The End of Money…
The original 2009 edition of my book, The End of Money and the Future of Civilization , is out of print but the Kindle edition and used copies can be ordered from Amazon.com. Chapters of the new 2024 edition will be posted as they are completed. You can find them here.
To order signed copies of my previous books, click on the title below:
Money: Understanding and Creating Alternatives to Legal Tender
-
Join 2,219 other subscribers
Top Posts
- Welcome to the new 2024 edition of The End of Money and the Future of Civilization...
- Chapter Eight—The Separation of Money and State
- Books by E. C. Riegel are a "Must Read"
- About
- The End of Money and the Future of Civilization
- Library
- E. C. Riegel and Private Enterprise Money
- My Videos and Sites
- News and Information Sources -- State of the World
- Privacy on the Internet
En español
- Arquitectura y operaciones de intercambio comercial: una conversación con Chip Davis y Charlie Davis
- Dinero, Poder, Democracia, y Guerra
- El fin del dinero y el futuro de la civilización
- El fin del dinero y la liberación del intercambio. Presentación en la Conferencia de Dinar de Oro 2007, Malasia
- La metamorfosis
- La Revolución del Intercambio: LLEVANDO EL COMERCIO SIN DINERO A UN NUEVO NIVEL
- Libertad de expresión contra las cuerdas.
- Liquidez y monetización: una monografía
- Reclamando el crédito como bien común
- Recuperando el crédito de los comunes. Rumbo a una Sociedad Mariposa.
- Reinventando el Dinero
En français
Στα Ελληνικα
My Audio-visual presentations
- 2006-02 How to Build Healthy Community Economies, Auroville, India
- 2006-02 How to Build Healthy Community Economies, Auroville, India–Q&A
- 2006-Auroville. Answers to critical questions
- 2007 Auroville-Community and Economy: A rational approach to sustainability, harmony, and prosperity
- 2007-05 Reinventing Money, Sebastopol, CA
- 2007-Presentation at the Gold Dinar Conference-The End of Money and the Liberation of Exchange
- 2009-05-05 The End of Money and the Future of Civilization-IONS
- 2009-08 The End of Money, Tucson
- 2009-08-24 Basic Business Issues for Enabling Local Exchange, Tucson
- 2009-10 Panel Sessions at the Economics of Peace conference
- 2009-10 presentation -The Economics of Peace, Justice and Sustainability
- 2009-11 My presentations at the Conference on Michigan’s Future Energy, Economy & Environment (files 140 and 141, and 595 and 596, respectively)
- 2009-11 The End of Money and the Future of Civilization
- 2009-Cutting Edge Capital Raising for Small Business
- 2010 The Credit Commons
- 2011 FPA Presentation-Financial Planning in the Emerging Butterfly Economy
- 2011 FPA Presentation-Financial Planning in the Emerging Butterfly Economy-Movie with narrative
- 2011 The Butterfly Economy-Movie
- 2011-11. The Emerging Butterfly Society – Thomas Greco
- 2012-A New Paradigm in Exchange and Finance: The pathway to peace, justice, freedom, and a dignified life for all
- 2013-06 Value Measurement Discussion-Improved
- 2013-IRTA Panel
- 2014-10-The Evolution of Money and its Potential to Improve Humanity
- 2014-10-The FUTURE of VALUE EXCHANGE
- 2014-Money, Power, Democracy, and War
- 2015-The Exchange Revolution. Athens workshop presentation
- 2016-10 A World Without Money and Interest: A pathway toward social justice and economic equity
- 2017 Disruptive Technologies Making Money Obsolete
- 2020 The Exchange Revolution: taking moneyless exchange to a new level
- 2020-04 A Conversation about the Dysfunctions of Money, and the Need for Decentralized Exchange Alternatives
- 2020-09 Get Ready to Play in the Butterfly Economy
- 2020-09 What if things had gone differently?
- 2021-05&06 Webinar series: Our Money System – What’s Wrong with it and How to Fix it
- 2021-07 Solar Dollars–Empowering Communities While Powering Communities With Renewable Energy
- 2021-11 Transcending the present political money system–the urgent need and the way to do it.
- 2021-11 Transcending… Q&A
- 2022-09 Private and complementary currency systems-Summary
- 2022-09 Private and complementary currency systems: purposes, principles, practices, and performance
- 2023-02 Alternative Currencies and Solar Dollars–Why we need them; How they work
- 2023-02-Monnaies alternatives et dollars solaires. French subtitles
- 2023-08 The Tyranny that is the Global Money System
- Just Cooperate–What we can learn from nature
- My 2 Minute “Elevator Speech” About Solving the Money Problem
- There once was a river, …an allagorical tale
My Interviews
- 2003-06-26 Democratizing Money
- 2006 (March)-Interview by Sebastian Cortes at Auroville, India
- 2009 Interview on Green Planet Radio, New Zealand.
- 2009 Interview on New Dimensions Radio–Toward a Credit Commons
- 2009 Interview on New Dimensions Radio: Investing in the Bank of You and Me
- 2009-04. Thomas Greco's Interview by Kim Hill of Radio New Zealand.
- 2009-06 Interview on The Power Hour with Joyce Riley
- 2009-07 interview featuring Thomas Greco and Annette Riggs on The Power Hour with Joyce Riley
- 2009-10 Interview with Daniel Pinchbeck (4 parts)
- 2009-10 Thomas Greco interview on Conscious Media Network
- 2009-11-05 Thomas Greco Interview on KBCS, One World Report.
- 2010 (June) Interview of Thomas Greco by Ken Rose, KOWS
- 2010 (March) interview, Irish Side of the Moon
- 2011 (June) Interview by KMO for C-Realm Podcast
- 2011 Interview by Frank Touby, The Bulletin, Toronto
- 2011 Interview by Hugh Reilly, ThatChannel, Toronto
- 2012 – The End of Money as We Know It and the Future of Civilization. Interview by Jay Taylor
- 2013-The Debt Growth Imperative. Interview with Community Currencies in Action
- 2014-12 Interview on Bartertown Radio
- 2015-08-13-The changing picture in complementary currencies
- 2017-03-15 interview on Primo Radical podcast #121
- 2019-02. Why the future of money is mutual credit (and not Bitcoin)
- 2019-10 interview on Ellen Brown's podcast, It's Our Money
- 2020-10 My interview with Patricia Cori on Beyond the Matrix
- 2021-04 Discussion with Intercoin founder Greg Magarshak
- 2021-05 — Conversation with Edgar Cahn, Tim Jenkin, et al
- 2021-12-30 Interview on It's Our Money with Ellen Brown
- 2023-02 Alternative Currencies and Solar Dollars–Why we need them; How they work
- 2023-04 My interview with Alasdair Lord, the "Renaissance Yorkshireman"
- 2023-05 My conversation with Emily Peyton and Jim Hoag
- 2024-02-24 Interview with Bruce de Torres on TNT Radio
My sites
Other Resources
Recommended Sites
- * News and Information Sources-My Favorites on the State of the World
- A New Approach to Freedom
- Barter News Weekly
- Bartertown Radio
- Cliff’s Edge Signalling Company
- Community Exchange System-CES
- Community Way
- Complementary Currency Resource Center
- Complementary Currency Systems presented by Richard Logie
- Econ Talk interviews
- Ethical Markets
- Geopolitics-recommended authors, commentators, and sources
- Henry C K Liu
- Hidden History Center
- Ideas for an Alternative Monetary Future
- Inspired Constitution
- IRTA-International Reciprocal Trade Association
- Low Impact
- MindDetox–Rafael Zambrana's Informative Blog
- Moneeey
- Monetary freedom bibliography of John Zube
- Monetary Realism
- Money as Debt
- National Inflation Association
- New Currency Frontiers
- Nuet Nodes
- Open Credit Network
- Open Money Project
- Other Networks
- Panarchy
- Peer-to-Peer Foundation
- Primo Radical Podcasts
- Program on Corporations, Law & Democracy
- Public Banking Institute
- Ratical Earth Journal
- Richard C. Cook
- RT.COM
- The Essence of Money-Animation by Paul Grignon
- The Henry George Academy
- The Henry George Institute
- The MetaCurrency Project
- The Monetary Future
- The Money Fix
- The Money Masters: How International Bankers Gained Control of America
- Walter Zander
Research and Reviews
-
Recent Posts
Resources
- 2009-10 Interview of Thomas H. Greco by Daniel Pinchbeck
- 2019 September Newsletter
- 2020-10-07 My Interview with Patricia Cori on Beyond the Matrix
- 2021-12-30 Interview on It’s Our Money with Ellen Brown
- 2023 April Newsletter — The state of the world, and what’s being done about it.
- 2023 August Newsletter — Monetary Tyranny, the End of Dollar Dominance, and a World in Crisis
- 2023 Winter Newsletter–Answers to the Money Problem, and the state of the World
- 2024-02 Interview with Bruce de Torres on TNT Radio
- A Brief Statement of The Valun Private Enterprise Money System of E. C. Riegel
- A Draft Manifesto of Monetary and Financial Rights and Liberties
- A World Without Money and Interest: A pathway toward social justice and economic equity
- About
- Alternative History — What If?
- APPENDIX B An Objective Composite Standard Measure of Value
- Beyond Money Podcast
- Beyond Money Podcast
- Bitcoin, Blockchain, and the end of money as we’ve known it
- Case Studies
- Commercial Trade Exchange Architecture and Operations—A Conversation with Chip Davis and Charlie Davis by Thomas H. Greco, Jr.
- Community Currencies — Questions and Answers
- Confronting the power elite
- El Fin del Dinero y el Futuro de la Civilización
- Excerpts
- Financing alternatives
- Gloom and Doom, But There’s a New Dawn Arising
- Go, set, get ready for your mark!
- Greco Keynote at IRTA – September 2006
- How to Fix Money, Banking, and the Economy, and Usher in a New Convivial Civilization
- How to Solve the Money Problem, in a Nutshell
- Introduction to free money and free banking
- Ivan Illich and the Coming Cultural Revolution
- Library
- Money Freedom Declaration of E. C. Riegel
- Monnaies Locales, French Translation of my book, New Money for Healthy Communities
- Mutual Credit: Questions & Answers
- My Books, Monographs & Articles
- A Model Membership Agreement for a Credit Clearing Service
- Commercial Trade Exchanges, Their Present Limitations and Potential Future
- Credit Clearing – Pure and Simple
- Demurrage: is it a good idea for a local currency or exchange system?
- Fundamentals of Alternative Currencies and Value Measurement
- Global monetary system is headed over the cliff—An Open letter to Jim Rickards
- How to Bring Liquidity Into an Economy, Free of Interest, Inflation, and Boom and Bust Cycles
- Liquidity and Monetization-a monograph
- Local Currencies—what works; what doesn’t?
- Money and Debt: A Solution to the Global Crisis
- Money and Finance Have Now Been Completely Collectivized
- Money, debt and the end of the growth imperative
- New Money: A Creative Opportunity for Business
- Reclaiming the Credit Commons
- Solar Dollars – a way to promote renewable energy, while supporting the local economy and providing interest-free financing for utility companies
- Stop Chasing the Buck and Change Your Luck
- The Cooperative Community Commonwealth: A Prospective Outline for a New Socio-economic Framework
- My Videos and Sites
- News and Information Sources — State of the World
- Newsletter — November 2019
- Newsletter 2023-06 — The Emerging New Civilization
- Newsletter 2024-01– Mutual Credit Clearing, and More…
- Questions for discussion
- Recent Articles
- Reclaiming the Credit Commons
- Research and Reviews
- Resource Links
- Bitcoin, Blockchain, Crypto Resource List
- E. C. Riegel – Master of Monetary Truth
- E. C. Riegel’s Money Freedom Declaration
- E. C. Riegel’s VALUN MUTUAL MONEY PLAN
- Important Federal Reserve Publications
- Proposal – A Bioregional Economic Development Program Based on Mutual Credit Clearing
- State of the World—recommended authors, commentators, and sources
- Take back the money power
- Usury and the Church of England – Henry Swabey
- Resource links from Albert Bates
- Riding the Populist Wave
- Roundtable details
- The betrayal of the Ukrainian people; you’re next!
- The Economy—How Bad Will It Get?
- The End of Money and the Future of Civilization
- The End of Money and the Future of Civilization
- The End of Money: Take Power Back From the Money and Banking Monopoly
- THE END RESULTS OF THE WÖRGL EXPERIMENT.
- The Local Employment Trading System
- The Usury Conjecture on the centralized, interest-based, debt-money system
- There once was a river …An allegorical tale of money and credit
- Tour Reports-2007
- Transcending the present political money system–the urgent need and the way to do it.
- Walking Away: From the “New (Old) World Order,” into the Old (New) World Order. Part I
- Walking Away: From the “New (Old) World Order,” into the Old (New) World Order. Part II
- Walking Away… Part III
- Webinar Series: Our Money System – What’s Wrong with it and How to Fix it
- Welcome to the new 2024 edition of The End of Money and the Future of Civilization…
- Youth Employment Scrip-Solving Two Problems at Once
Categories
- alternative currencies bailout Bangla-Pesa Banking bank of england barter Bernie Sanders Bitcoin butterfly economy capitalism central banking central banks China commercial barter exchange community currencies community currency credit credit clearing crowdfunding currencies currency debt debt crisis debt imperative debt money. decentralization depression Donald Trump economy exchange alternatives Fed Federal Reserve financial crisis freedom gold Goldman Sachs Greco Greece growth imperative Iceland inflation interest IRTA legal tender Libya local currency meltdown Metamorphosis Michael Hudson money money power mutual credit clearing newsletter new world order Occupy Wall Street Paul Craig Roberts peace politics power private currencies Putin quantitative easing Riegel Ron Paul Russia sustainability the butterfly society the end of money The Occupy movement trade exchange trade exchanges Ukraine usury war webinar
Archives
Beyond Money
- Chapter Eight—The Separation of Money and State
- Privacy on the Internet
- Tim Morgan’s insightful analysis of where the economy is going; a “must read.”
- Chapter 7— The Nature, Cause, and Consequences of Inflation
- Chapter Six — Usury, the Engine of Destruction
- Wow! Such a beautiful film, so moving and inspiring.
- Interview with Bruce de Torres on TNT Radio
- Upcoming interview Saturday on TNT Radio
- Chapter Five, The New World Order
- Newsletter 2024-01– Mutual Credit Clearing, and More…
Category Archives: Basic Concepts
Tim Morgan’s insightful analysis of where the economy is going; a “must read.”
Posted in Basic Concepts, Finance and Economics
Tagged energy cost of energy, money economy, real economy, Tim Morgan
Chapter Six — Usury, the Engine of Destruction
Anyone who believes exponential growth can go on forever in a finite world is either a madman or an economist. —Kenneth Boulding, Economist
Chapter Six — Usury, the Engine of Destruction, of The End of Money and the Future of Civilization, new 2024 edition, is now available at Ken Richings; Substack channel, Future Brightly. in advance of its publication here on my website and elsewhere. Access to my work remains free, but please reward Ken for his good work by opting to take a paid subscription to his Substack channel.
Further chapters will continue to be posted as they are completed on Future Brightly, and two weeks later on this and the other sites. Watch for Chapter Seven to be posted in about two weeks.
As always, your comments and suggestions will be welcomed,
Thomas
___________________
Chapter Six, Usury, Engine of Destruction-Text
Chapter Six, Usury, Engine of Destruction-Audio narration
Posted in Basic Concepts, Debt, Inflation, The Debt Imperative
Tagged budget deficit, growth imperative, interest, national debt, usury
Chapter 3, The Contest for Rulership—Two Opposing Philosophies
Chapter 3, The Contest for Rulership—Two Opposing Philosophies. is now available. You can find it on my website, complete with end notes, along with previously published chapters 1 and 2. Click on the links below to access the text and the audio narration. Additional chapters will be posted as they are completed here. I expect to complete Chapter 4 and post it around the end of this year.
As always, your comments and suggestions will be welcomed,
Thomas
___________________
Chapter 3—The Contest for Rulership—Two Opposing Philosophies
Chapter 3—Audio narration
The Final Chapter for Dollar Dominance and the Unipolar World Order
The US dollar is rapidly losing its status as the global “reserve currency.” One after another, nations outside of the western coalition are waking up to the fact that dollars are needed only to pay for imports that come from the United States. In trades with other countries they are choosing to begin paying one another by using their own currencies, as reported in videos like this. They are recognizing that the real resources that they own are much more valuable than the empty promises that are embodied in inflated US dollars or other political currencies. The exploitation of weaker nations by the western powers that has been ongoing for centuries is coming to an end and the emergence of a multi-polar world order is now unstoppable.
The Bretton Woods agreement that established the post-war world financial order in 1944 was based on the promise that US dollars would be redeemed for gold at $35 an ounce. But the continuous debasement of the dollar over the years made that completely unrealistic, and ultimately its impossibility was formally recognized when President Nixon in 1971 “closed the gold window” and announced that the US government was reneging on that commitment. It would no longer give gold for dollars except at the prevailing market price. From that point on the fate of the dollar was sealed; it was just a matter of time. Despite the imposition of a series of extreme financial, economic, political, and military measures by the US and its western allies, time has run out on dollar dominance and the unipolar world order.
The main questions now are, 1) to what further extremes will the western empire resort in its desperate effort to forestall the inevitable political reordering, and 2) what sorts of new monetary and financial arrangements will be established to supplant the old Bretton Woods arrangement?
Regarding the first of these, the past several decades have seen a succession of both covert and overt interferences designed to weaken or neutralize monetary dissidents and potential political and economic rivals. Notable among the former have been Saddam Hussein, who in 2000 began selling Iraqi oil for Euros instead of dollars, and Muammar Gaddafi the Libyan leader who had plans to launch a pan-African currency called the Gold Dinar to free Africa from American domination. As a consequence, both men were murdered and their countries destroyed. Following the NATO invasion of Libya, and the murder of Gaddafi, then Secretary of State, Hillary Clinton, disgustingly and arrogantly boasted, “We came, we saw, he died!”
But nuclear armed Russia and China are not so easy to push around and brought to heel. When their Russian puppet Boris Yeltsin chose Vladimir Putin to succeed him as prime minister, the globalist western oligarchs thought they could continue to rape Russia and exploit its vast resources for their own purposes. But Putin surprised them with his loyalty to “Mother Russia” and his unwillingness to betray the Russian people to the globalists. Whatever we in the west might think about the man, his stance has clearly endeared him to the Russian people.
When the Soviet Union collapsed, the western powers promised not to move NATO farther to the east, but they have reneged on that promise, and one by one have brought the former Soviet republics into the western fold. [Robert F. Kennedy Jr. has elaborated on this point in his recent speech and highlighted the importance of respect for Russia’s legitimate security concerns if ever there is to be peace]. Then, in 2014 the CIA engineered the overthrow of the elected government in Ukraine and replaced it with their own puppet government to further pressure the Russian government to play ball. The perceived existential threat of NATO weapons, even nuclear ones, on their very doorstep, was too much for Russia’s leadership to bear. It should have come as no surprise to anyone that the Russians reacted as they did to counter that threat by launching their “special military operation.” Putin had stated repeatedly that he hoped to negotiate a deal that would respect Russia’s national security interests but the US government has chosen to perpetuate the war in order to weaken Russia and force it to submit. Former nuclear weapons inspector, Scott Ritter, with his military experience and vast knowledge of the region provides a much more nuanced picture of that siltation than the biased sound bites one typically gets from the mainstream media.
Farther to the east, China a major economic, political and military power, has also balked at submitting to a New World Order in which the Western Empire calls all the shots. So now the globalist oligarchs who control the US government see China as a major obstacle to their plan for establishing a trans-human, technocratic utopia under the control of the elite Super Class. Hence, we see continual saber rattling, military and political provocations, and endless prating about the “Chinese threat.”
Regarding a new system of exchange and finance, I expect that we may soon see the emergence of a multilateral system for clearing credits among nations, one that will be more along the lines of the Bancor plan that John Maynard Keynes proposed at Bretton Woods in 1944. Not that Keynes should be the last word on the matter, but he at least proposed a way of preventing trade deficits from becoming perpetual as they are now, by imposing a levy (interest) on positive balances, as well as negative balances, that would seem to eliminate the debt trap. Professor Perry Mehrling provides a brief description of the Bancor plan in this video.
I expect eventually to see the complete depoliticisation of money and the broader application of credit clearing directly among buyers and sellers at the level of individual traders, as they have been doing for decades through the scores of commercial trade exchanges that have been operating around the world. Money is, after all, merely an information system about credits and debits that enables goods and services that are sold to pay for other goods and services that are bought. Further, the settlement of accounts will be done not only through reciprocal exchange, but also through cooperative support and forgiveness of debts, which will bring with it greater fairness and finally a peaceful world. Indeed, there may someday be a world government, but it will not be imposed by force, nor will it be the product of greed and materialistic human minds.
# # #
Addendum: In this excellent article, America Has Just Destroyed a Great Empire, Prof. Michael Hudson offers a history lesson that underlines the points I’ve made in my article.
Here is a small excerpt:
Having endowed the region’s cosmopolitan Temple of Delphi with substantial silver and gold, Croesus asked its Oracle whether he would be successful in the conquest that he had planned. The Pythia priestess answered: “If you go to war against Persia, you will destroy a great empire.”
Croesus therefore set out to attack Persia c. 547 BC. Marching eastward, he attacked Persia’s vassal-state Phrygia. Cyrus mounted a Special Military Operation to drive Croesus back, defeating Croesus’s army, capturing him and taking the opportunity to seize Lydia’s gold to introduce his own Persian gold coinage. So Croesus did indeed destroy a great empire, but it was his own.
Fast-forward to today’s drive by the Biden administration to extend American military power against Russia and, behind it, China. The president asked for advice from today’s analogue to antiquity’s Delphi oracle: the CIA and its allied think tanks. Instead of warning against hubris, they encouraged the neocon dream that attacking Russia and China would consolidate U.S. control of the world economy, achieving the End of History.
But that’s not the way it’s working out. Please read the full article.
How to Solve the Money Problem, in a Nutshell:
What You Need to Know About Money. Currency, Credit, and Exchange
Abstract: There remains today, even among economists and “experts,” a general lack of understanding about the essential nature of money, currency and credit, and sound principles of their creation and management. This article provides a point-by-point summary of fundamental concepts and basic principles of exchange, it outlines the systemic defects and destructive nature of the dominant political, central banking, interest-based, debt-money system, and describes the ways in which honest and effective exchange media can be created on a decentralized basis outside of the banking system and in lieu of political money. A wider understanding of these points will lead to the widespread creation of honest exchange mechanisms and the devolution of financial, economic and political power that can change the course of civilization from self-destruction toward peace, justice, freedom and harmonious relationships.
Keywords: credit, currency, honest money, liquidity, monetary myths, monetization, reciprocal exchange, sound principles.
Basic Concepts
The essential nature of money/currency
A currency is a credit instrument, i.e., a promise to deliver valuable goods and/or services.
Basis of Issue
A currency must therefore be issued into circulation on the basis of some value foundation, i.e., goods and/or services that the issuer is ready, willing, and able to sell immediately or in the near future.
Purpose of a currency
The sole purpose of a currency is to facilitate the reciprocal exchange of value in the market. It is not a measure of value, nor is it a savings medium.
Reciprocal Exchange
Reciprocal exchange is the voluntary exchange of one sort of value for another in the market.
Issuance
A currency enters into circulation when a provider of value offers it to another seller who accepts it as payment for their own goods or services, i.e., it is spent into circulation, not sold for fiat political money.
Circulation
If it is to serve as a currency, a credit instrument must circulate freely and can change hands many times before eventually returning to the issuer for redemption, not for political money, but for the goods or services that are the issuer’s stock in trade.
Redemption and Extinction
A currency is redeemed and extinguished when the reciprocity circuit has been closed, i.e., when the issuer accepts it back as payment for the goods and/or services that they are prepared to deliver immediately or in the near term.
Liquidity
Liquidity is quite simply the ability to pay, i.e., having a payment medium that is widely accepted.
Monetization
Monetization is the process of converting the value of an illiquid asset into a liquid form, i.e., a form that can be used as a payment medium (money/currency).
Who is qualified to issue a currency?
Since a currency is a promise to deliver value, only producers and providers of real value are qualified to issue a currency.
Fallacious myths about money
- The belief that money must be issued and controlled by governments and/or central banks.
- The belief that banks collectively should have a monopoly on the allocation of credit.
- The belief that interest is a necessary element in money creation and finance.
How is conventional political money issued, and who issues it? - Virtually all political fiat monies are created by banks when they grant loans.
What are the flaws in political money system, and what are their impacts?
- Most bank loans are made on an improper, or inadequate, basis or foundation.
- Government and central bank currencies are no longer defined in terms of any real concrete value unit.
- Thus, most political money is illegitimate and dishonest.
- The interest that banks charge on loans far exceeds the cost of providing the service of monetizing the value of the collateral assets. This causes debts in the aggregate to grow exponentially over time making it impossible for all borrowers to repay what they owe, and making it certain that some must fail.
- The concentration of money power in the hands of ever larger banks, in collusion with central governments, concentrates financial, economic and political power in the hands of an elite “super class” and undermines democratic government.
Assertions and Prescriptions
- To preserve any semblance of social justice, economic equity, individual freedom, and democratic government, power must devolve to people in their various communities.
The only feasible way of achieving that is through the creation of independent and honest mechanisms for exchanging value. - Such honest mechanisms include private currencies issued by providers of real value, and credit clearing associations that allocate credit on a sound basis to producers of real value, and enable them to exchange value without reliance on bank borrowing or the use of political money.
- Such systems are not new; they have long existed and need only to be optimized, standardized, and networked together to provide means of exchange that are locally controlled yet globally useful.
- The future will see the proliferation of entities that organize and enable the allocation of interest-free exchange credit to small- and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) that are the backbone of resilient and sustainable community economies.
- Standard procedures and protocols for credit allocation and management will emerge that will allow the effective networking of those entities into a global “internet of exchange” using credit that is locally controlled but globally useful.
Mutual Credit: Questions & Answers
Answers provided by Thomas H. Greco, Jr.
This post is adapted from a conversation I had with one of my followers in 2021. The questions that were posed are quite pertinent and wide ranging, and I think my answers will be of interest to anyone who wants to understand mutual credit clearing and/or is considering designing and implementing one.
1. At the least minimum, how many businesses should be there in the network to begin tradingwith each other and should we be thinking about a maximum limit, if yes, then why and how?
It is not only a matter of numbers but also of variety of goods and services represented and the volume of sales. Conceivably, a mutual credit clearing network could begin with a single large trusted business that would have a large line of credit in proportion to their monthly sales volume, say a debit limit of 2 or 3 times monthly sales. All other members would need to earn credits before they could spend credits, they would have no line of credit until they had demonstrated their earning capacity within the network. But it would be better in many ways to have a number of “trusted issuers” who offer a variety of goods and/or services that are in regular demand, and who thus qualify to receive a line of credit.
In practice, commercial trade exchanges do not launch until they have a few hundred members that offer diverse goods and services, but in each case, the line of credit (debit limit) must be proportionate to their capacity to provide desired goods and services.
2. What are the differences in benefits for an issuing member, non issuing member?
An issuing member has been given a line of credit; they can spend before they earn. A non-issuing member does not (initially) have a line of credit; they must earn credits before they can spend credits. As they demonstrate their capacity to sell as well as buy, they may then qualify for a line of credit.
3. How can a non member of the network be a part of it?
A non-member can join the network to buy from, and sell to, the other members. Also, a non-member can be brought into the process by accepting vouchers issued by the network, as follows: It a member wishes to buy something from a non-member, s/he might ask the network administration to create voucher notes or tokens which they can draw against their account balance or line of credit. Those vouchers can then be offered as payment to a non-member vendor for goods or services. If the non-member is willing to accept them, the vouchers could then circulate outside of the network, but the voucher must have an expiration date to assure that the credits they represent will be returned to the network ledger when they are used to buy something from a network member.
4. In India, we have a savings culture as most people are still conservative when it comes to their money and also because there are major future investments for parents and families because culturally they are responsible for getting their children educated and married both requiring a lot of money. In that context, won’t people be uncomfortable in having just a medium of exchange and not able to save the currency which is a general tendency.
Surely, people need to save, and there are many ways to do that already. Savings can take the form of real assets, like precious metals, collectibles, tools, equipment, land, buildings, machinery, etc., or financial assets like corporate shares, bonds, savings deposits at a bank, etc.
Those ways remain available and assets can be acquired with an alternative currency as well as with conventional currency from anyone willing to accept the alternative currency in exchange for those assets. In the early stages, it is more likely that an alternative currency will be accepted for real assets than for financial assets, most of which must be acquired from banks and other institutions that are part of the dominant fiat money system. As I’ve suggested in my books, as a credit clearing exchange develops it can add savings mechanisms to it exchange services. Those who have surplus credit balances can shift them to their “savings” account just as people do now by shifting balances from their checking account to their savings account at their bank or credit union.
5. When the network reaches different sizes of member businesses like 20, 50, 100, 500, 1000: In these instances, how should the credit allocation be thought about, will it change according to the size or the types of businesses in the network, how to decide what number of possible issuers can issue at one time meaning how to think about the maximum credit issuance in a network?
I’m not sure what you’re asking here. The overall amount of credit that exists within a network at any one time will adjust itself according to the amount needed to complete all desired trades so long as account balances remain within allowed limits. Each account will be evaluated individually to decide its debit limit by applying a standard algorithm that is based mainly upon the sales volume of that account but also may include other factors such as the type of goods and services it provides (essential necessities that are in constant demand, or not), reputation with customers and/or suppliers, overall indebtedness (and risk of insolvency), sales trends, etc.
It is expected that most account balances will remain well within allowable limits but still provide the members with adequate liquidity. Those that are chronically close to their limit will be assisted in finding new customers and sales possibilities and/or developing new products and services that are in demand.
6. In India, in the informal sector (which is minimum around 60%), a transaction happens either fully in cash or partly in cash (not shown in records for tax purposes) and partly cheque/ bank transfer/ net banking etc. What needs to be done in such a scenario?
Under the present circumstances, government policies are typically antagonistic towards small and micro-businesses, and support market dominance by large corporations. It is hard to fault anyone for trying to avoid tax liabilities by using paper cash and other anonymous payment options. But the evident recent trend has been toward the elimination of cash by governments. Governments and banks everywhere seem determined to force a shift of monetary and financial transactions onto channels that allow every transaction to be tracked, and upon which taxes and fees can be levied. Furthermore, the complete replacement of cash by such digital currency systems will further tighten government control over how you spend your money, or whether you will be allowed to access it at all.
Mutual credit clearing is not intended to be a means for avoiding taxes. Rather it is a way of providing an economy with liquidity (a means of payment) that is independent of the banking system and supplemental to the supply of political money. See my web post, There ain’t no such thing as a free lunch: Principles of Credit, Exchange, and Finance, especially Addendum 2.
It is crucial to personal freedom, the survival of small businesses, and to local self-determination that such independent payment systems be established and reach significant scale prior to the complete centralization of money power into the hands of the political, banking and corporate elite.
7. Also in our informal sector, we have a data problem because most businesses are not incorporated hence most of them don’t maintain balance sheets which are public and can be trustworthy (again one problem being that they don’t want to show their actual income in order to avoid high taxes), so in that case how do we as an exchange operator could trust the issuing members?
The crux of organizing a system to provide the exchange function is for actors in the economy, be they unincorporated businesses, corporations, or individuals, is in deciding whom or what to trust with a line of credit, and to what extent (how much credit). There are numerous factors that might be considered in deciding credit lines. Each commercial trade exchange has its own system for doing this. Here below is one example. I’m not saying that it is the “right” formula but it serves as an example of a few factors that might be considered. Of course, local circumstances must ultimately be considered in deciding which factors to include and how much weight should be given to each. In the circumstances you describe, reliance will likely need to be primarily upon the reputation a business has among its suppliers and customers, and estimates of business volume based on self-reporting and confirmed by observations. Along with establishing the mechanisms for facilitating the exchange of value, we need to be building communities based on face-to-face interactions and personal knowledge of those we are doing business with.
Recent scandals have show that even the audited balance sheets of public corporations may not be trustworthy.
8. With the issuing principle, you explain in what quantity a business should issue its currency, but just to be sure, does that factor in the sales the business will have in rupees/dollars because that depends completely on the market demand.
At the beginning of operations of a mutual credit clearing exchange, there will be no available data on the volume of sales within the exchange, so one must estimate that potential based upon a member’s sales volume in the rupee or dollar economy, AND the number and size of those exchange members who might be their customers.
9. Will the mutual credit achieve its vision if a transaction is done partly through mutual credits and the rest through fiat (This I think will help people adopt the system because that way they might save in their own currency too and feel safe about it). How should we view this whether part payments will take us to the vision or no?
What you are referring to is called in the commercial trade exchange industry a “blended trade.” This is generally allowed on large transactions but discouraged on smaller transactions. Yes, members may feel more comfortable with blended trades, considering that they need to be sure of covering their cash costs, but it is a departure from the ideal. While a business must cover cash costs overall, cash costs need not be covered on each and every transaction. I recommend that, except on very large transaction amounts, the cash portion should never exceed 50% of the transaction amount. Sardex has used a sliding scale for the percentage of cash allowed according to the size of the transaction.
10. You said to recruit all members of the supply chain till the basic commodity producers, but the supply chain is not just national but international so in that case it looks very difficult until we have credit exchanges all over the world. I understood pretty much I think your regional economic development plan but for so many of the products which just can’t be import replaced, how will the development plan work?
Yes, of course that is the problem; the entire supply chain is not entirely local or even national. But it is important to drill down into the supply chain as far as possible to maximize the amount of transactions that can be cleared. Further, sustainable economics and community independence require that more goods and services be sourced closer to home. The present global economy has extended international trade far beyond the amount that is necessary or desirable, has favoured mega-corporations and industrial agriculture, is dependent upon the subsides and other support provided by national governments and the banking system, is wasteful of energy required to transport goods long distances, and is, in real terms, unsustainable. The necessary transition back toward local production for local consumption requires “import substitution” which works in harmony with, and is stimulated by, the local control of credit and systems of mutual credit clearing.
We must begin with what is presently possible and build upon that. Ultimately, I envision the development of a global credit clearing network comprised of relatively small local nodes — an “internet of exchange” in which credit is locally controlled and managed, but globally useful for payments.
11. Since the taxes are collected by the central government, how will taxation be affected because the central government would never accept it?
Of course, taxes must be paid in whatever currency the government demands, so every member must make sure that they earn enough in that currency to do so.
12. Will the issuers of the currency have the entire line of credit at once in the beginning itself? Or will it be slowly increased?
No, a line of credit is simply a maximum amount that can be accessed, i.e., the limit on one’s debit balance. Trade Credits in a mutual credit clearing circle can be thought as an internal currency. That currency is created only when it is spent into circulation. Prior to that it does not exist; it is not on the ledger. That is also true for conventional money that banks create by making “loans,” but banks pretend that money is a thing so they charge interest on the entire amount of a “loan” even if it remains a deposit in the borrower’s account and never gets spent.
13. Can’t businesses which don’t have regular demand for their products issue currency?
Imagine such a business that does not have a regular demand for their products asking you to accept their private currency as payment for something you are selling. Would you accept it? Why? Would you be able to spend it? Where?
A currency is created when the issuer spends it. What gives a currency value is the issuer’s promise to accept it back as payment for something they sell. If no one wants what they sell, no one will want their currency; it will have no value to anyone. An issuer of a currency must be ready, willing, and able to redeem their currency, not by giving fiat money for it, but by delivering the goods or services they have to sell.
14. How will the network work if there are no issuers and hence no lines of credit for any business to begin with and let’s say there are 20 diverse businesses in that network, the money gets created the moment there’s a transaction between a buyer and a seller as debit and credit in the system and likewise further, what are the effects of it?
It can’t. Some businesses must be assigned lines of credit, i.e., they must be authorized to spend before they earn. The total of debits (or credits) in a clearing system are the “money supply” of the system. No credit; no money/currency.
15. Can the currency be created based on a specific problem a small business faces, e.g., working capital shortage, or increasing employees’ salaries or a specific sector for that matter?
A currency is intended to facilitate the exchange of goods and services; it must therefore be created on the basis of existing goods and available services. A currency thus monetizes working capital (inventories and accounts receivable). Capital improvements, on the other hand, should not be the basis for currency creation because the goods and services that they are intended to produce will not be available until some later time, if at all. Investments in capital improvements must be financed out of savings.
16. In the beginning, should every business get a positive credit allocation regardless if it’s an issuing or a non issuing business?
An issuing business is, by definition, one that qualifies for a line of credit. The qualifications for a line of credit have already been discussed. Please note that in assigning lines of credit there are no judgements being made about anyone’s “personal” worth, but only about the value of the goods and services they offer to sell and the potential demand for their goods and services in the market. The line of credit monetizes the value of those goods and services in the form of trade credits that can be used to make payments to others within the system. Have a look at my monograph that explains that further, Liquidity and Monetization. This monograph defines key terms in the design and issuance of exchange media.
17. Continuing on the supply chain example given earlier, let’s say if a business has 50 SKU’S, out of those, for 20 SKU’S, the suppliers are locally available so there are dealings done with them, but not for the remaining 30, in that case should he keep different numbers for different products? Same goes for products with different margins: How will the business set the credit amount for each product in that case?
An SKU is an identifier of a particular product. Your hypothetical example says that a particular business needs to inventory 50 different items, of which only 20 can be sourced locally. I see no reason why different SKU numbers would need to be used. Those items that are available locally can potentially be paid for using trade credits, while those that are not will continue to be bought using the government fiat currency. The margin on each SKU item is not relevant.
Regarding the second part of your question, I presume you are speaking here again of blended trades. The business will need to work that out based on their experience. As I said before, cash costs do not need to be covered for each individual transaction but must be covered in the aggregate. This leaves room for the business to decide the cash proportion on the basis of marketing and demand considerations as well as financial ones.
18. Is it really right for us to charge the transaction fee on their money? And I couldn’t understand the brokerage fees and other ways of monetizing the service? This question of the business model has me bothering since sometime now both from the ethical and the practical standpoint.
A trade exchange, like any other business, will continue for some time to have some expenses that require cash payment, e.g., for taxes and goods and services that are not available within the trade exchange. Like every other business, it must therefore generate some cash income. As trade exchange networks grow, a larger proportion of the administrative needs can be sourced from the membership using trade credits and the cash needs will decline, then most of the revenues can be collected in trade credits.
19. If a business accepts partially in mutual credit, will the businesses decide how much % that would be and keep fluctuating it according to their needs, and if so, how will it affect other businesses?
Each trade exchange has their own policies about blended trades and, as I mentioned above, there are competitive considerations to be taken into account as well as the overall benefits of the credit clearing services. Businesses should be allowed to vary the cash percentage according to their needs but within certain limits specified in the membership agreement. See my model membership agreement as a possible starting point.
The IRTA has, over the years, produced many policy recommendations for its member trade exchanges and many of its documents are available to the general public. I would recommend that you search their website.
20. You didn’t mention the maximum limit on numbers of businesses in one network?
That number will need to be determined in practice, with due regard to the need to maintain the personal aspect and high level of trust among the members in each local exchange circle (node), and the “Dunbar number” or “Rule of 150.” Here’s an excellent article that explores the question: Dunbar’s number: Why we can only maintain 150 relationships.
21. How will an issuing business actually ever know how much to issue because he will never know how much business is going to come through fiat money meaning how much inventory will he order?
An issuing member issues currency by buying from others in the circle, or in the wider network of circles. He is then committed to sell that same amount of value in return for the trade credits he issued. If trade credits are presented as payment he must accept them so long as he has credits outstanding (a negative balance on his account). He must have sufficient inventories to satisfy the total demand regardless of the form of payment tendered. Since his credit line was assigned on the basis of his likely sales, there should generally be no problem about his ability to deliver. Actual performance of each account must be monitored and action taken to prevent problems from developing.
22. How will the network adjust itself, as you mentioned in the document earlier? Are there real world examples on that?
I said the “volume of outstanding credit” will adjust itself. If there is very little buying and selling within the trade exchange then there will be very little credit on the books; as more trading occurs, more credits will (potentially) be created.
23. What do you mean by “businesses remaining well within allowable limits”?
Just what I said, “Each account will be evaluated individually to decide its debit limit by applying a standard algorithm that is based mainly upon the sales volume of that account but also may include other facts such as the type of goods and services it provides, reputation with customers and/or suppliers, overall indebtedness, sales trends, etc.”
24. What software platforms are available to use right away at low cost or even for free? How do i get started as quickly as possible with the software?
That depends upon the level of security you need. There are many proprietary programs available in the commercial trade exchange sector.
A few free options that I’m aware of include:
Cyclos (https://www.cyclos.org/products/). Version 3 is open source and free, while version 4 is free to try and more functional.
Community Exchange Network (CES) (https://www.community-exchange.org/home/) is a platform that provides free hosting for hundreds of local currencies and exchange systems worldwide.
Community Forge (https://www.communityforge.net/en). “Community Forge is a non-profit organization that designs, develops and distributes tools around complementary currencies.”
25. What are brokerage fees?
Commercial trade exchanges typically employ brokers to assist users in finding both sales opportunities and ways to spend their trade credits. Usually, these services are included in the membership fees, but brokerage services may be billed separately.
26. Are there contextual factors you think should be understood before implementation?
Yes, launching a mutual credit exchange requires a lot of ground work in making contact with prospective participants, getting expressions of interest, and ultimately commitments to participate. It is helpful to work through established networks like business, social, cultural, and religious organizations. Publicity and news articles can help with recruitment and generation of a favorable attitude among the general community.
# # #
2023 April Newsletter — The state of the world, and what’s being done about it.
In this issue:
- Private and complementary currency systems: purposes, principles, practices, and performance.
- Peace or Empire?
- Disturbing Thoughts (about the economy)
Private and complementary currency systems: purposes, principles, practices, and performance is now online.
In October of last year (2022) I gave a remote presentation to the 6th Biennial RAMICS International Congress in Bulgaria. RAMICS is the Research Association on Monetary Innovation and Community and Complementary Currency Systems, which includes both academics and practitioners. In my illustrated presentation titled, Private and complementary currency systems: purposes, principles, practices, and performance, I provided a concise summary of key points and fundamental principles that need to be understood in order to transcend the dysfunctional and destructive political money system by decentralizing the control of credit and creating honest and effective, non-political exchange media. Here is an abstract of its contents.
Through the generous assistance and editing work of Ken Richings, the presentation is now available for viewing on YouTube.
______________
Peace or Empire?
Dennis Kucinich at Rage Against the War Machine
At the February 19 anti-war rally in Washington, DC, former US Congressman Dennis Kucinich made an inspired call for peace, justice, compassion, and an end to corruption in government. I don’t believe that any reasonable person of good would disagree with his message. In a subsequent message, Can they ‘repeal’ the dead? Ask Orwell, Kucinich recounts the criminal invasion of Iraq by the US in 2003, the lies which were used to justify it, and its tremendous cost in material resources and lost lives. Another major consequence has been an erosion of trust in the US government both at home and abroad.
Graham E. Fuller, in this recent post, outlines the Long Term Implications of the US destruction of Nordstream 2 Pipeline.
The achievement of peace in the world requires mutual respect and good faith negotiations, but unfortunately, peace is not the goal of those who have for some time been in control the US government under administrations of both parties, rather, they are bent on achieving “full spectrum dominance” and have chosen to restart the Cold War in hopes of weakening Russia and forcing it into line with the agenda of the New World Order in which the Western powers control all the Earth’s resources. If you want to get a more accurate picture of what’s actually been going on in eastern Europe, pay attention to former Marine and UN nuclear weapons inspector, Scott Ritter starting with his post, Give peace a chance.
Economist Michael Hudson adds his voice to the matter, arguing that Germany has become an economic satellite of America’s New Cold War with Russia, China and the rest of Eurasia.
And to round out the story of why the world is now on the brink of an unprecedented catastrophe, listen to the ever insightful Noam Chomsky, still sharp and coherent at age 94, speak about Putin, Ukraine, China, and Nuclear War.
______________________
Disturbing Thoughts (about the economy)
John Mauldin is “a visionary thinker, a noted financial expert, a New York Times best-selling author.” I’ve been a subscriber to his Mauldin Economics newsletter for at least a couple years. This edition seems particularly important, especially the section titled, “We’re Going to Have a Crisis.”
Citing the recent bank failures and the government’s decision to insure even the uninsured depositors, Mauldin observes that deposits will inevitably be withdrawn from smaller banks and placed in banks that are considered “too big to fail.” He argues that a major change is needed but that, “Our political system is sadly not up to the task. The current structure is all we have, and it won’t improve until a crisis forces change.” He quite emphatically concludes that “…the situation demands changes. Which means—and I don’t say this lightly—we’re going to have a crisis which will give us that change.”
Mauldin continues with an analysis of the developing crisis, particularly with regard to small banks’ exposure to declining asset values in commercial real estate. You can read the entire newsletter at Mauldin Economics.
___________
In April the Sonoran desert blooms, the fragrance of orange blossoms fills the air along with that of creosote bush, Palo Verde and a host of other plants. The winter chill has gone and the summer heat has not yet arrived. It is a particularly pleasant time to be here. I hope you are enjoying your home turf as much as I am mine.
Thomas
Webinar reprise: Our Money System – What’s Wrong with it and How to Fix it
Last year (2021) I gave a three part webinar presentation for The Henry George School of Social Science. In case you missed it, here is the description and the link to the recorded sessions. For each part you will find a list of recommended resources and references.
Our Money System – What’s Wrong with it and How to Fix it
A critical look at the present global system of money and banking, how it has evolved, why it is problematic, and where it is trending.
The series will also look into past, present, and future exchange and payment alternatives, like Depression-era script, local and private currencies, commercial trade exchanges and LETS systems that apply the “credit clearing” process, and the more recent emergence of crypto-currencies and blockchain ledgers and their potential role. It will include discussion of how these have evolved, their advantages, limitations and future potential and what needs to be done to take them to scale, their political and economic implications, and innovations that are making conventional money obsolete.
WHAT is money?
WHY do we need money?
WHAT is wrong with our money system?
Can we live without money?
HOW can business be conducted without money?
What are the economic, social and political implications of monetary policies and systems?
What is the likely impact of present day monetary innovations?
May 21 – Session 1 provided an overview of the present system of money and banking, how it has evolved, how and why it is problematic, and where it is trending. I spoke about the interest-based debt-money system, how it causes the growth imperative and the politicization of finance and exchange, and the political and economic consequences of its continuation. I outlined the fundamental concepts of exchange and finance and the principles upon which sound and sustainable systems are being developed. Participants were asked to read or listen to some specific materials in preparation of the subsequent sessions.
June 4 – Session 2 was more interactive and provided ample opportunity to discuss questions that were evoked by the previous session and the assignments, including topics like inflation, depressions, asset bubbles and busts, the savings and investment functions, and government responses to shocks like the 2008 financial crisis and the more recent pandemic. This lead into discussion about possible solutions to the problems caused by the present system, and the role of local currencies and other alternatives for the exchange of value.
June 18 – Session 3 concentrated on past, present, and future exchange and payment alternatives, like Depression-era scrip, local and private currencies, commercial trade exchanges and LETS systems that apply the “credit clearing” process, and the more recent emergence of crypto-currencies and blockchain ledgers and their potential role. It included discussion of how these have evolved, their advantages, limitations and future potential and what needs to be done to take them to scale.
To round out your education you can also read my recent articles.
Continue… Our Money System – What’s Wrong with it and How to Fix it
# # #
June 2022 Newsletter–Reconnecting the Monetary Economy to the Real Economy
I’m a little late in posting this here, but if you didn’t see it when I first sent it out, I think you will find it interesting and useful.
2022 June Newsletter ― Reconnecting the Monetary Economy to the Real Economy
In this issue:
Reconnecting the Monetary Economy to the Real Economy
The Banker’s Last Gasp and the Great Monetary Reset
The Usury Conjecture on the centralized, interest-based, debt-money system
What about China?
Is this a clear picture of the New World Order?
Take responsibility
Food security
Friendly, kind, and generous
If you want keep tabs on what I’m been thinking, feeling, and doing, you can follow me on twitter (tomazgreco), or Facebook (thomas.h.greco), or follow my blog at https://beyondmoney.net/. _____________
Reconnecting the Monetary Economy to the Real Economy
Money is the “hole” that is defined by the “doughnut” of real goods and services; it is the nothing that serves only to account for that which is available in the real economy. When pseudo-money can be created by fiat, apart from anything of real value, confusion and madness ensue. — T. H. Greco, Jr.
I’ve been arguing for more than 40 years that the global system of money, banking, and finance is fatally flawed, and now its condition has become acute. Since 2008 it has been on life support. The connections between the monetary economy and the real economy have long been tenuous, but in recent years have been severed to the point of non-existence. When banks and governments can create quasi-money out of nothing without any real value basis and allocate it selectively to advance political agendas, you know the end is near. The last vestiges of budgetary restraint on federal government spending have been eliminated along with any concern about what people really need and want. The results have been the ever-increasing centralization of power at the federal level, central planning of the economy, worsening price inflation, declining purchasing power of fiat money, increasing corporate ownership of real assets, especially residential real estate, zero or negative returns on people’s savings, and increasing disparities of income and wealth. The only way this system can be perpetuated is by the complete elimination of any semblance of democratic government. As E. C. Riegel observed almost 80 years ago:
“Society is in the twilight of a passing day. The state now undertakes to finance the
economy, and, since a free economy is manifestly impossible where the state assumes the responsibility of supplying the money circulation, the politician is compelled to choose between fascism and communism.” – Private Enterprise Money
— Read the entire newsletter <here>.
Posted in Basic Concepts, Finance and Economics, Geo-politics, Global Economy
Tagged newsletter, reset, usury
Reprising Beyond Money Podcasts
During 2019 and 2020 we recorded a series of ten podcast interviews with leading experts and social entrepreneurs who have been working on developing and implementing improved means of exchange aimed at making the economy more equitable and ecologically sustainable. Each podcast is valuable in its own way and the series in total provides an excellent overview of what one needs to know to get a proper start to working in this field.
Among practitioners, Will Ruddick and his associates at Grassroots Economics continue to make exciting progress in developing Community Inclusion Currencies and organizing exchange circles throughout Kenya and other parts of Africa. Our September 2019 discussion with Will is a treasure trove of information about their innovative work that will be of great value to others who aim to organize similar exchange alternatives. Listen to it here.
The entire podcast series can be found here.