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

This section will deal with the details of the monetary system that
would best support Sustainable Abundance. To traditional monetary
thinking, one currency per country has always appeared adequate.
Therefore a multi- level system would be criticised for its undue
complexity and inefficiency. This criticism will be answered first,
followed by a portrayal of how the different levels of currencies
could fit together in 2020.
Why a multi-level currency system?
The criticism of ‘undue complexity' is valid only if habit makes us
overlook the inefficiencies and complexities of the money system of
1999. This system involves some 170 different national currencies,
disorganised in eight different types of monetary systems according
to the IMF's own reports. In any case, the record of the post-Bretton
Woods monetary modus vivendi is clearly unsatisfactory.
During the nearly three decades since the demise of the Bretton
Woods arrangements, the annual rate of economic growth in
developed countries has fallen by a third, and the incidents of
international financial crises have increased sharply - to the point
where even countries that follow sound economic policies are often
stricken along with the profligate. According to figures cited by the
World Bank no fewer than 69 countries have endured serious
banking crises since the late nineteen-seventies, and 87 nations have
seen runs on their currency since 1975.
It is also likely that seen from a longer-term historical perspective
some of the features of our prevailing money system will be seen as
strange anomalies. (See sidebar on Yap Islanders in Fort Knox).
Organisational requirements