Natural Economy of Life
for Worldwide Prosperity and Peace in Harmony with Nature
»A Thousand Thanks for being with us!«
Gentle and peaceful transformation of the monetary system
Welcome by the Gradido founders Margret Baier and Bernd Hückstädt (6min YouTube).
Lecture: Gradido - Natural Economy of Life (52min YouTube).
- Money creation through life or contributions to the common good
- Active Basic Income for everyone worldwide
- Generous debt-free national budget for each country
- EEF Equalisation and Environmental Fund for rehabilitating contaminated sites
- Prosperity for all after the pattern of nature
End poverty, wars and destruction of the environment!
The law of war: Me or YOU
Three fatal errors in the old monetary system inevitably again and again lead to poverty, exploitation, hunger, wars, refugees, disease, destruction of the environment and the associated natural disasters. If these mistakes are not made, humanity has a realistic chance of freeing itself from these scourges within a short time.
Error 1: Money creation through debt. Over 95% of the money available worldwide (i.e. virtually all money) is created through debt. This means that each credit balance on one side necessarily results in the same amount of debt for others. This zero-sum game means "me or you" - the law of war.
Error 2: Due to compound interest and interest the gap between assets and debts, rich and poor, is widening - until the inevitable crash comes!
Error 3: Disregard of the cycle of growth and decay makes us experience this law of nature involuntarily. Unwanted forms of transience are financial crises, crashes, inflation, wars, destruction of the environment and other disasters.
Nature shows us the solution – for the good of everyone
Gradido - the Natural Economy of Life - is a monetary and economic model based on natural patterns and thus a way to global prosperity and peace in harmony with nature. Money is created debt-free by every person.
Through the cycle of growth and decay, Gradido is a self-regulating system that keeps the money supply and thus prices stable. The gentle equalisation between the previously poor countries and the industrial nations promotes peace. The Natural Economy of Life is the result of years of economic bionics research.
Nature has been working for four and a half billion years. If we act in accordance with the laws of nature, we will experience prosperity and peace worldwide.
Gradido supports the UN Sustainability Goals
Click on the pictures to learn more:
»Goal 1: End poverty in all its forms everywhere
Our contribution:
To end poverty in all its forms everywhere and create prosperity for all in harmony with nature - this is the main goal of Gradido. This cannot be achieved In the old debt money system since the assets of some must necessarily be the debts of others.
Through the threefold creation of money, the same amount of money per capita is created for everyone with Gradido without generating debts.
Every person worldwide has the right to Unconditional Participation, which guarantees him/her an Active Basic Income. It has now been proven that all people worldwide can be supplied with high-quality organic food. With the Active Basic Income everyone has the money for it as well.
What is impossible in the old debt money system - with Gradido this goal is achieved almost "automatically".
»Goal 2: End hunger, achieve food security and improved nutrition and promote sustainable agriculture
It is time to rethink how we grow, share and consume our food.
If done right, agriculture, forestry and fisheries can provide nutritious food for all and generate decent incomes, while supporting people-centred rural development and protecting the environment.
Right now, our soils, freshwater, oceans, forests and biodiversity are being rapidly degraded. Climate change is putting even more pressure on the resources we depend on, increasing risks associated with disasters such as droughts and floods. Many rural women and men can no longer make ends meet on their land, forcing them to migrate to cities in search of opportunities.
A profound change of the global food and agriculture system is needed if we are to nourish today’s 815 million hungry and the additional 2 billion people expected by 2050.
The food and agriculture sector offers key solutions for development, and is central for hunger and poverty eradication.« Source: United Nations
Our contribution:
It has long been possible to supply everyone with healthy organic food. So far it has only failed because of a lack of political will. This depends on the economic interests that are misguided in the old debt money system because of wrong incentives.
Gradido helps here in three ways:
- The Equalisation and Environmental Fund (EEF) supports ecological projects and also the conversion of conventional products to ecological ones. The EEF is the largest environmental fund ever conceived in the history of humanity. It is an additional pool of money - as large as all the national budgets of the world together.
- Each country has a debt-free budget per capita, which is roughly equivalent tothe public budget in Germany, plus health and social services. Just like the EEF, the national budget is also financed by the threefold creation of money. No taxes or other levies are therefore necessary.
- With the Active Basic Income, all people in every country have the necessary money for high-quality organic food, which can be offered at fair and stable prices through support from the EEF and a generous national budget.
»Goal 3: Ensure healthy lives and promote well-being for all at all ages
Ensuring healthy lives and promoting the well-being for all at all ages is essential to sustainable development. Significant strides have been made in increasing life expectancy and reducing some of the common killers associated with child and maternal mortality. Major progress has been made on increasing access to clean water and sanitation, reducing malaria, tuberculosis, polio and the spread of HIV/AIDS. However, many more efforts are needed to fully eradicate a wide range of diseases and address many different persistent and emerging health issues.« Source: United Nations
Our contribution:
In the Gradido model, the national budget also includes health care. Free access to health care is thus guaranteed for all people. People are free to decide which form of health care they want to choose. Conventional medicine and alternative healing methods are equally available to everyone free of charge.
Without having to be anxious about their livelihood, all people can do what they like to do from the heart - that is, follow their inner vocation. This will eliminate a large part of the stress-related diseases of civilization. Access to healthy food (Sustainability Goal 2) will also reduce diet-based diseases. People will become healthier overall.
»Goal 4: Ensure inclusive and quality education for all and promote lifelong learning
Obtaining a quality education is the foundation to improving people’s lives and sustainable development. Major progress has been made towards increasing access to education at all levels and increasing enrolment rates in schools particularly for women and girls. Basic literacy skills have improved tremendously, yet bolder efforts are needed to make even greater strides for achieving universal education goals. For example, the world has achieved equality in primary education between girls and boys, but few countries have achieved that target at all levels of education.« Source: United Nations
Our contribution:
According to scientific studies (see Prof. Gerald Hüther) 98 % of newborns are highly talented. After school, it is only 2%. There are successful methods that promote real development of potential and preserve natural giftedness (for example LAIS schools).
Gradido helps here in several ways
- Due to the generous debt-free national budget in each country, school education and further education are free of charge worldwide.There is support for alternative school and educational projects.
- Through the Active Basic Income and other means of organising their life plan, each person has the possibility of taking time out for further training without having to fear financial loss.
- Of course, sufficient funds are also available for supporting people with disabilities and barrier-free educational institutions.
»Goal 5: Achieve gender equality and empower all women and girls
While the world has achieved progress towards gender equality and women’s empowerment under the Millennium Development Goals (including equal access to primary education between girls and boys), women and girls continue to suffer discrimination and violence in every part of the world.
Gender equality is not only a fundamental human right, but a necessary foundation for a peaceful, prosperous and sustainable world.
Providing women and girls with equal access to education, health care, decent work, and representation in political and economic decision-making processes will fuel sustainable economies and benefit societies and humanity at large.« Source: United Nations
Our contribution:
Of course, women and girls have the same right to Unconditional Participation and thus to an Active Basic Income.
Since children also receive a basic income, families with single parents can enjoy a good standard of living. If the two parents are together, everyone is free to decide whether and, if so, which of the two is employed.
For example, a family of four has the right to a Active Basic Income of 4000 gradidos. The value of the gradido is roughly equivalent to the euro. Infants receive the basic income unconditionally. From a certain age, children can take on tasks for the community that are appropriate for their age, which give them enjoyment, strengthen their self-confidence and personal responsibility and thus promote their personal development.
We also support equality between men and women in the workplace.
»Goal 6: Ensure access to water and sanitation for all
Clean, accessible water for all is an essential part of the world we want to live in. There is sufficient fresh water on the planet to achieve this. But due to bad economics or poor infrastructure, every year millions of people, most of them children, die from diseases associated with inadequate water supply, sanitation and hygiene.
Water scarcity, poor water quality and inadequate sanitation negatively impact food security, livelihood choices and educational opportunities for poor families across the world. Drought afflicts some of the world’s poorest countries, worsening hunger and malnutrition.
By 2050, at least one in four people is likely to live in a country affected by chronic or recurring shortages of fresh water.« Source: United Nations
Our contribution:
There are already inexpensive solutions for water supply. Examples are the Desert Greening project, retention landscapes, etc. in which the desert is transformed into fertile landscape. So it does not always have to be expensive technology. Fatal in this context is the approach of some beverage companies that are building factories somewhere in the world and digging up the locals' groundwater supplies.
Gradido helps here on several levels:
The Equalisation and Environmental Fund (EEF), an additional environmental fund equal to the sum of all national budgets, has sufficient means to promote the various solutions for water availability.
The EEF also promotes environmentally friendly products and a switch to environmentally friendly production. It thus also offers global beverage companies sufficient economic incentives to produce in harmony with man and nature.
Due to Unconditional Participation and the associated Active Basic Income, all people are financially provided for. There is no more unemployment. As a result, there is no longer any reason to bring environmentally harmful and inhuman production facilities into the country just to create jobs.
Since with Gradido the money supply generated per capita is the same in every country, regardless of its economic performance, it no longer makes sense to exploit nature industrially.
»Goal 7: Ensure access to affordable, reliable, sustainable and modern energy for all
Energy is central to nearly every major challenge and opportunity the world faces today. Be it for jobs, security, climate change, food production or increasing incomes, access to energy for all is essential.
Sustainable energy is opportunity – it transforms lives, economies and the planet.
UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon is leading a Sustainable Energy for All initiative to ensure universal access to modern energy services, improve efficiency and increase use of renewable sources.« Source: United Nations
Our contribution:
In the Gradido model, each country has the same money creation per capita (without debt). This means that the existing developing countries can also afford the best technologies. There is no longer any reason to exploit the land (for example, for oil or other natural resources).
In the energy sector, the EEF promotes renewable energies. This also includes the research and development of forms of energy which we do not yet know or which have not yet been recognised. Environmentally harmful and highly dangerous forms of energy such as nuclear power, etc. will no longer be subsidised and may be banned.
Ecologically harmless substitute products will be created for all oil products. Since these are subsidized by the EEF, the previous oil products will be far too expensive in comparison and no longer stand a chance on the market. This is also to the benefit of manufacturers who benefit from subsidies for organic products.
»Goal 8: Promote inclusive and sustainable economic growth, employment and decent work for all
Roughly half the world’s population still lives on the equivalent of about US$2 a day. And in too many places, having a job doesn’t guarantee the ability to escape from poverty. This slow and uneven progress requires us to rethink and retool our economic and social policies aimed at eradicating poverty.
A continued lack of decent work opportunities, insufficient investments and under-consumption lead to an erosion of the basic social contract underlying democratic societies: that all must share in progress. . The creation of quality jobs will remain a major challenge for almost all economies well beyond 2015.
Sustainable economic growth will require societies to create the conditions that allow people to have quality jobs that stimulate the economy while not harming the environment. Job opportunities and decent working conditions are also required for the whole working age population.« Source: United Nations
Our contribution:
Sustainable economic growth does not in itself make sense. It has already brought our planet to the brink of collapse. It makes sense to strike an ecologically acceptable balance between the existing poor countries and the industrial nations.
With Gradido, full employment and decent work for all is guaranteed simply through Unconditional Participation and the associated Active Basic Income.
However, the work need not be productive in the sense of the production of industrial goods, for we have enough of them already. The number of working hours per week is also likely to decrease. For the Active Basic Income 2 hours a day are sufficient. Everything else can be arranged according to your own preferences.
Child labour in its unfortunately still customary exploitative form will no longer exist.
However, children have the right to Unconditional Participation and thus to an Active Basic Income. They are allowed to contribute to the common good in line with their age and inclinations and in return receive (like everyone else) 20 gradidos per hour for a maximum of 50 hours per month.
»Goal 9: Build resilient infrastructure, promote sustainable industrialization and foster innovation
Investments in infrastructure – transport, irrigation, energy and information and communication technology – are crucial to achieving sustainable development and empowering communities in many countries. It has long been recognized that growth in productivity and incomes, and improvements in health and education outcomes require investment in infrastructure.
Inclusive and sustainable industrial development is the primary source of income generation, allows for rapid and sustained increases in living standards for all people, and provides the technological solutions to environmentally sound industrialization.
Technological progress is the foundation of efforts to achieve environmental objectives, such as increased resource and energy-efficiency. Without technology and innovation, industrialization will not happen, and without industrialization, development will not happen.« Source: United Nations
Our contribution:
Since each country has the same money creation per capita, it can decide for itself whether and to what extent industrialisation makes sense in this country.
For example, the production of essential goods in the country itself can make sense in order to avoid transport journeys. It can also make sense to keep the land in as natural a state as possible or to restore it and to live in an idyllic rural setting.
Witht Gradido, an agricultural country is no poorer or richer (in financial terms) than an industrial nation. However, the "gross national happiness" could be much higher in a less industrialized country. Especially when financial prosperity is at the level of the industrial nations.
»Goal 10: Reduce inequality within and among countries
The international community has made significant strides towards lifting people out of poverty. The most vulnerable nations – the least developed countries, the landlocked developing countries and the small island developing states – continue to make inroads into poverty reduction. However, inequality still persists and large disparities remain in access to health and education services and other assets.
Additionally, while income inequality between countries may have been reduced, inequality within countries has risen. There is growing consensus that economic growth is not sufficient to reduce poverty if it is not inclusive and if it does not involve the three dimensions of sustainable development – economic, social and environmental.
To reduce inequality, policies should be universal in principle paying attention to the needs of disadvantaged and marginalized populations.« Source: United Nations
Our contribution:
The financial balance between the present developing countries and the industrial nations is a logical consequence of the introduction of the Gradido model. There will be no poverty at all.
This is achieved by itself through the threefold creation of money.
For each person in every country, 1000 gradidos are created three times a month: 1000 each for their basic income, the state budget and the Equalisation and Environment Fund (EEF). The natural cycle of growth and decay implemented in the model stabilises the money supply.per capita.
The balance between rich and poor countries is thus already implemented in the Gradido model.
»Goal 11: Make cities inclusive, safe, resilient and sustainable
Cities are hubs for ideas, commerce, culture, science, productivity, social development and much more. At their best, cities have enabled people to advance socially and economically.
However, many challenges exist to maintaining cities in a way that continues to create jobs and prosperity while not straining land and resources. Common urban challenges include congestion, lack of funds to provide basic services, a shortage of adequate housing and declining infrastructure.
The challenges cities face can be overcome in ways that allow them to continue to thrive and grow, while improving resource use and reducing pollution and poverty. The future we want includes cities of opportunities for all, with access to basic services, energy, housing, transportation and more.« Source: United Nations
Our contribution:
With Gradido no one has to live in the city anymore to earn a living. Whether you want to live in the city or in the countryside depends on your preferences.
This freedom is achieved, among other things, through Unconditional Participation with the associated Active Basic Income.
Since work does not have to take place in industrial conurbations, there is hardly any need for commuters.
The expansion of public transport to a reasonable level can be financed both from the Equalisation and Environmental Fund (EEF) and from the generous debt-free national budget. The same applies to safety and cleanliness in the cities.
»Goal 12: Ensure sustainable consumption and production patterns
Sustainable consumption and production is about promoting resource and energy efficiency, sustainable infrastructure, and providing access to basic services, green and decent jobs and a better quality of life for all. Its implementation helps to achieve overall development plans, reduce future economic, environmental and social costs, strengthen economic competitiveness and reduce poverty.
Our contribution:
Fighting is not our way. We rely on positive motivation, invitations and ways and means of making life easier.
Among other things, the Equalisation and Environmental Fund (EEF) supports companies in ending industrial overexploitation and producing ecologically. Energy subsidies will only be available for environmentally friendly forms of energy.
There are many ways to raise people's awareness of the value of organic and healthy food. This can begin in schools, for example by cultivating a permaculture garden and preparing and eating tasty food together from the fruit and vegetables harvested. Urban gardening also increases sensitivity to the value of the food grown.
With Gradido such activities are rewarded as contributions to the community through the Active Basic Income.
»Goal 13: Take urgent action to combat climate change and its impacts
Climate change is now affecting every country on every continent. It is disrupting national economies and affecting lives, costing people, communities and countries dearly today and even more tomorrow.
People are experiencing the significant impacts of climate change, which include changing weather patterns, rising sea level, and more extreme weather events. The greenhouse gas emissions from human activities are driving climate change and continue to rise. They are now at their highest levels in history. Without action, the world’s average surface temperature is projected to rise over the 21st century and is likely to surpass 3 degrees Celsius this century—with some areas of the world expected to warm even more. The poorest and most vulnerable people are being affected the most.
Affordable, scalable solutions are now available to enable countries to leapfrog to cleaner, more resilient economies. The pace of change is quickening as more people are turning to renewable energy and a range of other measures that will reduce emissions and increase adaptation efforts.
But climate change is a global challenge that does not respect national borders. Emissions anywhere affect people everywhere. It is an issue that requires solutions that need to be coordinated at the international level and it requires international cooperation to help developing countries move toward a low-carbon economy.
To address climate change, countries adopted the Paris Agreement at the COP21 in Paris on 12 December 2015. The Agreement entered into force shortly thereafter, on 4 November 2016. In the agreement, all countries agreed to work to limit global temperature rise to well below 2 degrees Celsius, and given the grave risks, to strive for 1.5 degrees Celsius. You can learn more about the agreement here.
Implementation of the Paris Agreement is essential for the achievement of the Sustainable Development Goals, and provides a roadmap for climate actions that will reduce emissions and build climate resilience.
See which countries have signed it and which ones have deposited their ratification instruments. « Source: United Nations
Our contribution:
All forms of nature conservation are supported by the Equalisation and Environmental Fund (EEF). The EEF is the largest environmental fund ever conceived in the history of humanity. It is an additional pool of the same amount as the national budget. In Germany alone that is about one trillion gradidos. By contrast, the $100 billion requested sounds very modest.
The goal of Gradido is worldwide prosperity and peace in harmony with nature. Genuine conservation of nature and the environment is also climate protection and has the highest priority for Gradido.
With the Equalisation and Environmental Fund, Gradido also offers the necessary financial means for this.
»Goal 14: Conserve and sustainably use the oceans, seas and marine resources
The world’s oceans – their temperature, chemistry, currents and life – drive global systems that make the Earth habitable for humankind.
Our rainwater, drinking water, weather, climate, coastlines, much of our food, and even the oxygen in the air we breathe, are all ultimately provided and regulated by the sea. Throughout history, oceans and seas have been vital conduits for trade and transportation.
Careful management of this essential global resource is a key feature of a sustainable future.« Source: United Nations
Our contribution:
The current exploitation of the oceans is the direct result of the murderous debt money system. The old system forces people to do absolutely anything that makes money.
Dolphins, whales, sharks and all the other fish are slaughtered in the cruellest way. People do this to earn a living and feed their families. They have no choice.
Another gigantic threat to the oceans is plastic waste, oil and heavy metal pollution. Most marine animals are already contaminated. When we eat them, we bring the toxins into our human bodies.
Gradido helps here in different ways:
- Basic income: Everyone has a right to Unconditional Participation and thus an Active Basic Income. No one has to do work that they do not want to do anymore. A family man whose family gets 1000 gradidos per head no longer needs to go out to sea and cruelly slaughter animals.
- National income: Each country has a generous, debt-free national budget at its disposal. There are a lot of government contracts and jobs in the public sector. That is another reason why no one is forced to do work that is not in line with their ethics.
- The Equalisation and Environmental Fund (EEF) promotes the development of solutions that free the seas from their pollution. Vegan alternatives to fish dishes are promoted, so that the demand for fish worldwide declines. This allows the oceans to recover and rebuild their biodiversity where possible.
»Goal 15: Sustainably manage forests, combat desertification, halt and reverse land degradation, halt biodiversity loss
Forests cover 30 per cent of the Earth’s surface and in addition to providing food security and shelter, forests are key to combating climate change, protecting biodiversity and the homes of the indigenous population. Thirteen million hectares of forests are being lost every year while the persistent degradation of drylands has led to the desertification of 3.6 billion hectares.
Deforestation and desertification – caused by human activities and climate change – pose major challenges to sustainable development and have affected the lives and livelihoods of millions of people in the fight against poverty. Efforts are being made to manage forests and combat desertification.« Source: United Nations
Our contribution:
All these fine goals have so far failed because of the debt money system. It was left to the sometimes life-threatening efforts of a few pioneers to at least limit the damage a little.
Gradido helps here in several ways:
Because of the threefold creation of money, each country has the necessary means to provide economic incentives for nature that are much greater than the incentives for the destruction of nature. Exploitation no longer pays off.
Through the basic income all people are well provided for. The generous debt-free budget per capita provides each country with the necessary funds.
In addition, there is the Equalisation and Environmental fund (EEF), which has already been mentioned many times, of the same amount as the state budget. The above goals can be easily financed from the EEF.
»Goal 16: Promote just, peaceful and inclusive societies
Goal 16 of the Sustainable Development Goals is dedicated to the promotion of peaceful and inclusive societies for sustainable development, the provision of access to justice for all, and building effective, accountable institutions at all levels.« Source: United Nations
Our contribution:
The main cause of armed conflicts is economic conflicts, which are imposed with mathematical precision by the debt money system. Ethnic and religious conflicts are usually only a pretext. Where prosperity prevails, the different ethnic and religious groups generally live peacefully together.
Every form of violence, child abuse, corruption and state arbitrariness is all the stronger the wider the gap between rich and poor is.
The basis for peace and justice is sustainable prosperity for all in harmony with nature. Gradido offers all the tools to achieve this - worldwide.
»Goal 17: Revitalize the global partnership for sustainable development
A successful sustainable development agenda requires partnerships between governments, the private sector and civil society. These inclusive partnerships built upon principles and values, a shared vision, and shared goals that place people and the planet at the centre, are needed at the global, regional, national and local level.
Urgent action is needed to mobilize, redirect and unlock the transformative power of trillions of dollars of private resources to deliver on sustainable development objectives. Long-term investments, including foreign direct investment, are needed in critical sectors, especially in developing countries. These include sustainable energy, infrastructure and transport, as well as information and communications technologies. The public sector will need to set a clear direction. Review and monitoring frameworks, regulations and incentive structures that enable such investments must be retooled to attract investments and reinforce sustainable development. National oversight mechanisms such as supreme audit institutions and oversight functions by legislatures should be strengthened.« Source: United Nations
Our contribution:
Since the sum of the credit balances must be equal to the sum of the debts in the present debt money system, financing on a global level is not possible in the old system. Without the peaceful transformation of the monetary system, all 17 sustainability goals will remain a beautiful dream.
Gradido was developed as a way to global prosperity and peace in harmony with nature even before the 17 United Nations sustainability goals were formulated. We are all the more pleased about the similarity.
Gradido, the Natural Economy of Life, has the potential to become the basis for achieving the sustainability goals. We are very interested in partnerships to achieve these goals. Talk to us!
»On September 25th 2015, countries adopted a set of goals to end poverty, protect the planet and ensure prosperity for all as part of a new sustainable development agenda. Each goal has specific targets to be achieved over the next 15 years.
For the goals to be reached, everyone needs to do their part: governments, the private sector, civil society and people like you.
Do you want to get involved? You can start by telling everyone about them. We’ve also put together a list of actions that you can take in your everyday life to contribute to a sustainable future.« Source: United Nations
Our contribution:
Since the sum of the credit balances must be equal to the sum of the debts in the present debt money system, financing on a global level is not possible in the old system. Without the peaceful transformation of the monetary system, all 17 sustainability goals will remain a beautiful dream.
Gradido was developed as a way to global prosperity and peace in harmony with nature even before the 17 United Nations sustainability goals were formulated. We are all the more pleased about the similarity.
Gradido, the Natural Economy of Life, has the potential to become the basis for achieving the sustainability goals. We are very interested in partnerships to achieve these goals. Talk to us!
Get the book about the joint transformation project!
»Gradido, the Natural Economy of Life - a way to global prosperity and peace in harmony with nature« is both a manual and an encouragement. The book inspires and gives practical impulses for action. The author Bernd Hückstädt lovingly draws a positive vision for which it is worth becoming active. Together we will prepare ourselves and our posterity for a dignified life of sustainable prosperity and peace.
People are good at the bottom of their hearts. But the destructive incentives of the old monetary and economic system create fear and greed. Together we will bring about change, stop the downtrend and reverse the direction to a great future - for everyone.
This is what international pioniers say
I see the present book and the idea of a gradido developed in it as a great gift. Fundamental reorientation is necessary, particularly in times of climactic crises of the current monetary system. The concept of the gradido combines aspects of alternative monetary systems, unconditional basic income and economic activity in harmony with humans and nature in an impressive way. It also contains concrete suggestions for a gradual transition to a sustainable system that permits sufficient time for the necessary change in awareness.
Prof. Dr. em. Bernd Senf, http://www.berndsenf.de
One word sums up my response to this remarkable book – gratitude. This book is truly groundbreaking in its approach to expanding our vision of what is possible when we shift our own engagement with life. Look to nature’s own laws, and when we do that we can co-create a natural economy of life. This is a gift to us all. I urge you to enjoy this gift, then gift it to ten of your friends – you will be passing on a seed that will grow very fast and that is the fastest way we can create abundance for all.
Polly Higgins foundress of Eradicating Ecocide
If humanity is to go in the “right” direction at the next crossroads, we need solutions in a new paradigm. A proper analysis of nature gives way to a new paradigm which is easy to understand and apply.
And, best of all, it’s “right” there and ready to use in the form of a Natural Economy of Life and “Gradido”. Natural Economy of Life shows respect for our planet Earth, nature and all of creation – the ”right” way to our future, so let’s take it!Sesto Giovanni Castagnoli evolutant, entrepreneur and founding president of WSF-World Spirit Forum
Become part of the movement!
You have many opportunities to play your part in the peaceful transformation of the monetary system:
Pass on the information!
Especially in today’s world, people need positive visions and feasible solutions like Gradido. Send your friends the link to this page and share it on social networks!
Take part in the Gradido network!
Join our Facebook-Group! Take part in the Gradido-Freundeskreis (circle of friends) with its online meetings approx. once a month (registration by e-mail to support@gradido.net).
Become a member of the Gradido University!
Join the Gradido-University and belong to the inner circle! You develop Gradido together with us. This is how you actively shape our future together.
Support our work financially!
To carry out such a large transformation project we need enormous financial resources. The Gradido-University is also suitable for this purpose. Even if you have no time resources to become active yourself, your membership will help us to continue our work.
Become a Gradido ambassador!
As a Gold member of the Gradido-University you also have the opportunity to participate in the Gradido-Masterplan and build up additional income by actively spreading the message, if you wish.
Questions and answers
Click on the questions to display the answers:
Gradido model
What does creation of money means?
Money is nothing more than computer numbers in databases. Money creation is a term from the financial world. It describes the way money is created, i.e. the rules according to which the numbers are written into the computer databases. In the old monetary system, money is created through debt, i.e. the sum of all assets is equal to the sum of all debts worldwide. With Gradido, money is created for every person as assets without creating debts. Per capita 3 × 1000 gradidos are created: 1000 gradidos each for the basic income, the national budget and the Equalisation and Environmental Fund. We call this threefold creation of money.
Why is the national budget tax-free and levy-free?
In the Gradido model, the state budget is generated by the second creation of money. Money is created per capita. This means that every state has the same amount of state income per citizen. In Germany, the second creation of money is roughly equivalent to the current national budget (federal, state and municipal) plus health and social services.
What is the cycle of growth and decay?
If new money is constantly being created, it must vanish again. Otherwise the money supply would increase and this would lead to inflation. The cycle of growth and decay is a law of nature and cannot be circumvented. Inflation, for example, would be involuntary transience. Since we know this, we also plan for transitoriness. The planned transience of the gradido is 50% per year. Similar to a negative interest rate, transience is continuous and is deducted from the account balance once a month.
Why is Gradido a self-regulating system?
With Gradido, the total money supply is self-regulating in that it levels out to the value at which the monthly money creation is exactly equivalent to the monthly transience. That is an average of roughly 54,000 gradidos per capita. In Germany (82 million citizens), the total amount in gradidos is roughly equivalent to the total amount of all assets in 2007 (before the financial crisis). The money supply cannot be manipulated and no financial bubbles can develop.
How will prices develop with Gradido?
Since the money supply per capita with Gradido is roughly equivalent to the money supply in euros in Central Europe in 2007, we can assume that prices as a whole will also be roughly equivalent to 2007 prices in Central Europe. Organic products are supported by the Equalisation and Environmental Fund. They will therefore be significantly cheaper than comparable environmentally harmful products.
What forms of government are suitable for Gradido?
Gradido does not specify the form of government. Any form of government is suitable for Gradido.
Why doesn't Gradido need gold backing?
Apart from the fact that there has been no gold backing for a long time, gold backing is not required for Gradido either. Gradido is a self-regulating system and the money supply is stable.
Money creation and basic income
Where do gradidos come from?
To answer this question, we first ask: Where does the money come from? How are euros, dollars, yen, etc. created?
The answer is as simple as it is sobering: the present money is derived from nothing, through debt. Money is nothing more than computer numbers in databases. For every euro of credit in one account (positive number in a database), the same amount of euros must necessarily appear in another account (negative number in a database). For these figures in databases, wars are waged, people are driven into poverty, the environment is destroyed, etc. – the old monetary system is a zero-sum game mostly producing losers.
Gradidos are also created as numbers in databases – but according to different rules. Gradido is a plus-sum game. There are only positive balances. With Gradido, money is created for every person as assets without creating debts. Per capita 3 × 1000 gradidos are created: 1000 gradidos each for the basic income, the national budget and the Equalisation and Environmental Fund. We call this threefold creation of money. Since Gradido is a plus-sum game, everyone wins.
Where does the basic income come from?
Basic income for every person is a systemic element of Gradido. The basic income is generated by the threefold creation of money (see the question “Where do gradidos come from?”).
What is the difference between active and unconditional basic income?
The unconditional basic income is paid out to all beneficiaries on an egalitarian basis, without anything being required in return.
The Active Basic Income is pay for Unconditional Participation: every person has the right to contribute to the community according to his or her gifts (inclinations and abilities). The pay is 20 gradidos per hour for a maximum of 50 hours per month, i.e. a maximum of 1000 gradidos per month. Those who cannot contribute because of their age or health receive their basic income unconditionally.
Both unconditional and active basic income are possible with Gradido.
Who will still be working?
In connection with the Unconditional Basic Income, surveys have been conducted revealing that most people also want to continue working with an unconditional basic income. Sometimes they would do somewhat different from now, depending on how much they enjoy their current work.
Nevertheless, opponents of the Unconditional Basic Income have their doubts as to whether this statement is true and if enough would actually be produced with an unconditional basic income.
The concept of an Active Basic Income takes these doubts into account and could thus be a common denominator for proponents and opponents of the unconditional basic income. With an Active Basic Income, everyone contributes to the community. I.e. everyone works a few hours for the community to receive their Active Basic Income.
Then who will still do the dirty work?
Unpleasant, dirty and dangerous work will be increasingly done by machines or correspondingly highly paid.
Environment and nature conservation
How does Gradido impact the environment?
All elements of Gradido follow the ethical principle of threefold good: well-being of the individual, well-being of the community, well-being of the whole (environment & nature). In particular, the Equalisation and Environmental Fund (EEF) guarantees that the environment is decontaminated and that only environmentally friendly products and services have a chance on the market.
What is the Equalisation and Environmental Fund?
The Equalisation and Environmental Fund (EEF) is an additional fund equal to the national budget. It is used for the rehabilitation and conservation of nature and the environment. It is as large as the national budgets of all countries involved in the Gradido model and thus the largest environmental fund ever conceived in the history of mankind. Among other things, the EEF finances the conversion of companies to environmentally friendly or organic products and production methods. It subsidises ecologically high-quality products and services, so that only these have a chance on the market.
Why will there only be environmentally friendly products?
Since environmentally friendly products are subsidised by the Equalisation and Environmental Fund, environmentally harmful products no longer stand a chance and will disappear from the market within a short time. This does not harm the companies involved, as the EEF supports them in switching to environmentally friendly products and production methods.
Work and demographic change
How does Gradido solve the unemployment problem?
As more and more work is done by machines, there will be fewer and fewer jobs. The basic income provides for everyone. Free time is created which can be used for social and human activities. Unemployment in the conventional sense will no longer exist.
How does Gradido solve the problem of illicit work?
Since there are no more taxes at Gradido, there can be no illicit work by definition.
How does Gradido solve the problem of demographic change?
The elderly also contribute to the threefold creation of money. The basic income provides for them at all times, even when they get to 150. Within the scope of a flexible life plan, everyone has the possibility of additional old-age provision and can thus maintain their standard of living, even if this is significantly above the level of the basic income.
Benefits
How do governments benefit from Gradido?
Governments have a generous national budget at their disposal to create and maintain all the necessary infrastructure. In addition, you benefit from an enormous reduction in bureaucracy, as they do not have to levy taxes and control their payment.
The Equalisation and Environmental Fund, which is also of the same amount, is an additional relief for the national budget. All environmental projects and subsidies are supported by the EEF
The basic income provides for all citizens. Additional social expenditure is hardly necessary any more.
Satisfied citizens are loyal to the government.
How do companies benefit from?
Companies benefit from tax exemption and subsidies from the Equalisation and Environmental Fund. Overall, more money is in circulation because of the basic income, among other things. There are more solvent customers, who request high-quality products because of the currency transience. There is less demand for the cheap junk currently in use.
How do »normal« people benefit from Gradido?
Because of the basic income, all people have more money at their disposal. Besides, there is no tax. The Equalisation and the Environmental Fund improves general quality of life.
Prosperity & peace for all
How does Gradido solve the world hunger problem?
Already today, twice the world’s population could be supplied with high-quality organic food. So far it has failed because of the old debt money system, which prevents people in poor countries from having access to vital resources.
The introduction of the Gradido model leads to a balance between the present poor countries and the industrial nations. This is achieved by the threefold creation of money per inhabitant and the associated financial prosperity in each country. The present poor countries can afford the technologies and know-how needed for sustainable food production, among other things.
How does Gradido solve the problem of war/peace?
The old debt system causes conflicts and wars with mathematical consistency. With the peaceful transformation to the Natural Economy of Life, the Gradido model, the main cause of wars is eliminated. This lays the foundation for global prosperity and peace in harmony with nature.
How does Gradido deal with the overpopulation problem?
The poorer the country and its population, the greater the problem of overpopulation. Wealthy countries and sections of the population tend to have a decline in birth rates. If we create prosperity for all, the world’s population will decline in a harmonious and peaceful way.
How does Gradido make life planning easier?
Overall, there is more money in circulation at Gradido. Because of its transience, people are interested in granting loans. This way it is very easy to take time out. If you want to take a break right now and prefer a higher standard of living, get a loan from someone else who might want to take a break in a few years’ time. Loans can be arranged through financial service providers or credit institutions that can develop into life planning institutions.
What forms of government are suitable for?
Gradido does not specify the form of government. Any form of government is suitable for Gradido.
Peaceful introduction
What is to be understood by transformation?
Gradido strives for a peaceful transformation of the monetary system – a smooth transition from the old system of debt money to the Natural Economy of Life (Gradido model for short).
How does Gradido feel about cryptocurrencies and blockchain?
Cryptocurrencies such as Bitcoin exist only as assets. There are no negative balances there. This is already a step in the right direction. At present, they are still often “misused” as objects of speculation and cause ecological problems due to the gigantic energy consumption, but this will be solved in a short time. We are also working on a cryptocurrency as a way of taking Gradido to the world.
Who decides if and when Gradido will be introduced?
Apart from the possibility of bringing Gradido into the world as a cryptocurrency, a state introduction makes a lot of sense. Who ultimately decides on this depends on the political system in the respective country. In any case, it is important to spread the idea as widely as possible. For this we need each and every individual. We need you! In this way we decide together if and when Gradido will be introduced.
When can Gradido be introduced?
Gradido can be introduced as soon as the critical mass of people who know and want to know about Gradido has been reached. This can already happen in just a few years. It is up to each and every one of us.
Can Gradido be introduced in a single country?
Gradido can also be introduced in individual countries. To this end, we have developed a step-by-step plan to ensure that foreign trade can continue smoothly.
Will the »rich« be against it?
All people have only advantages from Gradido, rich and poor alike. That is the nature of the plus-sum game. Those who are against it may possibly not have been sufficiently informed. To inform as many people as possible, we are building up a network of ambassadors.
How can existing assets be taken into the Gradido system?
We have also developed models in which existing credits in conventional currency are taken over into the Gradido system in such a way that their value is maintained over a longer period of time.
Gradido University & Masterplan
What is the Gradido University?
The Gradido University is Gradido’s training platform. Its goal is to educate people in the knowledge of the Natural Economy of Life and its peaceful introduction. The main course of the Gradido University is the »Master Plan for a Healthy World«.
What is the Gradido Masterplan?
The »Master Plan for a Healthy World« is a project of the Gradido Academy for the introduction of Gradido, a new sustainable monetary system modelled on nature. Gradido follows the natural economy of life to achieve global prosperity and peace in harmony with nature. The master plan offers active project members the opportunity to build up an additional income by working as Gradido ambassadors*. The master plan shows a way how we can join forces and abilities to make the world a place worth living in again – for the sake of our children!
How can I earn income as a Gradido Ambassador*?
Although the natural economy of life is basically easy to understand, it is unusual and requires unconventional thinking. Personal conversations from person to person and networking are required here. This is the task of the Gradido Ambassadors.
If you want, you can train as a Gradido Ambassador within the scope of the master plan and build up additional income with this activity.
The basis for your income is our Basic Income Affiliate Program. It is designed for the dissemination phase. Once the critical mass has been reached, the Natural Economy of Life can be implemented politically in a democratic way and enable all people worldwide to earn an Active Basic Income.
Which Gradido offers are free of charge?
Besides the Gradido University we also offer a number of free services:
Register for free at Gradido EASy, the experimental exchange system with Gradido account and marketplace! Join our Facebook group! Take part in the Gradido-Freundeskreis (circle of friends) with its online meetings about once a month. Sign up for the free e-mail information service and receive the free e-book as a gift!
Gradido is an imaginative and generous work offering simple tools and methods to resolve many of the human, spiritual and
resource conflicts of our time. When all systems break down or break up, the only possible breakthrough is to start rebuilding the whole edifice from a different more holistic and less fragmented perspective. This demands a complete “metanoia“ or reorientation of the spiritual and ethical values of each individual and each community. The gradido is the solution which learns from nature – and which economists have unknowingly been waiting for!Diana Schumacher co-founder of the Gandhi Foundation UK
It is beyond doubt that this book brings a new inspiration to the 21st century peace workers. The idea of the Natural Economy of Life (NEL) here introduced by Bernd Hückstädt is persuasively understood as the effective and non-violent alternative to capitalism. The NEL, if effectually embraced and applied, will significantly contribute to de-corrupting the contemporary money-driven mindsets,
curbing structural violence generated by the modern socio-political and economic systems, preventing many wars and man-made disasters and moving us towards a just, inclusive, caring and peaceful world.Jean de Dieu Basabose Shalom Educating for Peace,Kigali, Rwanda
Time is now of the essence. Our individualism has brought us to the brink of destruction. We know there are no jobs, yet money is considered a criteria for a successful life. Our environment is screaming at us to please respect and alter our ways. Our next generation is anxious to change this course of events.
“Gradido – Natural Economy of Life: A way to worldwide wealth and peace in harmony with nature” explains the HOW and the beauty of this potential for a life of integrated harmony. Read this book and give life a chance!Dr. Nina Meyerhof Founder of Children of the Earth
