LIST OF FIGURES:............................................................................................. 3 INTRODUCTION ................................................................................................. 4 CHAPTER ONE FOUR BASIC MISCONCEPTIONS ABOUT MONEY............. 5 FIRST MISCONCEPTION: THERE IS ONLY ONE TYPE OF GROWTH ............... 5 SECOND MISCONCEPTION: WE PAY INTEREST ONLY IF WE BORROW MONEY............................................................................................................ 8 THIRD MISCONCEPTION: IN THE PRESENT MONETARY SYSTEM WE ARE ALL EQUALLY AFFECTED BY INTEREST..................................................... 9 FOURTH MISCONCEPTION: INFLATION IS AN INTEGRAL PART OF FREE MARKET ECONOMIES................................................................................. 10 CHAPTER TWO CREATING AN INTEREST AND INFLATION FREE MONEY ........................................................................................................................... 13 REPLACEMENT OF INTEREST BY A CIRCULATION FEE ......................... 13 THE FIRST MODEL EXPERIMENTS............................................................ 14 THE NEED FOR LAND REFORM ................................................................. 16 THE NEED FOR TAX REFORM .................................................................... 18 CHAPTER THREE WHO WOULD PROFIT FROM A NEW MONETARY SYSTEM?.......................................................................................................... 20 THE ADVANTAGES IN GENERAL ............................................................... 21 FLAWS IN THE MONETARY SYSTEM......................................................... 21 ADVANTAGES FOR THE REGION OR COUNTRY WHICH INTRODUCES THESE CHANGES FIRST............................................................................. 25 THE RICH ...................................................................................................... 26 THE POOR .................................................................................................... 29 THE CHURCHES AND SPIRITUAL GROUPS.............................................. 32 BUSINESS AND INDUSTRY......................................................................... 33 FARMERS ..................................................................................................... 35 ECOLOGISTS AND ARTISTS....................................................................... 35 WOMEN......................................................................................................... 37 CHAPTER FOUR SOME LESSONS FROM HISTORY ................................... 39 BRAKTEATEN MONEY IN MEDIEVAL EUROPE ......................................... 39 THE WEIMAR REPUBLIC AND THE GOLD STANDARD............................. 40 CHAPTER FIVE MONETARY REFORM IN THE CONTEXT OF GLOBAL TRANSFORMATION: AN EXAMPLE OF HOW TO MAKE THE CHANGE .... 42 REPLACING REVOLUTION WITH EVOLUTION.......................................... 42 A POSSIBLE SOLUTION FOR THE NEAR FUTURE ................................... 43 THE PARKING FEE CREATES A NEUTRAL MONEY SYSTEM .................. 44 CHAPTER SIX WHAT CAN I DO TO HELP IN THE TRANSITION PERIOD? 46 BE INFORMED, INCREASE THE AWARENESS OF OTHERS.................... 46 SPONSOR MODEL EXPERIMENTS ............................................................ 46 START A LOCAL EXCHANGE TRADING SYSTEM ..................................... 47 SUPPORT ETHICAL INVESTMENT ............................................................. 47 CHAPTER SEVEN PRACTICAL CASES TODAY: EMBRYOS OF A NEW ECONOMY ........................................................................................................ 49 THE LET SYSTEM ........................................................................................ 49 THE WIR NETWORK AND SIMILAR ASSOCIATIONS................................. 51 THE J.A.K. COOPERATIVE BANKS IN SWEDEN ........................................ 52 ADVANTAGES AND DISADVANTAGES OF ALTERNATIVE MONEY AND CREDIT SYSTEMS ....................................................................................... 55
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