The Future of Money. Bernard Lietaer 2012 Time for Change Presents Part 1, 2 and 3

Part I: 9min57

Four mega-trends are converging, and one problem cannot be tackled while the others are unresolved. In contrast to top-down currency with positive interest rates in patriarchal societies, matrifocal societies use a dual system: one currency to trade, a second with opposite values—created by people, not scarce, purely for exchange, not worth accumulating as it devalues. Money is an agreement to use (any) standardized item as a medium of exchange within a community.

Part II: 7 min11

Crisis is caused by a flawed system not individuals. Conventional money brings competition whereas Fureai Kippu (Japanese complementary currency) brings cooperation. The Great Mother has suffered and now manifests in the form of greed and fear of scarcity. If everyone had enough money, it would be worthless. If we change the global money concept, we can create different behaviours. Money projects a society’s collective unconscious. We are reaching (2012) the point of breakdown/breakthrough. The world is ageing. One response to the ensuing pension problem is to go bankrupt, another is to cut the pie into smaller slices.

Part III: 5 min52

A third response: create a money, Fureai Kippu, “caring relationship ticket”, used to care for elderly and handicapped people, a time-based system with credits to be used or lovingly shared. The elderly prefer it as the service is personal, showing how different types of money create different relationships. The ecological crisis results from our separation from nature. Current challenges require a paradigm shift, not possible with the “stone-age” concept of money. We need to wake up!