[Originally published July 4, 2004; revised and updated November 2025]

By Catherine Austin Fitts and the Solari Team

At Solari, we are often asked why we are optimistic about the future. We are far from oblivious to the risks and pain in our environment, yet we believe that a peaceful world is possible and that the path to our collective well-being begins with each of us transforming from the inside out—coming clean. With our prayers, actions, and transactions, we have the power to shift energy away from those who misuse power and move it to ourselves and to those who are worthy stewards of our planet’s wealth and our children’s future.

The current financial system is centralizing political and economic power in a manner that is draining or destroying living equity—people, plants, animals, and our natural resources—as well as the financial equity of many people worldwide. We liken these forces to a tapeworm, a parasite that grows stronger as we feed it. Like a tapeworm, these forces inject addictive substances into our system that we have allowed to incentivize us to participate in what makes the tapeworm strong. As we do, we are drained until we perish.

How do we stop building a parasitic economy? We have come to understand that many instances of fighting or confronting centralized authority—or trying to reason with it—only add to its power and deplete our enthusiasm and resources. There is a better way—one that shifts the flow of energy back to us.

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