Economy for the Common Good

In Memoriam Bernard Lietaer –
Monetary reformer, innovator and pioneer of complementary currencies

Kathrin Latsch, 9. February 2019

We are mourning for Bernard Lietaer, who died from cancer on February 4th. He was a friend, colleague and mentor to us for many years, who blessed us with extraordinary insights and invaluable inspiration. Not only has the world now lost the person with the most far-reaching knowledge about money, but also a head and heart that knew how to design monetary systems for the benefit of people. He was out to change the world of money for the better. He knew that money is such a powerful instrument that determines not only our economies but also our thinking. His enthusiasm for the topic never faltered because “if there is a single instrument, that can be brought to bear on all issues that we need to address to save mankind, it would be the money system.”

Fundamental terms like “complementary currency” and “monetary ecosystem” are attributed to him and he kept saying: “Name a problem and I will design a complementary currency to help you solve it.” Margrit Kennedy wrote to her friend and co-author of many years: “Your creativity, your inexhaustible ideas on how to design, invent and transform money, simply leave me in awe.” Both of them were convinced, that diversity in currency systems would be far superior for the benefit of people, the economy and the planet than our singular money system, in which banks create money by giving loans.

He suffered seeing how his ideas failed to be systematically implemented in policy: Despite the many thousand local complementary currencies that were launched in the past decades, he never received substantial recognition within the conventional financial system. “I have lost my illusion that having the solution is what matters. It’s absolutely irrelevant.” he remarked to us in one of his last video-interviews in 2016. And it pained him deeply that Greece never got the chance to issue a national parallel currency. He was convinced, that the Greek people would have been much better off, if they had their own second currency – much like Britain has with the Pound – to be used alongside the Euro.

Bernard Lietaer was a great thinker with an unusual bright intellect, enriching the lives of so many people. For us he stands in the line of economist like S. Gesell, J.M. Keynes or N. Georgescu-Roegen. Isaac Newton is quoted saying that we are all standing on the shoulders of giants and hence can look further into the future. On the 7th of February Bernard would have celebrated his 77th birthday. We will always love him and are now standing on his shoulders, to continue his work and built a better world.

 

Stefan Brunnhuber und Kathrin Latsch
February 7th, 2019

Georgina M. Gómez: Monetary Plurality in Local, Regional and Global Economies

The idea that each country should have one currency is so deeply rooted in people’s minds that the possibility of multiple and concurrent currencies seems unthinkable. Monetary systems contribute to problems of high unemployment and social distress during financial and economic crisis, so reforms to increase the responsiveness and flexibility of the monetary system can be part of the solution.

This book discusses ‘monetary plurality’, which is the circulation of several currencies at the same time and space. It addresses how multiple currency circuits work together and transform socio-economic systems, particularly by supporting economies at the local level of regions and cities. The book shows that monetary plurality has been ubiquitous throughout history and persists at present because the existence of several currency circuits facilitates small-scale production and trade in a way that no single currency can accomplish on its own.

Monetary plurality can improve resilience, access to livelihoods and economic sustainability. At the same time, it introduces new risks in terms of economic governance, so it needs to be properly understood. The book analyses experiences of monetary plurality in Europe, Japan, and North and South America, written by researchers from East and West and from the global North and South. Replete with case studies, this book will prove a valuable addition to any student or practitioner’s bookshelf.

Content:

1. The monetary system as an evolutionary construct – Georgina M. Gómez;
2. Monetary Plurality in Economic Theory – Jérôme Blanc, Ludovic Desmedt, Laurent Le Maux, Jaime Marques-Pereira, Pepita Ould-Ahmed and Bruno Théret;
3. Making sense of the plurality of money: a Polanyian attempt – Jérôme Blanc;
4. How does monetary plurality work at the household level? The division of labour among currencies in Argentina (1998-2005) – Georgina M. Gómez;
5. Monetary federalism as A concept and its Empirical underpinnings in Argentina’s monetary history – Bruno Théret;
6. Famine of Cash: Why Have Local Monies Remained Popular throughout Human History? Akinobu Kuroda;
7. The pervasiveness of monetary plurality in economic crisis and wars – Georgina M. Gómez and Wilko von Prittwitz und Gaffron;
8. Birth, Life and Death of a Provincial Complementary Currency from Tucuman, Argentina (1985 – 2003) – Bruno Théret;
9. Community Currency and Sustainable Development in Hilly and Mountainous Areas: A Case Study of Forest Volunteer Activities in Japan – Yoshihisa Miyazaki and Ken-ichi Kurita;
10. Sustainable Territorial Development and Monetary Subsidiarity – Marie Fare;
11. Relationship between people’s money consciousness and circulation of community currency –  Shigeto Kobayashi, Takashi Hashimoto, Ken-ichi Kurita and Makoto Nishibe;
12. Gaming Simulation using Electronic Community Currencies: Behavioural Analysis of Self-versus-Community Consciousness – Masahiro Mikami and Makoto Nishibe;
13. For the policy maker: when and how is monetary plurality an option – Georgina M. Gómez.

For more information and to order this book directly from the publisher see
https://www.routledge.com/Monetary-Plurality-in-Local-Regional-and-Global-Economies/Gomez/p/book/9781138280281


Event archive: 5th Biennial RAMICS International Congress

from 11. September 2019 to 15. September 2019, Japan

“Going Digital? New Possibilities of Digital-Community Currency Systems”

Only in the past few years, crypto currencies such as Bitcoin and other altcoins/ tokens have rapidly spread all over the world, expanded its scale, and increased its number. However, we have witnessed in the recent bubble burst of crypto currencies that they have become quite volatile, speculative financial instruments to the extent that they can no longer be called ‘currency’ or ‘money’ to facilitate steady transactions. On the other hand, various social or community-oriented digital coins for promoting local consumption and social investments in the same spirit of community currencies have already been implemented or are currently planned not only in Japan but also in the world.

We are currently approaching a cashless economy where electronic representations of money replace such traditional currency as coin or bank note and the transaction can be done through transfer of digital information. Sweden is close to a perfect model of cashless economy since 99% of payments are conducted without cash. In East Asia, Korea and China are well known as highly cashless economies, where electronic payment systems and digital coins are widely accepted.

Do digital technologies such as blockchain, mining, proof of work and QR code settlement that are used in digital/crypto currencies open up a wide range of non-fiat, private decentralized money systems and create new possibilities for community/complementary currencies? Do they change the basic concepts of geographical ‘community’ or ‘local’ to more ‘community of interest’ or ‘abstractly local’ in value space? Or do they have any positive/ negative effects on natural, ecological and cultural environments surrounding us?

It would be necessary to ask these questions when seeking a better way for integrating/ hybridizing good genes of both crypto currencies and community currencies. We would like to invite a wide range of academicians, researchers and practitioners to join us and give answers to the questions affirmatively or negatively.

More generally, proposals on any topics covered by the scope of RAMICS will be positively considered, that is, on diverse monetary and social exchange systems, such as schemes that contribute to economic diversity, social cohesion, democratic participation and environmental sustainability, like complementary and community currencies.

More information, contact and registration on the organiser’s website

Event archive: Change Finance Forum #2

from 6. December 2018 to 7. December 2018, Brussels

  The forum orgenised by the Change Finance Coalition will bring together:  

  • A movement of civil society organisations and activists
  • A network of academics and experts
  • Sustainable economy and finance practitioners
  • Engaged citizens

  What can you expect?  

  • A great line-up of speakers
  • A unique network
  • A charged atmosphere
We will continue to develop our vision and strategy for a global Change Finance campaign in 2019 and beyond.
More informatino and registration here.

Event archive: Short Course: Currency Innovation

from 26. October 2018 17:00 to 27. October 2018 17:00, Impact HUB Zürich

Money is all around us. For most of us it determines status and success, it equates to power, pleasure and security. Even the majority of economists see it as a neutral and natural constituent of our socio-economic fabric. Yet, and reinforced by the financial crisis of 2008, questions about today’s monetary system, its institutional setup, governance and significance have been raised. Throughout history so called complementary currencies have existed in communities and parallel economies that expressed different value systems and enabled collaboration at odds with the conventional market logic. In this Lab we will unravel the nature of the money as we know it. And we will examine and experiment with novel currencies as social technologies to empower the economies of transition that are needed for social justice and sustainable development.

Workshop in English, more information and registration here (limited early bird tickets and discounts available):

More information and registration at http://stride-learning.ch/stride-labs-currency-innovation

Event archive: Blockchain for Sustainable Developemnt

from 24. October 2018 09:30 to 24. October 2018 13:00, Geneva, Switzerland

Organised by IFLAS (the Institute for Leadership and Sustainability at the Unversity of Cumbria) as part of the UNCTAD World Investment Forum in Geneva, Blockchains for Sustainable Development will be one of the very few blockchain-focused events this year that will have heads of state and senior government officials from around the world attending. Many of the world’s top companies working to apply these technologies to the functions of government, the economy and trade will be attending. Unlike other blockchain conferences which are focused on the choir of those in favour, this session will take a broader perspective on the implications of these technologies, in the presence of those who will shape this sector as political leaders, regulators, public service providers, investors and philanthropists. This is therefore an unprecedented opportunity to focus knowledge gathering and networking for real progress. And, unlike others, this session is free to attend.

More info and registration at: www.b4sd.net

Interview Bernard Lietaer 2016 – Question 1

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Jump directly to the following questions covered in this interview:

Q 1 – Where does money come from?
Q 2 – Is money neutral?
Q 3 – Why is money scarce?
Q 4 – Can this monetary system work sustainably?
Q 5 – Does the financial system need growth?
Q 6 – Why are you interested in monetary-systems?
Q 7 – Do we have just one monetary system at the moment? Like a monopoly?
Q 8 – What would you propose regarding the monetary system?
Q 9 – Are there alternatives to the current monetary system?
Q 10 – Why is there this speechlessness about money-topics?
Q 11a – What kind of behaviour does our money-system create between people?
Q 11b – Does the scarcity of money harm only the poor people?
Q 11c – What does money do to people and their relationships?
Q 12 – How did you discover complementary currencies?
Q 13 – Did the knowledge of complementary currencies effect your life?
Q 14 – What do you think your co-author Margrit Kennedy achieved in regard to monetary systems?
Q 15 – Are there changes to this financial system?
Q 16 – What do you think about internet-based currencies like Bitcoin and the new technology Blockchain?
Q 17 – You observed the global financial development for decades. What do you conclude from your experience?
Q 18 – Where do you see practical progress concerning complementary currencies?
Q 19 – What would you propose for countries which are in Euro-crisis like Greece?
Q 20 – If you were in power, what would you do?
Q 21 – What do you think about the Euro?
Q 22 – For which task do we need the Euro?
Q 23 – Could a currency have influence on the question of war or peace?
Q 24 – Are there “currency-wars” or wars because of currencies?
Q 25 – Does the money-system polarize?
Q 26 – Can a national lead-currency deprive other currencies and nations?
Q 27 – What is the motivation for your work?
Q 28 – Do you like to give a message to the next generation?

Event archive: The future of money – 10 years after Lehman and Nakamoto

on 24. November 2018, Frankfurt am Main

The Conference aims at debating the current debt-based money system and two major reforms in three parallel tracks and three sessions:

Current Money System

How exactly does the public private partnership of the current money system work?

Which changes to the structure of the current money system are currently debated?

Vollgeld / Sovereign Money​

What is Vollgeld?

What are the implications of such a monetary reform?

Can it be implemented in the current institutional framework?

Cryptocurrencies

Why Cryptocurrencies?

What is the economic theory behind them?

Latest trends in technology and consensus mechanisms.

More information and registration at:

http://conference2018.monetative.de