MONEY AND BANKING
Money
Money and Our Monetary System: Social Constructs
Most people consider money and our monetary system as a fact of life, a kind of natural phenomenon that should be accepted as is. Not even many experts consider them as things that are human-made, as social conventions and therefore, as something that can be changed. Yet it can: as a society we can make new agreements about money and organize our monetary system in a different way. This website explains the shortcoming of our present system, and why we should change it. It does so through a publication with the title Our Money, which can be downloaded for free from this website as well as those of two organizations dedicated to monetary reform: Positive Money in Great Britain and Ons Geld in The Netherlands (in Dutch only).
The Movement For Monetary Reform
The issue of monetary reform is getting increasing attention. For example, both the Bank of England (the English Central Bank) and Dutch parliament have commissioned studies on the present monetary system, possible alternatives, and the pros and cons of both. In both England and The Netherlands organizations aiming for monetary reform have been instrumental in getting these studies underway. In other countries also organizations are hard at work to get monetary reform on the public and political agenda, notably the US, various European countries such as Germany, Switzerland, and France, and Israel, Australia and New Zeeland.
For more information on the movement for monetary reform, click here.
More information on the Dutch initiative, led by the foundation Ons Geld, can be found (in Dutch only) on http://burgerinitiatiefonsgeld.nu/
MONETARY REFORM: THE MOVEMENT
FURTHER INFORMATION ON MONETARY REFORM
Literature and videos on our monetary system and (the need for) monetary reform can be found here.
Our Money: The Book
The book Our Money is intended for a lay audience and, as the rest of this website, especially those who are concerned about our failure to address effectively society’s social, environmental and economic challenges. The prime reason too little is being done is, so we’re told, that there’s not enough money. That, as Our Money explains, is the unavoidable outcome of our choice of monetary system. And it can be changed by opting for another system with the potential for society to use its productive capacity to create a more prosperous, just and sustainable society.
More information on the book Our Money can be found here.
A summary of Our Money in 13 propositions can be found here.
BANKING
Private, profit-oriented banks are a key part of our current monetary system. And, as the financial and economic crisis that started in 2008, and many others before it, showed they can, in their drive to maximize profits, cause enormous damage to society. The question should be asked whether we should allow banking to remain the exclusive right of private enterprise, or if we should look at other forms of banking and bank ownership. Several articles explore this topic in more detail here.
