Bernard Lietaer - The future of money

society provide the elderly with the money to match their longevity'' But it also goes beyond that specific topic by tackling the broader issue of community breakdown. Problems in elderly and childcare, education, reduction of criminality, and improvement of the general quality of life are all symptoms of the same phenomenon of community crises. Community breakdown has become a universal pattern all over the modem world. Although it is usually not perceived that this trend relates to money, this chapter will show that both the cause of the problem and its solution can be found in money systems.

Community breakdown Around the world, in rich and poor countries alike, the structure of family life is undergoing accelerated and fundamental changes. 'The idea that the family is a stable and cohesive unit... is a myth. The reality is that trends like unwed motherhood, rising divorce rates, smaller households, and the feminisation of poverty are occurring world-wide,' a recent study demonstrates. Only Japan has remained virtually unchanged over the last 30 years.221 The world over, we can hear the same complaint. 'Things aren't the way they used to be. We used to have a better sense of community.'

What is referred to may be different in each culture, but the vend is identical. Its consequences are also similar, including vandalism against common property and criminality, particularly among the younger generation.

The more 'developed' the country, the more this trend has advanced (see sidebar). For instance, in Northern Europe and the US, the extended family was considered the norm during the 19th century. By the 1950s, the nuclear family was standard. Today, the median of social identity in the US has already moved from the nuclear family to the single parent family as 51% of all US children