Stories tagged with "fiat money"

A World Without Money?

Posted by Nate Hagens on December 31, 2008 - 7:04pm in The Oil Drum: Campfire
Topic: Miscellaneous
Tags: barter, campfire, fiat money, import substitution, money system, original, thought experiment, todcampfire [list all tags]

Our Wed night/Saturday TOD:Campfire series continues. In addition to having 'practical' essays on topics our community has expertise in, the intent is also for these slots to be a home for unprovable, perhaps untestable ideas, from which (perhaps) testable and worthwhile ideas emerge. Since it is New Years Eve, meaning tomorrow marks a new mini-beginning, (and the fact that traffic will be low...;-), below the fold is a short thought experiment. Imagine what the world would look like if tomorrow morning we woke up, and all money in the world had disappeared.....



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Herman Daly: The Disconnection Between Financial Assets and Real Asssets

Posted by Nate Hagens on December 25, 2008 - 2:07pm
Topic: Economics/Finance
Tags: credit crisis, currency, ecological economics, fiat money, finance, fractional reserve, herman daly [list all tags]

This is a repost of Herman Daly's comments on the credit crisis from October 13 of this year. The original post and comments can be viewed here. Given Professor Daly's association with John Holdren, one can hope these heterodox first principles are being discussed at the highest levels.

Previously, Herman Daly wrote a guest post on the Steady State Economy, outlining core suggestions on how to overhaul our banking, financial (and value) systems. I encourage everyone to read it (if short on time, please read the conclusion). Professor Daly was Senior Economist at the World Bank before leaving to teach Ecological Economics at University of Maryland's School for Public Policy. He was also the catalyst for me to leave my own financial career and return to school to study the real economy (i.e. what we call the human economy is only a small part of a larger closed system). Below the fold are his thoughts on the current crisis (current being defined as last 30-40 years or so). (For comparison, here are links to what 'mainstream' economic icons George Soros, and Bill Gross are saying.)

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The Borg: A Financial Allegory

Posted by Gail the Actuary on October 6, 2008 - 10:38am
Topic: Economics/Finance
Tags: bank, banks, collapse, credit, debt, federal reserve, fiat money, finance, financial system, insolvency, jason bradford, monetary system, money, original [list all tags]

This is an allegory explaining some of the monetary issues associated with the current financial crisis. It was written by Jason Bradford. Jason was an academic biologist who "retired" at a young age to become a community organizer and learn how to farm with peak oil in mind. He also hosts a biweekly radio show on public radio called The Reality Report.

I have never been a huge follower of Star Trek, but when thinking about the financial beast thrashing about the Borg comes to mind.


"I am Locutus of Borg. Resistance is futile. Your life as it has been is over. From this time forward, you will service us." - Locutus of Borg.

"Strength is irrelevant. Resistance is futile...Your culture will adapt to service ours." -- The Borg.

The Borg is a hive-like hybrid swarm of humanoid species, turned partially robotic. They are distinctly goal oriented towards “assimilation” of all other humanoids and press themselves relentlessly with the creepy mantra “Resistance is futile.”

The money system is eerily Borg-like. Because it structurally requires growth, it works relentlessly to assimilate all forms of capital. The natural consequence is that everything must be for sale. Values of freedom, independence, self-reliance, and even conservation are subservient to the goal of growth—which is really just growth of the financial Borg, not human welfare or the security of a habitable planet.

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