѐ продукты со всего света их отечественные производители либо обанкротились, либо просто прекратили продукцию, так как у них появились деньги без работы. Остальная история Испании известна. Французы говорят: Африка начинается за Пиренеями. Первые бумажные деньги были в ходу в Китае. Достаток общества был описан Марко Поло. К сожалению он отбыл до катастрофы, когда ценность бумажных денег сошла на нуль. Европа начала XVIII века была потрясена экспериментом бумажных денег во Франции под руководством банкира Джона Лоу. Гѐте писал об этом в «Фаусте» и Вольтер сказал знаменитую фразу: «В конечном итоге бумажные деньги возвращаются к присущей им ценности—нулю». Никто иной как сам Исаак Ньютон стал основоположником знаменитого золотого стандарта. Для удобства развивающейся коммерции и индустриализации золото хранилось в банках а в обороте были бумажные купюры соответствующие количеству золота. Ньютон сам преследовал фальшивомонетчиков и требовал строгого соблюдения дисциплины от банкиров. Позже система золотого стандарта была перенята всеми европейскими странами. Денежная дисциплина привела к развитию вчерашнего мира описанного Стефаном Цвейгом Один рубль 1898 года « Государственный Банк разменивает кредитные билеты на золотую монету без ограничения ... содержит 17, 424 долей чистого золота» Вот он в чѐм смысл бумажного рубля!! С ним можно было пойти в банк и получить настоящий золотой рубль! А сегодня один бумажный рубль в банке просто обменяют на другой. Нет, история денег не простая, не легкая, не особо то счастливая и не особо мирная. И золото и серебро не идеальные системы. Их ценность в свою очередь тоже зависит от веры в них. Но история показала, что до сих пор, ни одна долговременная денежная система не существовала без золота, ни в какую систему люди не вкладывали своѐ доверие больше чем в ту, которая стояла на золотом фундаменте. Золото и серебро может не идеальны, но в конце дня рабочий человек мог зажать в кулаке что-то настоящее, осязаемое, что можно сохранить на веки и передать потомкам. Не смотря на то какий вид примут монеты через века после нас, золотые сегодняшние монеты как и монеты древней Греции, Римской империи, как и золото инка и Африки можно будет расплавить, отчеканить по новому и снова пустить в кругооборот. В отличии от цветных кусочков бумаги, которые всегда через всю историю становились бесценными. 23 Sveta’s Essays about Art, Gold and Politics Р.S. После второй мировой войны объѐм товаров увеличился в четыре раза, финансы в сорок раз. Вспомним Испанию. Рынок всегда приведѐт все в баланс. Либо цены на вещи увеличатся соответственно, либо что-то случится с этим морем денег, кредитов и финансовых бумаг. Две хорошие статьи, к сожалению у них только один ответ: бумажный рубль. ГРЯДЕТ ФИНАНСОВАЯ КАТАСТРОФА ГРЯДЕТ ФИНАНСОВАЯ КАТАСТРОФА http://www.gazetanv.ru/article/?id=364 ДОЛЛАР ЛЕТИТ В ПРОПАСТЬ http://www.gazetanv.ru/archive/article/?id=363 Джон Лоу http://www.fxmoney.ru/archive/28/19.php Рубль http://aes.iupui.edu/rwise/countries/russia_regular.htm http://www.worldcoincatalog.com/Index/R.htm 24 Sveta’s Essays about Art, Gold and Politics Aus der Geschichte lernen Wenn ich versuche, für die Zeit vor dem Ersten Weltkriege, in der ich aufgewachsen bin, eine handliche Formel zu finden, so hoffe ich am prägnantesten zu sein, wenn ich sage: es war das goldene Zeitalter der Sicherheit. Alles in unserer fast tausendjährigen österreichischen Monarchie schien auf Dauer gegründet und der Staat selbst der oberste Garant dieser Beständigkeit. (...) Unsere Währung, die österreichischen Krone, lief in blanken Goldstücken und verbürgte damit ihre Unwandelbarkeit. Jeder wußte, wie viel er besaß oder wie viel ihm zukam, was erlaubt und was verboten war. Alles hatte seine Norm, sein bestimmtes Maß und Gewicht. Wer ein Vermögen besaß, konnte genau errechnen, wie viel an Zinsen es alljährlich zubrachte, der Beamte, der Offizier wiederum fand im Kalender verläßlich das Jahr, in dem er avancieren werde und in dem er in Pension gehen würde. Jede Familie hatte ihr bestimmtes Budget, sie wußte, wie viel sie zu verbrauchen hatte für Wohnen und Essen, für Sommerreise und Repräsentation (...). Wer ein Haus besaß, betrachtete es als sichere Heimstatt für Kinder und Enkel, Hof und Geschäft vererbte sich von Geschlecht zu Geschlecht; während ein Säugling noch in der Wiege lag, legte man in der Sparbüchse oder der Sparkasse bereits einen ersten Obolus für den Lebensweg zurecht, eine kleine Reserve für die Zukunft. Alles stand in diesem weiten Reiche fest und unverrückbar an seiner Stelle und an der höchsten der greise Kaiser; aber sollte er sterben, so wußte man (...), würde ein anderer kommen und nichts sich ändern in der wohlberechneten Ordnung. Niemand glaubte an Kriege, an Revolutionen und Umstürze. Alles Radikale, alles Gewaltsame schien bereits unmöglich in einem Zeitalter der Vernunft. Dieses Gefühl der Sicherheit war der erstrebenswerteste Besitz von Millionen, das gemeinsame Lebensideal. [...] Immer weitere Kreise begehrten ihren Teil an diesem kostbaren Gut. Erst waren es nur die Besitzenden, die sich dieses Vorzugs erfreuten, allmählich aber drängten die breiten Massen heran; das Jahrhundert der Sicherheit wurde das goldene Zeitalter des Versicherungswesens. Man assekurierte sein Haus gegen Feuer und Einbruch, sein Feld gegen Hagel und Wetterschaden, seinen Körper gegen Unfall und Krankheit. So weit die Erinnerungen des österreichischen Schriftstellers Stefan Zweig in seinem Buch « Die Welt von Gestern». Gewiß diese gestrige Welt war nicht ideal, aber doch ein großer Unterschied zu dem was danach kam! Welch eine wilde, anarchische, unwahrscheinliche Zeit, jene Jahre, da mit dem schwindenden Wert des Geldes alle andern Werte in Österreich und Deutschland ins Rutschen kamen! Eine Epoche begeisterter Ekstase und wüster Schwindelei, eine einmalige Mischung von Ungeduld und Fanatismus. Alles, was extravagant und unkontrollierbar war, erlebte goldene Zeiten: Theosophie, Okkultismus, Spiritismus, Somnambulismus, Anthroposophie, Handleserei, Graphologie, indische Yoghilehren und paracelsischer Mystizismus. Alles, was äußerste Spannungen über die bisher bekannten hinausversprach, jede Form des Rauschgifts, Morphium, Kokain und Heroin, fand reißenden Absatz, in den Theaterstücken bildeten Inzest und Vatermord, in der Politik Kommunismus oder Faschismus die einzig erwünschte extreme Thematik; unbedingt verfemt hingegen war jede Form der Normalität und der Mäßigung. Wenn uns die vergangene Welt die Zweig beschreibt auch persönlich nicht bekannt ist, so haben doch, zumindest die Älteren Erinnerungen an die Situation in Österreich und Deutschland nach dem Kriege. Für den russischen Leser ist die Situation wiedererkennbar. Sie ist ein Spiegel der heutigen Verhältnisse. Der Untergang der Sowjet Union wurde von den Menschen nicht so schmerzhaft erlebt wie die Inflation und der Verlust aller Ersparnisse. Es war ein Schlag der die Leute tief in ihrer Psyche traf und bis heute anhält. Der deutsche Leser erkennt in diese Beschreibung die Seltsamkeiten und die Verdrehungen der modernen Welt wie Deutschland sie erlebt hat. Alle hat mit dem Schwinden der Werte zu tun wie Zweig es beschrieben hat. Den ehrenvollsten Platz in unserem Hause hat ein Teddybär inne, ein einfacher Spielzeugteddybär. Er ist deshalb bemerkenswert, weil er, auf dem Höhepunkt der Hyperinflation, vom Großvater meines Mannes für seinen Tageslohn gekauft wurde. Die Entscheidung ihn zukaufen musste schnell gefällt werden, anderes gab es an diesem Tage nicht mehr und am nächsten wäre die Millionen nichts mehr wert gewesen. Vielleicht wurde unser Bär gegen diesen Schein umgetauscht. 100 Millionen Mark. Das klingt beeindruckend und es hört sich an, als ob es viel ist. Die Frage bleibt, wie viel und wovon? Er ist ein Teddybär und er bleibt ein Teddybär. Egal, ob ich 1 Mark oder 100 Millionen für ihn bezahle. Es ist also nicht die Frage wie viel er kostet, sondern wofür ich ihn eintauschen kann. Kann ich den Bären gegen eine Puppe tauschen, oder gegen ein Kleid 25 Sveta’s Essays about Art, Gold and Politics oder gegen einen Teller Spaghetti? Wenn der Wert des Geldscheines, also des Papiergeldes, des bedruckten Papieres gegen Null sinkt, dann kehren die Leute zum Tauschgeschäft zurück. Weil ihnen der Gegenwert des Ertauschten wertvoller erscheint, als der Wert bedruckten Papieres. Jahrtausende lebten und arbeiteten die Menschen. Einen Teil der erarbeiteten Werte tauschten die Leute als Überschüsse ihrer Produktion gegen etwas anderes ein: Fisch gegen Fleisch, Beeren gegen Korn, Töpfe gegen Stoff. Dieser Tauschhandel war natürlich unbequem. Der, der Fleisch hatte, wollte es nicht gegen Fisch eintauschen, und der Besitzer von Korn war an dem angebotene Fleisch uninteressiert. Um dies Unbequemlichkeit zu beenden suchte man nach einem Ersatz. Nach einem Wert, der von allen Marktteilnehmern anerkannt würde, den jeder gern besitzen würde und der von allen beim Umtausch gegen Waren akzeptiert werden würde. Man fand solche wertbeständigen und allgemein akzeptierten Werte. Sie variierten je nach Zeiten und Regionen. Salz, Muscheln, Teeblätter sind Beispiele. Aber am beständigsten, am begehrtesten und grundsätzlich akzeptiert wurden Silber und Gold. Gold hatte natürlich den höheren Rang, denn es war und ist wie folgt beschaffen: 1. Es verdirbt nicht. Es verrostet nicht, verdampft nicht, verfault nicht, es wird von Säure nicht beschädigt. Goldene Münzen und Schmuck verlieren selbst nach nach Jahrhunderten unter der Erde oder unter Wasser nicht seinen Glanz oder Schönheit, sie sind genau so wie tausend Jahre zuvor. 2. Es ist bequem zu teilen. Gold verliert nicht seine Eigenschaften oder seinen Wert. Es ist egal ob es grammweise oder in größeren Einheiten gehandelt wird. Diamanten, auch ein begehrter Wert, kann man nicht beliebig teilen, seine Beurteilungskriterien sind komplizierter und der Wert einzelner teile ist nicht gleich dem Wert des Ausgangssteines. 3. Es ist leicht zu transportieren. Gold ist im Vergleich zu anderen Metallen sehr leicht. Es kann, in kleinen Mengen, bequem in einer Tasche mitgenommen werden. 4. Es beständig. Reingold (24 Karat) ist chemisches Element. 5. Es hat einen physischen Wert, d.h. es ist vorhanden. So beschrieb im 4. Jahrhundert vor Christus bereits Aristoteles die Qualitäten von Gold. Und natürlich kann man aus Gold, als industriellem Metall sehr viel herstellen. Waren es früher goldene Uhren oder silberne Löffel, sind die Anwendungsgebiete wesentlich breiter gefächert: Medizin, Computertechnik etc. Aber wichtiger noch als die Qualität des Goldes ist seine Quantität. Da es schwer zu fördern ist, nimmt die jährliche Goldmenge lediglich um 1 Prozent zu. Alles, jemals in der Geschichte der Menschheit geförderte Gold sind nicht mehr als 20 Kubikmeter. Gold kann im Unterschied zu Papiergeld von Herrschern nicht „gedruckt―, also beliebig vermehrt werden. Wir halten uns heute für sehr schlau, wir sind modern , wir können lesen und schreiben und wir tragen Brieftaschen mit schönem bedruckten Papier. Wir tauschen dieses Papier gegen reale Produkte, wir nehmen sie entgegen als Lohn für unsere erbrachte Arbeit, wir tauschen diese Papierchen gegeneinander, wenn wir auf die Idee kommen sie etwa nachzumachen kommen wir in den Knast, und wir legen sie aufeinander um sie zu sammeln, also zu sparen. Ist das Fortschritt, oder verrät es nicht vielmehr, in welcher Sackgasse unsere Zivilisation angekommen ist? Jeder einigermassen Kluge würde sich an die Stirn tippen wenn man ihm für seine Arbeit Papierchen in der Höhe von 100 Millionen Mark anbieten würde, wären die Scheine aus dem Jahre 1923. Er würde natürlich zu den 1000 Euro heutiger Regierungen greifen. Dabei haben beide bedruckten Papierschnipsel denselben tatsächlichen Wert, etwa 2 Cent. Zwei Cent kostet der Druck des amerikanischen Dollars mit einem beliebigen Nominalpreis, sei es 1 Dollar, seien es 100 Millionen Dollar. Die Geschichte des Geldes und des Goldes ist die Geschichte der Kulturen, der Länder und der Zivilisationen. Es ist die Geschichte verbesserten Lebensstandards, da nur das System des Geldes erlaubt hat, das System der Arbeitsteilung einzuführen. Aber es ist auch die Geschichte geiziger und egoistischer Herrscher, die von Anfang an versuchten, das Geld ihrem Einfluss zu unterstellen, zu stehlen, zu expropriieren, die Ecken der Münzen zu beschneiden, oder es mit billigerem Metall zu verdünnen. 26 Sveta’s Essays about Art, Gold and Politics Das großes Römisches Reich ist einfach Bankrott gegangen. Die Kriege wurden mit immer mehr billigerem, also entwertetem Geld bezahlt, die letzten Kaiser prägten ihre Profile auf Bronzemünzen. Das Byzantinische Imperium existierte so lange als es sichere goldenen Münzen hatte, aber als Alexis I begann des Goldes Inhalt zu verdünnen war auch diesem Imperium dem Verfall preisgegeben. Auch das Mittelalter in Europa hatte ein problematisches geldliches System. Erst die italienischen Stadt - Republiken begannen goldene Münzen zu prägen, was die Wiedergeburt des Handels und der Renaissance einen Boom bescherte. Die Spanier plünderten den amerikanischen Kontinent, schafften unvorstellbare Mengen Goldes und besonders Silbers nach Europa, in Freude über diese Reichtümer und des leicht erworbenen Geldes, um dann zu lernen, dass es kein leichtes zu erwerbendes Geld gibt. Spanien hat die Inflation erlebt, die die Erweiterung der Geldumlaufmenge immer begleitet. Und als ihr Geld in anderen Ländern ausgegeben war haben die Spanier bemerkt, dass in den Jahren als sie sich erlauben konnten, Produkte aus aller Welt zu kaufen, ihre einheimischen Produzenten bankrott gingen, oder einfach die Produktion eingestellt wurde. Sie erhielten das Geld ohne den Gegenwert der Arbeit. Die übrige Geschichte Spaniens ist bekannt. Die Franzosen sagten später zurecht: Afrika fängt hinter den Pyrenäen an. Der erste Papiergeldumlauf war in China. Der Wohlstand der chinesischen Gesellschaft wurde von Marco Polo beschrieben. Leider ist er vor der ökonomischen Katastrophe abgereist, als der Wert des Papiergeldes begann gegen Null zu tendieren. Europa am Beginn des 18. Jahrhunderts wurde erschüttert durch das Papiergeldexperiment in Frankreich unter Leitung des Bankiers John Law. Goethe schrieb darüber im «Faust» und von Voltaire ist die berühmte Phrase überliefert: „Paper money eventually returns to it‘s intrinsic value – zero― Niemand andere als Sir Isaak Newton wurde der Begründer des berühmten Goldstandards. Für die Bequemlichkeit des sich entwickelnden Handels und der Industrialisierung wurde das Gold bei Banken verwahrt und im Umlauf waren Papierscheine entsprechend der Menge des Goldes. Newton selber verfolgte Falschmünzer und forderte von den Bankiers strenge Disziplin im Umgang mit dem Gold-Geldsystem. Später wurde das System des goldenen Standards von allen europäischen Ländern übernommen. Diese Gelddisziplin hat es möglich gemacht eine Welt der Sicherheit zu organisieren wir Stefan Zweig sie eingangs beschrieben hat. Rubel 1898 Übersetzung: „Die Staatliche Bank wechselt Banknoten gegen goldene Münze ohne Beschränkung…― So machte der Papierrubel Sin.! Mit ihm konnte man in jede Bank gehen ihn dort vorlegen und als Gegenwert massive, physisch reale, goldene Rubel bekommen! Heute tauscht die Bank Papierrubel einfach gegen andere um. Nein, die Geschichte des Geldes ist nicht einfach, nicht leicht, nicht besonders glücklich und nicht besonders friedlich. Sowohl Gold als auch Silber sind nicht ideale Systeme. Ihr Wert hängt auch vom Glauben in sie ab. Aber die Geschichte hat gezeigt, daß bis jetzt kein langfristiges geldliches System ohne Gold existierte. Zu keinem System hatten die Menschen seines Vertrauen mehr an, als den was auf dem goldenen Fundament stand. Gold und Silber sind vielleicht nicht ideal, aber am Ende seines Arbeitstages konnte der Mensch etwas mit seiner Faust umschließen was wirklichen Wert hatte, was man auf Jahrhunderte sparen konnte und seinen Nachfahren übergeben. Es spielt keine Rolle welche Form die Münzen in den Jahrhunderten nach haben werden, die heutigen Goldmünzen wie auch die alten Münzen Griechenlands, des Römische Reiches, ebenso wie das Gold der Inka oder Afrikas, man kann es immer schmelzen, neu prägen und wieder in Umlauf bringen. Im 27 Sveta’s Essays about Art, Gold and Politics Unterschied zu allen farbigen Stückchen Papiers, die während der ganzen Geschichte wertlos wurden und allenfalls etwas Sammlerwert haben. P.S. Nach dem Zweiten Welt Krieg hat der Umfang der Waren viermal zugenommen, Finanzen aber um das Vierzigfache.Der Markt wird diese Unregelmäßigkeiten ins Gleichgewicht bringen. Um die Balance wieder herzustellen, werden die Preise explodieren oder aber das gesamte Kredit und Finanzsystem wird gleich einem Potemkinschen Dorf zusammenklappen. © rebellog.com / Sveta Renitent 28