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

suppressed bacteria that eventually evolve a resistance to antibiotics
... There is, in short, a definite whiff of the 1930s in the air.
As shown earlier, the Terra system could be managed in such a way
as to have a powerful counter-cyclical economic effect with the
official money system. It would thereby contribute to reducing
economic instability and unpredictability by reducing the risks of
both major global recession now, as well as future inflationary
booms.
2. Last but not least, the use of a demurrage-charged currency like
the Terra For planning and contractual purposes would eliminate the
conflict, which currently prevails between financial priorities and
long-term (e.g. ecological) priorities. By doing so, it reduces the needs
for regulations to attain the objective of long-term sustainability.
In summary, a Counter trade Alliance approach to the Terra would
enable a private initiative to address five key problems international
businesses are experiencing today:
1. It makes available to businesses an international standard of
value;
2. It reduces the cost of completing some counter trade transactions;
3. It provides an insurance against uncertainties deriving from
international currency instability;
4. It systemically reduces the possibility or seriousness of a global
recession;
5. And it structurally resolves the conflict between long-term
ecological sustainability and financial priorities built in by the
conventional currency system.