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

hundred such grass-roots projects are now, operational in these
countries as well. In the US, 39 communities have followed Ithaca
NY, in creating their own paper currency, redeemable only within
the community. All of these systems will be explained in detail later.
These initiatives are often treated as marginal curiosities by
mainstream media and academic circles. However, in New Zealand,
Australia, Scotland and 30 different US states, regional governments
have been funding the start-up of such systems because they have
proved effective in solving local employment problems. The
European Union is funding pilot complementary currency
programmes in four deliberately very different settings and
technologies: two in the countryside of Ireland and Scotland, and two
in the major cities of Madrid and Amsterdam. In New Zealand, the
central bank has discovered that complementary currencies actually
help to control the overall inflation in the national currency. More
about this will be described in Chapters 5 and 8.
We can each only imagine what we would create if 4·0% of our
working hours were available for 'temple time', whatever form that
might take. Using this approach, would it not be possible for the
Information Revolution to evolve into an authentic Age of
Knowledge? What would each of us like to learn? What
improvements would you like to make in your life?
Imagine what you could create on your own or with others.
Autumn
A Bechtel Corporation board meeting in 2020
The following text is an extract from the minutes of the annual
board meeting of Bechtel Corporation, the largest construction and
civil engineering Company in the world.