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

people probably suspect that the answer to the nature of money
comes from the study of economics or monetary theory, and we all
know these fields are boring - full of equations and devoid of
emotional juice.
Ironically, money itself is a very emotionally juicy topic. Throwing
money on the ground in a public place gets as much attention as
taking off our clothes. Those who work in financial markets
recognize that strong emotions rule most money issues: emotions
that are ubiquitous, violent, volatile and overwhelmingly powerful.
Strangely, neither economics nor monetary theories consider the
emotional nature of money. In fact, in order to study money
'scientifically', they deliberately suppress its basically emotional
nature. What is going on here?
The creation of money is largely invisible to the untrained eye, and
seems almost miraculous. Most people, when they find out where
money really comes from, are as disbelieving as some children when
they first find out where babies come from. 'How could this possibly
be true?' they wonder.
Economics textbooks deal with the question of what money does,
but not with what money is. By asking the deceptively simple
question 'What is money?' we are put in touch with money's age-old
magic. This chapter will clarify the mystery by showing that money is
not a thing, but an agreement - usually an unconscious one.
In contemporary society, we not only agree to participate in the
existing money system - unconsciously but we also bestow
extraordinary power on that system. Here the nature of that power
will be explored, as well as the four key features of modem money
that we usually take for granted. For instance, national currencies
make economic interaction with our fellow citizens more desirable
than with 'foreigners', thereby cultivating national consciousness.