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The How and Why of a New Monetary System by Dr. Erhard Glötzl
This article discusses the meaning of money and why interest is an
important cause of increasing economic, ecological and social problems in
our society. (Be patient) A Snapshot of Community Currency Systems in Europe and North America Contains a lot more information than implied by the modest use of the word "snapshot." The Internet and the Future of Money An article by Howard Rheingold who believes that the global communications network has a role to play in the development of local currencies. Monetary Reform Magazine A Canadian magazine advocating interest-free money. It has articles on topics of Canadian and international concern. |
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Ithaca Money Home Page Ithaca, a town in New York State, has its
own printed banknotes. The people behind the plan for the local currency say
"while dollars make us increasingly dependent on multinational
corporations and bankers, HOURS reinforce community trading and expand
commerce which is more accountable to our concern for ecology and social
justice." Ithaca Hours, a local currency project currently underway in Ithaca, NY Thirst for Justice: the Money Myth Exploded A fable to expound the ideas of social credit. Of Usury by Francis Bacon The full text of Bacon's famous essay. A Brief History of Interest by Stephen Zarlenga. Islamic Banking by Mohamed Ariff, University of Malaya. History and Chronology of Money This is a series of essays based on a 700 page book on the History of Money from Ancient Times to the Present Day by my father, Glyn Davies, and a fairly extensive online chronology in 18 parts. Among the topics covered in the essays are the origins of money and banking, the causes of inflation and swings in the money supply, the influence of warfare on financial history, how British financial history affects British attitudes to European Monetary Union, American financial history: from Wampum to the almighty Dollar, and the problems of indebtedness and weak currencies in developing countries. Other Sources on Monetary History A collection of links to other material on the history of money from various sources around the world. It includes a section on the problem of determining the current value of old money. Numismatics For most of recorded history coins have been the most convenient form of money for everyday use. These links give access to sources of information on coins and paper money. E-Money Will electronic money be the money of the future? Read about the theories, the experiments and the arguments. Monetary Controversies and Alternative Viewpoints A collection of links to sources on controversial and contentious issues. Libertarian Views on Money Should governments control money? Ever since the widespread adoption of coinage governments have attempted to maintain a monopoly of minting. The development of paper money forced governments to share some of their power with banks. Libertarians would go further and allow free competition between currencies - not just national ones but also those created by private firms. The Euro - Europe's Single Common Currency What are the prospects for European monetary union? This page contains links to official EU information sources and to other sources expressing a variety of viewpoints. Barter Barter still has an important place in the modern world. These links show how the Internet is being used to support barter. Local and Interest-Free Currencies and Informal Credit Systems At a time when the future of national currencies is threatened by plans for European monetary union it may seem paradoxical that local currencies for particular towns or regions are being established by groups of volunteers in many different countries. These Local Employment Trading Systems, or LETS, and other interest-free currencies and informal credit systems, are intended to stimulate local economies and combat unemployment. Financial Scandals Scandals such as the collapse of BCCI, Barings and BRE-X have hit the headlines all over the world. These links provide access to sources of information on these and numerous other financial scandals. Financial Thrillers This is about work by my sister, Linda Davies, a former merchant banker who gave up her career to become a novelist. Her first two books, Nest of Vipers and Wilderness of Mirrors, are both set in the world of high finance. Among the links from the navigation bar at the foot of her home page is one to a set of pages on the financial fiction genre in general, covering the subject of banking and finance in fiction from the time of Dumas, Dickens, Thackeray and Zola to the present. In 1997 Linda Davies addressed a conference of bankers in Amsterdam on the subject of the psychology of risk, speculation & fraud. The Internet and Economics The Internet is both a global forum and a new international market place. It resembles the agora or meeting place of Athens and other city states in ancient Greece which was both a market place and a venue for philosophical and political discussions. Read about the economics of the Internet and its economic impact. Accountancy, Banking and Finance Useful links to sources of information on accountancy, banking, stock markets, personal finance, currency codes and conversion between currencies, etc. A Comparative Chronology of Money A detailed chronology of money in its social and political context from the very earliest times onwards. Around the next corner there may be lying in wait apparently quite novel monetary problems which in all probability bear a basic similarity to those that have already been tackled with varying degrees of success or failure in other times and places. The chronology is split into sections by period to provide faster access. Inflation and the Pendulum Metatheory of Money Keynesianism and monetarism have many precursors. Why does a monetary theory enjoy a vogue then give way to an opposing theory which in turn is displaced by a theory similar to its predecessor? There is a perpetual conflict between the interests of debtors, who seek to enlarge the quantity of money and creditors, who seek to maintain or increase the value of money by limiting its supply. Military expenditure and population pressures affect this conflict of interest. Furthermore money is fungible by nature and always attracts substitutes. Origins of Money and of Banking The use of money evolved out of deeply rooted customs as is shown by the study of primitive forms of money, e.g. cattle, cowrie shells, whales teeth and manillas (ornamental jewellery). The clumsiness of barter was merely one factor in the development of money, and not the most important one. Banking was invented before coins and reached a high level of sophistication in the Egypt of the Ptolomies. Military conquests, such as those of Alexander the Great, spread the use of coins which became the most convenient means of payment. Warfare and Financial History From blood money payments in primitive societies to the military-industrial complex of the present day developments in warfare and finance have, unfortunately, been closely connected. Even the word to pay comes from a Latin word meaning to pacify. This essay covers conflicts from the wars between Ancient Greece and Persia to World War II. Warfare played an important part in the spread of the use of coinage and the invention of the national debt, while the adoption of paper money in the West was both a cause of the American Revolution and a means of financing it. The Significance of Celtic Coinage The Celts on the Continent and in parts of Britain produced large numbers of coins before the Roman conquest. The Anglo-Saxon invasions put an end to minting in Britain almost completely for nearly two hundred years and in Wales production of coins did not become common until after the English conquest. The Vikings and Money in England Paying through the nose! The impact of Danegeld - history's best-known protection racket! In an age when a penny was a substantial sum of money literally millions of silver pennies were minted in England to buy off the Viking invaders. (This essay comes via the server of the Viking Network for Schools, which also carries an essay on Viking Coinage in Norway by Thor-Egil Paulsen). Money in North American History The British colonies in North America were chronically short of coins and were forced to use various substitutes including wampum, like the native inhabitants, and tobacco. The enthusiastic adoption of paper money and its suppression by the British was a factor in provoking the American revolution, which was financed by hyperinflation. Ever since independence banking has been the subject of political controversy and although the US emerged from the two World Wars as the dominant superpower the US financial system may be in relative decline. Britain and European Monetary Union Why is Britain skeptical? The pound Sterling has a very different history from continental currencies. Other European countries have more experience with currency unions, e.g. the Latin Monetary Union of 1861-1920, the Scandinavian Monetary Union which lasted until 1924, and the Zollverein of 1834 which led to political union between the German states. Furthermore the history of the pound sterling goes back 1,300 years whereas most European currencies date back only to the end of the Second World War since that conflict led to the destruction and reform of their previous currencies. Consequently a change of currency would arouse more suspicion in Britain than on the Continent. Democracy and Government Control of the Money Supply When coins were the predominant form of payment governments controlled minting. The development of modern banking and paper money broke the government monopoly of money creation and fostered the growth of democracy. Will the advent of electronic money have a similar significance? Third World Money and Debt in the Twentieth Century The pressure of a rapidly expanding world population on finite resources is a virtually silent explosion as far as monetarist literature is concerned. The task of enabling millions of the world's poorest men and women to earn a decent living for themselves is the greatest problem facing mankind. Re-anchoring the runaway inflation-ridden currencies of many Third World countries is a prerequisite for successful development. Money as a Social Invention Conrad Hopman here describes the background to a computerised multi-barter system that he has created. |