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

A Global Reference Currency (GRC) and the Terra Unit
I will call a Global Reference Currency (GRC) the generic concept of
a currency which is not tied to any particular nation state, and whose
main purpose is to provide a stable and reliable reference currency
for international contracts and trade.
Furthermore, I will propose as unit of account for one particular
type of GRC the Terra, which aims at firmly anchoring that currency
to the material/physical world. Remember, one of the reasons that the
global currency casino can churn as wildly as it does is the
disconnection between the financial world and physical reality, a link
which was severed by President Nixon in 1971. In this role, the Terra
would be akin to the gold standard in the 19th century.
The Terra is defined as a standard basket of commodities and
services particularly important for international trade, and their
relative weight in the standard basket would ideally reflect their
relative importance in global trade.
For instance, the value of the Terra could be defined as:
1 Terra = 1/10 barrel of oil (for example Brent quality and delivery)
+ 1 bushel of wheat (Chicago Mercantile Exchange delivery)
+ 2 pounds of copper (London Metal Exchange delivery)
+... etc.
+ 1/100 ounce of gold (New York delivery)