Open source currency?

[skyfaller]

Also, I completely fail to understand what Douglas Rushkoff is suggesting here: open source currency.

Do I need to read his books or something for this concept to make sense? He seems to be suggesting that we need money that isn't controlled by the government, and that a model of money that is based on abundance rather than scarcity will enable an economy of collaboration rather than competition. What? Can someone point me to articles that will give me more specifics? (Naturally I will also be trying to Google this myself.) This article is just too vague for me to make sense of it.

Comments

[tedernst.livejournal.com]

Sure, there actually is a scarcity in the world of oil or coal or gold, but when looking at human effort, there starts to seem to be more of an abundance. Imagine a neighborhood or any other group of people that have very little, or no money. They're a bit stuck in terms of exchanging their human effort with each other. Alternative or targeted currencies can encourage a flow that otherwise would be difficult to achieve.

[ccommack]

Taking your comment sentence by sentence.

Is your effort abundant? Before you answer, consider whether you would be able to hold down three full-time jobs. How about working 60 hours a week while taking five Swat seminars? If you just mentally recoiled at the effort involved in those scenarios, or indeed if you've ever thought "I don't have time to do all this!", you know, or ought to know, that human effort is scarce. It is a renewable resource (so long as the humans are fed, watered, and sheltered), but it is finite.

As to the village with little money, it can acquire money by selling its valuable labor. Also, barter and gift economies are hardly unknown in such situations, although they are less ideal for building wealth and trade. For stimulating economic activity in poor and relatively isolated places, you may want to read up on microcredit.

[tedernst.livejournal.com]

The village with little money might not have anything that the outside world wants, but could very happily trade internally, but for lack of currency. That's the pont. They don't even need outside credit. Mutual credit will do the trick just fine.

[ccommack]

If that's the case, then they can establish their own currency system. It can work the same as any other successful currency throughout history.

[ccommack]

Note that this is with the stipulation to the rather incredible statement that the village doesn't have anything the outside world values; the demand for labor has not yet been superceded by technology.