We are the first generation in human mankind with the potential to end poverty globally!
At the same time, we are the last generation in mankind with the potential to prevent an irreversible damage to this planet; In terms of global warming, resource depletion and biodiversity for decades if not centuries.
We’ve know all this, why isn’t it happening!?
Some say it has to do with bad governance, some say it has to do with the lack of innovative technology; others say it’s simply too expensive.
I think a lot has to do with the design of the financial system itself.
This is what I would like to discuss with you here and now.
In September 2015, world leaders signed up for a road-map in New York with 17 so-called sustainability development goals (SDGs). SDGs aimed at improving humanity, the planet, wealth, peace and global partnership.
Most of these goals are so-called ‘global common goods’.
Like cleaning air, protecting biodiversity, alleviating poverty.
A common global good is not exclusive, it should be accessible to, and enjoyed by everyone!
Each of these goals has enough scientific evidence, enough technological know-how, and enough political consensus to be achieved. Each of these goals should be valid for the entire planet; north, south, east, west, local and global.
However, these goals are not cheap! In fact, we’re talking about a five trillion US dollar b ill, every year, over the next 15 to 20 years.
Where does the money come from?
How are we currently funding and managing such projects?
The conventional way of dealing with such projects is simply redistributing money. Starting at the top of the central banks where money is literally created out of nothing… Then the commercial banking system in the cattle market. Loan this money in forms of credits to corporates, privates, and states; and it ends with the production of goods and services,
The entire sum called the Global Domestic Product (GDP) is approximately 75 to 80 trillion US dollars every year! At the end of that pipeline, we as a world community decided to spend a small amount of money on such social and ecological projects.
Has this procedure, this mechanism, ever worked in history?
Historically, the world community decided to spend 0.7% of this global domestic product; which is roughly 500 billion US dollars on such projects. But besides the Scandinavian countries, the vast majority never attained 0.7%. Just think… Even if all nations attained 0.7%, the amount of money is realistically not enough to finance and fund our future.
We’ve gotta get the figures right, we’re talking about five-ten times more in order to challenge our future. We’re talking about 5 trillion out of the 80 trillion of our global domestic product in order to properly finance our future. Withdrawing this amount of money, withdrawing the five trillion out of the 80 trillion would cause a collapse of the world economy!
Where does the money come from…?
I think it’s a heroic assumption that this mechanism of redistributing money would ever meet, in scale and speed, the requirements to fund or finance our future. Could it be that we have the wrong solutions for the real problems?
I think in order to find out the real solutions for the real problems, there is one aspect I want you to remember here.
Money is not a tangible thing…
Money is not a natural law…
Money is a convention; like a marriage contract, a club rule or a legal contract; which can be changed and adapted according to global needs.
So can we think differently about this whole challenge.
I want you to hold your skepticism for one moment.
What if the central banks would create the additional 5 trillion US dollars in an electronic format using a blockchain technology…
What if these additional funds would be earmarked and dedicated for Sustainable Development Goals only in the first place…
What if these funds ran through completely different channels than we’re used to… We would end up with the complimentary optional currency system running in parallel to the conventional system.
Generating the 5 trillion the world desperately needs!
Is there any scientific evidence for that?
Research on optional parallel currency system has shown over a dozen of positive effects. You could use this earmarked additional liquidity dedicated funds in order to target millions and millions of African citizens, using blockchain technology through their cell phone.
We could use the same mechanism for Indian citizens, addressing the microcredit banking system. Any dollar spent through this mechanism will alleviate, if not eliminate poverty in less than one year!
I would like to repeat that sentence. Any dollar spent through this mechanism, would alleviate, if not eliminate poverty in less than a year!
It would prevent us from additional fraud and corruption, as each transaction is transparent and can be disclosed.
Just think, such a parallel currency system in place, where you’re eligible to file taxes; would allow communal offices to eventually build up their infrastructure, free schooling, kindergarten schooling, universities, communal hospitals, libraries, streets and bridges.
The 1.5 million non-governmental organizations would eventually get the money to do their job.
We could enhance education and access to health care, that would otherwise never happen.
We would tap into untapped potentials of millions and millions of humans without a job, unleashing the creativity of billions and billions of citizens on this planet! Would this mechanism hurt or harm the conventional economy? The opposite is true, corporate, state planning, production; even the price level would become more robust and resilient, gaining a long-term vision.
In fact, a parallel currency system would stabilize the booms and busts of the conventional system. It is this pre-distributive design, rather than re-distributive design, that can shift, I would even say transform our entire society in the right direction!
What’s missing?
do you know what’s missing?
We have to change our mindset, we’re used to thinking serial, sequential, linear… We should start to think in parallel, our brain and our mind is capable to do so.
It’s like having a bike with two wheels, we need a currency system with two branches, a conventional and a complimentary one.
Both designed for different purposes, but both intertwined at the end. If there was a single most important factor to change the world it would be this mechanism! We could get that started in less than six months if the six larger central banks are prepared to implement a parallel currency system…
I think this would be fair and fast, inexpensive and innovative, robust and resilient, sound and sustainable and it would be transparent and transformative!
Redesigning the financial system does not solve all our problems.
But all our problems are much more easily addressed by redesigning the financial system. This is the way towards more humanity, more peace, more wealth, more global partnership, and a greener planet…
This is the mechanism to embrace the future!
This article is a slightly edited version of the YouTube transcript of Professor Stefan Brunnhubers talk at TEDx Dresden.
Stefan is a Scientific Adviser to Solar Bankers one of the coins launched on the Skycoin fiber platform. He’s a strong advocate for blockchain technology and all the good it can do for the world.
I will be doing an article Biography of Stefan in the near future.
Keep an eye out for that link here.
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