THE FUTURE OF MONEY Bernard A. Lietaer - library.uniteddiversity ...

Conclusion: complementary currencies as ‘Early Prototypes’.
In conclusion, complementary currencies make sense socially,
economically and from a business viewpoint. It should also be noted
that many of the current complementary currency systems should be
considered as being at the stage where aeronautical engineering was
when the Wright Brothers made their first flying attempts. The
remarkable feat of the Wright Brothers was that their contraption
flew at all. But it was nevertheless their and their 'crazy' colleagues'
pragmatic demonstrations that ultimately has made possible that we
and our most perishable products today fly routinely around the
world. It is also significant that The New York Times mentioned the
Wright Brothers' achievement for the first time only four years after
the fact, and then only because the President of the United States was
present at such a demonstration The real understanding of the theory
of why these contraptions could fly had to wait for many more years
after that.
There should be no shame attached to considering the current
versions of complementary currencies as 'early prototypes'. Almost
all of today's systems remain obviously marginal in terms of total
economic volume, for instance, just like the Wright Brothers, they are
typically being ignored, or when noticed sometimes ridiculed, by
mainstream academic or media pundits. Most are still waiting to be
recognized by some 'Presidential witness' to be taken seriously. But
what matters for us here is that they have already proved that they
can 'fly', that they actually produce the intended effects at the scale
for which they were designed.
Specifically, the following findings have already been demonstrated
in practice:
1. Complementary currencies make possible transactions and
exchanges that otherwise would not occur. This means in practice