EVERY DAY almost everyone on this planet uses money. Yet few people understand how money works and affects their lives directly and indirectly. Let us, therefore, take a closer look at what money is and what would happen without it.
First, the good news: Money is one of the most ingenious inventions of humankind, as it helps the exchange of goods and services and overcomes the limits of barter, that is, the direct exchange of goods and services. For example, if you live in a village which relies entirely on barter, and you produce works of art but there is nobody to exchange your artwork with except the undertaker, you will soon have to change your occupation or leave. Thus, money creates the possibility for specialization, which is the basis of civilization. Then why do we have a "money problem"?
It takes some audacity for a non-economist to write a book about economics, especially if the book deals with one of the basic yardsticks of the profession, i.e., money. Money is the measure in which most economic concepts are expressed. Economists use it as merchants use kilograms and architects use metres. They seldom question the way it works and why in contrast to the meters and kilograms it is not a constant measure but varies, now, almost daily.
This book takes a look at how money works. It exposes the reason for the constant change in one of our most important measures. It explains why money not only "makes the world go round" but also wrecks the world in the process. The huge debt accumulated by Third World countries, unemployment, environmental degradation, the arms build-up and proliferation of nuclear power plants, are related to a mechanism which keeps money in circulation: interest and compound interest. This, according to economic historian John L. King, is the "invisible wrecking machine" in all so-called free-market economies.
Transforming this mechanism into a more adequate way of keeping money in circulation is not as difficult as it may seem. While the solutions put forward in this book have been known to some people since the beginning of this century, the way and the time in which it is presented offer a special opportunity for its implementation.
The purpose of this book is not to prove anybody wrong. It is to put something right and to open up a choice we have which is hardly known among experts, not to mention the public at large. However, it is far too important to be left to experts alone to determine whether it will be dealt with or not. The significance of this book, therefore, lies in its ability to explain complex issues as simply as possible, so that everybody who uses money may understand what is at stake. Another significant difference from other books which have dealt with this issue in the past is that it shows how, at this particular point in time, the change to the proposed new monetary system could create a win-win situation for everyone. It could help to develop, finally, a sustainable economy.
The question remains whether we will be able to change before the next large breakdown happens or after it has happened. Either way it will be useful to be informed about how to create an exchange medium which works for everybody.
