Complementary Currencies and South Africa
- Article: Complementary Currencies and South Africa. An HISTORICAL ANALYSIS OF COMPLEMENTARY CURRENCIES AND
IMPLICATIONS FOR SOUTH AFRICA. by John Quintiliani
URL = http://www.sane.org.za/pubs/complementary.htm
Introduction
"Today's global economy has left the majority of nations in a state of drastic income disparity and, more damagingly, extreme and seemingly hopeless poverty in many communities throughout the world. These communities are composed of able-bodied citizens, yet they have been excluded from the national economy, unable to be productive participants. South Africa is like many nations that have endured decades of severe unemployment that have resulted in communities of idle citizens left to wither.
The current money systems have left community members without the income they need to buy and exchange goods and be productive citizens. Although the drastic community breakdown has been caused by the current money systems, its solution is also found in money systems, in particular in complementary currencies. For centuries and with dramatic recent successes, communities have been able to flourish and become active contributors to the national economy, as a direct result of the implementation of well-designed complementary currencies. The complementary currencies give citizens a means of exchange that enables them to create businesses and jobs within the community, uplifting morale and contributing to the formal economy as skilled workers."