Monday, September 25, 2017
We where welcomed in the beautiful historic St. Joris (Saint George) Church in Amersfoort, the Netherlands. Speakers from Jubilee Centre (Cambridge, UK) Scientific Institutes of the ChristenUnie and SGP parties and a MP from the ChristenUnie elaborated on what it means to "reform" our Capitalist system and society. "Western society is characterized by an individualist attitude. One thinks of himself and forgets the other. Individualism, propelled by capitalism, seems to have only the purpose of consuming (more). All this seems to be supported rather than controlled by the state. This evening we will look from a broader perspective to the connection of capitalism, consumerism, individualism and stateism and how they are interlocked, overlapping, and mutually reinforcing. The banking sector seems to exacerbate this problem and seems to need a reformation". This overarching analysis was elaborated by several speakers representing the various perspectives within the Sallux and ECPM movement. Calum Samuelson (Jubilee Centre) opened the evening by presenting a first draft of a developing Sallux publication in which the challenges in economy and society caused by individualism are dealt with through relational reform. Theunis Brand of the scientific institute of the ChristenUnie and Jan Schippers of the scientific institute of the SGP responded to this presentation and presented complementary views as input for the future publication. David McIlroy presented the latest Sallux & Jubilee Centre paper on the need for reform of the banking sector. Many aspects of the larger picture in economy and society become very visible in the current failures and crises in the financial and banking sector. MP Eppo Bruins (Netherlands/ChristenUnie) delivered a concrete analysis on the assumptions behind both modern economy and the financial sector. The audience displayed it’s appreciation in the lively discussions during the evening and the conversation continued in the drinks afterwards. The event has been filmed and these fragments will be published on the Sallux Youtube channel. The publication Time for a financial reformation? by David McIlroy is available as a free download here. Pictures from the conference 
