Monetary Reform - Making it Happen
Book: Monetary Reform - Making it Happen. James Robertson and John Bunzl. International Simultaneous Policy , 2004, paperback, 80 pp. ISPO "Making it Happen" Briefing Series No 1.
Available online at http://www.jamesrobertson.com/book/monetaryreform.pdf
Summary
"he first two chapters on monetary reform are by James Robertson. Although much of the detail in them refers to Britain, the same outline applies broadly to other countries too.
The historical perspective in Chapter 1 brings out some of the parallels between the aims of monetary reform in the 19th century and now, and some of the differences between that time and ours. It suggests that the historical evolution of the monetary system between then and now points to the Huber/Robertson proposal as the next step forward.
It also points out that a key difference between then and now is that monetary reform must be dealt with today in an international context. Another difference is that now public awareness is becoming widespread that big changes in the monetary and financial system are needed. People's aspirations for a greener, juster, more people-centred way of life, a new direction of more peaceful progress, and a new consciousness about our place in the planet, are growing. But recognition is also growing that those aspirations cannot be fulfilled, so long as the perverse incentives and compulsions of the present money system shape how we actually live.
Chapter 2 summarises the proposal for monetary reform published in Creating New Money, and brings out its international as well as its national significance. It notes some of the main obstacles to it that have become apparent and some of the objections that have been made to it, including those based on the risk of damage to a national economy's international competitiveness.
Chapter 3 is written by John Bunzl. It introduces the Simultaneous Policy approach and explains its potential relevance to monetary reform proposals such as Creating New Money, as well as to other reforms advocated by global justice campaigners and non-governmental organisations (NGOs). It outlines in more detail the obstacles to the implementation of monetary reform likely to arise from the reaction of global markets, and it explains how Simultaneous Policy could potentially overcome them. Specific arguments in favour of the Simultaneous Policy approach are discussed as well as its potential disadvantages and responses to them.
Chapter 4 re-emphasises the importance of an international campaign for monetary reform. It will probably be based initially on non-governmental organisations (NGOs) mobilising citizens' interests worldwide, bringing in small businesses and other sectors inadequately served by the present money system, and then spreading to growing numbers of mainstream politicians, political parties, government officials, financial experts and economists." (http://www.simpol.org/en/books/Books_FS.htm)