When the money that we have and use has lost its perceived value – as it is almost certain that it now will, the most orderly transition we could have to The True Economy and our new ‘post Top-Down world’ will not be possible until we leave the money and currencies we have behind and recognise their true value – which is nothing.
Yes, in time we will need to reestablish currency as a practical means of exchange. These new currencies might even still be called $Dollars or £Pounds.
However, we cannot create and develop the True Economy and ensure that the governance is agreed and secured that will ensure we always attribute value to everything in the way that we should, unless we recognise what the priorities dictated by genuine need really are first.
To bring an ordered system that works for all using money as a medium, we have to remember, recall and reinstate the basics of that order before we do.
The process begins first by recognising that money no longer works. It then continues by accepting that to survive and thrive, we must have a system of exchange at least temporarily in its place.
The end of the money system for many will come in the form of a crisis or critical point that they will recognise when they don’t have enough money to secure the basics that are essential to life.
Others will have to be big enough to recognise that the game is quite literally up, and that they can make a positive contribution to change, before avoidable circumstances finally give them an unwelcome push too.
Survival during this period of crisis and transition from the old system to the new, will rely on exchanging whatever we have, or we can offer to others, to secure whatever we need in return.
When we were children, and we swapped sticker cards, sweets, marbles or anything else we no longer needed but might want to exchange for something that we did, the stakes were no higher than the emotional value that you attribute to either. A process which may not have felt like it, but was nonetheless very much under our own control.
When we are faced with the realities of swapping or exchanging anything that we have so that we or the people we care or are responsible for can continue to have the basic foods and goods that are essential to survive and live, the stakes will not feel like they could be higher. For many the emotional entrenchment of that process will reach to the sky.
It is inevitable that bartering and exchange will take place between individuals as reality begins to hit all of us very hard.
However, one-to-one transactions in these circumstances are likely to lead to greater levels of frustration, anger and violence than necessary.
The best way to address social issues in the community quickly and effectively will be to establish a non-monetary Local Market Exchange – that will also form the basis upon which The True Economy can begin.
Adam Tugwell 