Currency modeled at microrhizal fungi have collective value enhancing ripple effects. In the u.s. networks of bioregional cooperatives, including support coops seems to be the most effective governance method for the fastest collective increase in multidimensional community health and wealth.
I'm really willing and eager to not be using the term currency (mainly because most people associate it with national currency aka money but also because a currency is generally a broad spectrum signal for value ... rather than containers for voucher exchange).
When in need of a noun or network I talk about commitment pools and when we talk about the functions of those pool I use commitment pooling protocol.
bioregional cooperatives could well be the plants growing their roots into the soil.
The commitment pool - continuing a microrhizal fungi analogy contains the nutrients from those roots (their commitments) and enables them to flow where they are needed. No 'money/national currency' are ultimatley needed, but can be used to invest, seed and grow these networks.
I've found it unnecessarily and pedantic to tell people that think currency refers to national currency they are wrong, uneducated or not seeing the bigger picture.
Playing with terms like “current-sees” feels like the wrong direction.
The last thing I want to do is tell some 70 year old Kaya elder that she doesn't know what the word currency or money means. She does - the introduction of national currencies and money have a long history and the terms are very much alive and refer to specific traditions brought by colonizers, feudal lords and Romans.
Instead of being a clever word smith - I want to learn from people how they and their ancestors coordinated resources together. The Mweria tradition for instance is not money or currency - but a system of holding in common and connecting. In general we've been using the term commitment pooling for this across different contexts.
It fits MUCH better! And actually can contain and hold all kinds of commitments and value signals like money or currency within it.
The word "currency" in the context of money and economic transactions has been in use since at least the late 17th century. Specifically, the Oxford English Dictionary (OED) cites one of the earliest uses of "currency" in this sense from 1699. The reference reads: "Having thus separated our artificial or Counterfeit Wealth from our Real and Natural Riches, we shall be able to compute the Difference between our circulating Cash and our national Wealth, or between our Currency and our Riches" (1699, W. Wood, Survey of Trade).
This usage of the word currency to describe money was introduced in Kenya through colonialists and continues via national currency. In kiswahili 'pesa' is used to talk about currency or money with no distinction between the two.
We can enjoy the latin roots of currens, which means "running" or "flowing," we can also enjoy the Roman roots of money or moneta 'a warning'. I don't think I should have to explain that currency and money meant different things than they do now - then use them to frame now foreign concept - But instead find where people were and are coordinating resources together and learn from those.
All good points. I see that in specific contexts where there is a historical practice you should look to use that. As we try to create a community currency where I live, in the u.s. what would you do?
What I used to call Community Currencies were group issued Community Asset Vouchers where each member got a certain amount to start with. These group vouchers are still in operation and some are doing really well. It is based on how strong the community behind them is - like a cooperative business. There really needs to be clarity that there are strong/legal guarantees of commitment - like you are issuing a store gift card or an undelivered invoice.
Now days we connect all those vouchers together via commitment pooling. So a 'currency' or group voucher or mutual credit can be given drawing rights to a common pool. If people resonate with the name 'currency' and the state doesn't put you in jail - that's great! Make sure folks realize it's not the same as national currency and that only certain folks (the issuers) are required to accept it. Otherwise it is likely another hotpotato community currency that dies after a few people find they can't spend it everywhere.
The point for me is to develop systems/networks/structures that are able to connect different value systems together - personal coupons, gift cards, community currencies, and even USD can be pooled in this way. This way everyone, every groups and org can express their own values and share them. This is a much more robust system than a single currency or voucher.
I think moving away from currency is moving away from clarity to purity.
Currency modeled at microrhizal fungi have collective value enhancing ripple effects. In the u.s. networks of bioregional cooperatives, including support coops seems to be the most effective governance method for the fastest collective increase in multidimensional community health and wealth.
I'm really willing and eager to not be using the term currency (mainly because most people associate it with national currency aka money but also because a currency is generally a broad spectrum signal for value ... rather than containers for voucher exchange).
When in need of a noun or network I talk about commitment pools and when we talk about the functions of those pool I use commitment pooling protocol.
bioregional cooperatives could well be the plants growing their roots into the soil.
The commitment pool - continuing a microrhizal fungi analogy contains the nutrients from those roots (their commitments) and enables them to flow where they are needed. No 'money/national currency' are ultimatley needed, but can be used to invest, seed and grow these networks.
You probably know Art Brocks work defining kinds of currencies https://www.artbrock.com/metacurrency
I've found it unnecessarily and pedantic to tell people that think currency refers to national currency they are wrong, uneducated or not seeing the bigger picture.
Playing with terms like “current-sees” feels like the wrong direction.
The last thing I want to do is tell some 70 year old Kaya elder that she doesn't know what the word currency or money means. She does - the introduction of national currencies and money have a long history and the terms are very much alive and refer to specific traditions brought by colonizers, feudal lords and Romans.
Instead of being a clever word smith - I want to learn from people how they and their ancestors coordinated resources together. The Mweria tradition for instance is not money or currency - but a system of holding in common and connecting. In general we've been using the term commitment pooling for this across different contexts.
It fits MUCH better! And actually can contain and hold all kinds of commitments and value signals like money or currency within it.
The word "currency" in the context of money and economic transactions has been in use since at least the late 17th century. Specifically, the Oxford English Dictionary (OED) cites one of the earliest uses of "currency" in this sense from 1699. The reference reads: "Having thus separated our artificial or Counterfeit Wealth from our Real and Natural Riches, we shall be able to compute the Difference between our circulating Cash and our national Wealth, or between our Currency and our Riches" (1699, W. Wood, Survey of Trade).
This usage of the word currency to describe money was introduced in Kenya through colonialists and continues via national currency. In kiswahili 'pesa' is used to talk about currency or money with no distinction between the two.
We can enjoy the latin roots of currens, which means "running" or "flowing," we can also enjoy the Roman roots of money or moneta 'a warning'. I don't think I should have to explain that currency and money meant different things than they do now - then use them to frame now foreign concept - But instead find where people were and are coordinating resources together and learn from those.
All good points. I see that in specific contexts where there is a historical practice you should look to use that. As we try to create a community currency where I live, in the u.s. what would you do?
What I used to call Community Currencies were group issued Community Asset Vouchers where each member got a certain amount to start with. These group vouchers are still in operation and some are doing really well. It is based on how strong the community behind them is - like a cooperative business. There really needs to be clarity that there are strong/legal guarantees of commitment - like you are issuing a store gift card or an undelivered invoice.
Now days we connect all those vouchers together via commitment pooling. So a 'currency' or group voucher or mutual credit can be given drawing rights to a common pool. If people resonate with the name 'currency' and the state doesn't put you in jail - that's great! Make sure folks realize it's not the same as national currency and that only certain folks (the issuers) are required to accept it. Otherwise it is likely another hotpotato community currency that dies after a few people find they can't spend it everywhere.
The point for me is to develop systems/networks/structures that are able to connect different value systems together - personal coupons, gift cards, community currencies, and even USD can be pooled in this way. This way everyone, every groups and org can express their own values and share them. This is a much more robust system than a single currency or voucher.