The idea of alternative money systems has been around for some time. One
concept, and perhaps the main one, is commonly known as LETS (Local Exchange
and Trading Society). There is lots of information on the web. According
to one website: "In a LETSystem, every member of the community agrees to
offer goods and skills of their choice to the community in return for an
agreement from the rest of the community to do the same for them. A few
people perform the administrative functions of recording transactions,
issuing statements and publishing a newsletter and a trade directory listing
all the goods and skills on offer (and desired) within the community."
http://www.glasswings.com.au/utopia/lets.html
Personally, I think LETS is fine as an ideal, but it has its problems. It
would seem that some form of unit of exchange (money) and a pricing system
is needed in order to translate units of, say, carpentry into units of lawn
mowing. The Peterborough LETS Exchange, here in Ontario, puts it this way:
"When you "sell" goods or services to another member in the LETS, you earn a
credit in a community currency called Green Dollars. You can then use this
credit to buy whatever you want from any member of the system. Participants
are free to trade their skills and meet their needs even when cash is in
short supply." http://www.pipcom.com/~ptbolets/
One question I have is why people who have skills would need to participate.
If they are really skilled, they would have a regular job, or they would be
actively trying to find one rather than participating in a LETS. Another
issue is keeping a LETS going. One I was somewhat familiar with fell apart
when some key people moved out of the area.
Ed W.
> The level of interest has far-reaching consequences for the development of
> the working conditions ( time pressure, just in time production, lean
> production, outsourcing, automatization, ... ).
>
> What do you think about alternative money systems and their consequences
for
> the future of work?
>
> For example : the experiment of Woergl, Tyrol, Austria in 1932/1933 ->
> http://www.tauschring.de/e0502hof.htm
>
> and "Interest and inflation free money" by Margrit Kennedy (1991) ->
> http://www.globalideasbank.org/BOV/BV-101.HTML
>
> Robert Neunteufel
>
