Rethinking our Centralized Monetary System: The Case for a System of Local Currencies

(Hardback)

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Description

As we approach the 21st century, we must rethink our centralised monetary system as part of a larger re-examination of existing political economy, according to Solomon. In questioning the passive acceptance of a federal monopoly in producing money, the author challenges prevailing notions of "progress" and "economic life". Advancing the idea of local currencies to promote a political economy based on empowerment, self-reliance, and ecological permanence, the book discusses three viable systems, all of which are possible under federal and state laws: barter, customer discounts, and local scrip not pegged to the US dollar. The business and practical aspects of each of these systems is considered. This work should be of interest to scholars, students and policy-makers in political economy, money and banking, public finance and public policy.

Reviews

This extremely interesting and provocative book should be read by all concerned about establishing an effective payment system, and especially by those who believe that the creation of a national currency represents the penultimate development of a monetary system...This brief volume contains ample food for thought about the possibilities for a radical transformation of the payment system in the next century.-Choice
"This extremely interesting and provocative book should be read by all concerned about establishing an effective payment system, and especially by those who believe that the creation of a national currency represents the penultimate development of a monetary system...This brief volume contains ample food for thought about the possibilities for a radical transformation of the payment system in the next century."-Choice

Author Bio

LEWIS D. SOLOMON is Arthur Selwyn Miller Research Professor of Law at the George Washington University Law School. He is the author of 23 books including, most recently, Taxation of Investments (1994) and Corporations: Law and Policy (1994).