Future of Money – Communities United

Still trying to understand economics and found a book called The Future of Money by Bernard Lietaer.

Lietaer’s starting point “is that money is only an agreement within a community to use something as a medium of exchange.  This agreement is being placed under an unprecedented strain, due to a wide range of factors (from the creation of cybermoney and currency speculation to social and political issues). This momentum of change could become even faster, and the effects more brutal, if the instability of the monetary system continues to spread.”

Well quite. Why else would I be trying to understand the stuff?

So then I read one paragraph in the preface (my emphasis):

“This is not a book on economics or economic theory. I am not an economist. My expertise lies in international finance and money systems. This is why I have adopted here a whole systems approach to money. Whole systems take into account a broader, more comprehensive arena than economics does; it integrates not only economic interactions but also their most important side effects. This includes specifically in our case the effects of different money systems on the quality of human interactions, on society at large, and on ecological systems. In essence, money is a lifeblood flowing through ourselves, our society, our global human community, and should be acknowledged and treated consciously.”

Indeed. Quite. … But HOW is this quality to be changed?

Quick skim suggests that communities could/should work together in parallel with the system as it is. Make change from thebottom up. If so, that is an idea that has to be spread. You can see why I want to read more. But would they ever?

Better read it.

It appears that it can be read online scrolling to the end of the page through this link.

Would you read it too?

Or it can be downloaded by joining Scribd and then obtained by subscription (Scribd is for print what iTunes etc are for music)

Download from Scribd: The Future of Money by Bernard Lietaer

Better read it.

Stop blogging.

Procrastinating.

Again.