We live on a finite planet with finite resources, and it is obvious that there are limits to growth - limits to the rate at which the global economy can grow, and consume the world's resources. We live in an era of unparalleled economic growth, and nobody seems to be doing anything to stop it, and the Earth is being eaten alive. To save the Earth, we must stop economic growth. To do this monetary reform is desperately needed, and the video and web links in this article will tell you why.

Wake Up, Freak Out - then Get a Grip, is an excellent animation which shows how untethered economic growth and consumption, are pushing the Earth dangerously close to tipping point - beyond which climate change will be devastating and unstoppable.

Money is not the problem

There is nothing wrong with money per se, which if designed as a tool for the benefit of all, can measure and store value, and facilitate exchange and the development of society. The problem is the actual monetary system that is being implemented around the world, called fractional reserve banking. With fractional reserve banking, the economy has to grow - there is no way that it cannot, because this is the way that the system has been designed. I am not going to try and explain why right now, just suspend your belief for a few moments and read on - several of the video links below do an excellent job of explaining why the economy has to grow within the fractional reserve banking regime.

According to the World Bank, just 227 families own 47% of the world's wealth. The monetary system has been designed to benefit the elite, who are systematically using fractional reserve banking as a mechanism to steal property and assets from the vast majority. This monetary system is also systematically destroying the environment, as it continues to grow the planet is being eaten alive. However, just as the modern monetary system has been designed to benefit the financial elite, it is equally as possible to design currency systems that benefit the masses, and support life on Earth. I worked for nearly ten years developing mutual credit systems, which are a form of community currency, which does not intrinsically result in economic growth, and is generally supportive of social and ecological systems. There are many examples and designs of healthy currency systems, and I have provided some further links below, so you can research these.
 

Economics is not the problem .. neither is it the solution

Just as money per se is not the problem, neither is economics, either the problem or the solution. Of course we all desire good economics, and good economists, in order that wealth and resources can be deployed equitably amongst the World's populations. However the chances of this happening are hopeless within the regime of the fractional reserve monetary system. The problem is that economists do not consider the design of the monetary system itself, but focus on trying to find solutions within the system which is fundamentally unsustainable and unjust by design. They are destined to fail!

The fractional reserve banking system is the problem, and monetary reform is the solution. 'The Matrix' by Paradox, is a radical film-poem that describes with flare, the injustices that are built into the current monetary system.

Why the economy has to grow, and why it needs to be reformed

• Here is Chris Martenson's Crash Course. I highly recommend it, particular chapter's 5-10, which explain why the design of money system that is being used around the world means that the economy has to keep on growing exponentially, at the expense of people and the earth's resources. This isn't an issue of economics, its an issue of currency design. Everybody on the planet needs to understand this, and act on it.
   
• This is a film called Money as Debt which gives a good overview of the history of money, and how the elite have introduced the fractional reserve banking system. Money is Debt explains how all money in the global economy is issued out of thin air by banks, through the creation of debt, and how because of bank interest, we are locked in a perpetual cycle of economic gowth, as ever larger debts are required to pay back the interest on loans. Through insolvency and bankrupcy, property and assets are increasingly transferred (stolen?) from the world's poor, into the hands of the capitalist elite. Interest rates create inflation - the more the economy grows, the further the world falls into debt, and the more worthless the money we earn becomes, as the Earth is eaten alive.
   
• Also here is a film called Zeitgeist (the Spirit of the Times), which also explains the relationships between fractional reserve banking, economic gowth, interest and debt. This film is very controversial, and contains content that some may consider as conspiracy theory. Very thought provoking, and often sinister stuff!

An appeal

All of the video resources above (apart from Paradox) are North American. Not that there is anything wrong with North American's but I would really like to find British people who are producing similar stuff. If we are to appeal to the British public, and mobilise the people to Stop Economic Gowth and reform the monetary system, then we really need research and high quality video material that is relevant to people in this country.   
 

Monetary Reform Resources - how to stop economic growth and bring about social justice and environmental sustainability

• Here is a rather antiquated looking web site called Transaction.Net, but it has the best overview that I am aware of, of the range of different currency designs that are available for use. Read up on 'debt based fiat money', as this is the technical terminolgy for the mainstream currency that I am talking about that has to grow, as a result of the way in which it is designed.
   
•  The Monetary Reform Party - I have recently come accross this small political party, formed in 2005, to do .. what it says on the label. 
  

  "Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful committed citizens can change the world. Indeed it's the only thing that ever has"

  Margaret Mead, (1901-1978) noted American anthropologist and writer.
  
  

•  LETS Promo
  This is a 5 minute film about LETS (Local Exchange Trading Systems) that I made in Hulme, Manchester in 2002 with local film maker Andy Lawrence (www.psychicbread.org). The film features interviews of Michael Linton, the original designer of the LETSystem, and author and community economist Thomas Greco. It also features visuals of Hulme, and music by Manchester band, Lamb. Note the "Hulme High Street" sign, which is actually an asda carpark. This is symbolic of the disfunctional nature of the Hulme local economy. LETSystems are interest free community currencies, sometimes called mutual credit systems. They offer an alternative to the current debt based fiat monetary systems.
   

• Scottish Monetary Reform
  Debt & Deception published here, is a short, no frills booklet describing how the banking system has come to dominate the life of Joe Public and his democratic government. It presents to you an understandable and practical proposal for banking reform. It was written  two years ago but is even more apposite today. All that has been added is a short FOREWORD relating to public and political opinion now that the present system is in disarray  – perhaps terminally so.