Belief In The Future

Isn’t it odd that the government allows banks to lend out more money than the bank physically owns?

When a bank considers lending money to someone, they look at that customers previous history and current circumstances.  If the customer ticks all the right boxes then the bank can give that customer money which the bank doesn’t even have.

Why?

Because the bank believes that the customer will return the money with interest. 

Money, which doesn’t even exist yet!

Note how the bank “believes” that something will happen in the future.

We as human beings have this innate ability to see a world in our minds that doesn’t exist yet.  It may seem dead certain that something will definitely happen, but if it hasn’t happened yet, then it is not a fact, it’s a “belief”.

This “belief” in the future is a powerful, human tool.  If you can promise someone that by doing you Favour “X”, that they will get a Return “Y”, then that person may go out of their way to help you, or work for you for free.

The whole world around us has been built on this belief in the future.  Imagine a world where people ceased to believe that food, water and basic supplies would be readily available.  Would people still go and do their day job or spend years studying in school and University if this was the case?

It seems to me that most people out there think that the future is inevitable.  They think like a bank:  They believe that if they have certain data points about the past and the present then the future is inevitable.

I think that this is completely false!

I think that belief in the future comes first, which allows us to build the future. 

It strikes me that my fathers generation had a real “belief in the future”.  They had a belief that people would live longer, that they would be healthier for longer, that transportation would become better, that wealth would increase, that education would improve.

If we look at the world today most people don’t think this at all.  Most people from my generation believe in a world of stagnation.  No one believes any longer that education will improve, that we can cure cancer, that we can treat dementia, that wealth will generally increase, that their children will live substantially longer than themselves.

Could it be that the mere act of not believing in the future is what leads to stagnation both on an individual level and on a societal level?