Sunday, June 28, 2009

Show Me The Money

Almost a month ago I was given a book by its author. His name is Tom Greco and his book is "The End of Money and the Future of Civilization." I thought I'd read the book casually, skim most of it and then say something nice to the author. The bottom line is that I just finished the book yesterday. I became fascinated by it, read it carefully, savored every page and came away from the experience far more enthusiastic about the book than I am for our modern financial system.

Unlike most books about money it doesn't serve as an alternative to a sleeping potion. Unlike most books about money that identify the problems with our monetary system, "The End of Money..." not only defines the problems but also identifies the solution to the current crisis.

The book is readable, entertaining, enlightening and understandable to anyone, not just monetary students.

Tom Greco strips away the mysteries that blind most of us to the functioning of debt money and fractional reserve banking. He explains how money is created by monetizing debt and the resultant twin imperatives for ever more debt and unsustainable growth to feed the insatiable demands of compound interest.

But then the book gets really interesting when Greco shows that there are various alternatives to the current debt based monetary system that address its defects and offer incredible promise of enabling a healthy, prosperous and sustainable future for all. And, these alternative systems aren't something that Greco dreamed up or that have never been tested. Rather he describes and demonstrates several examples from around the world that have survived, in some cases for decades. Greco also provides a candid description of the problems alternative monetary systems must confront, including many that are self inflicted by the organizers and users of the systems.

Thomas Greco is no dreamer. He is a realist and the work he has completed offers a clear and honest evaluation of the current situation, the dangers that ultimately could threaten civilization and the hope for a reasonable future. In short Greco is not just willing to say "The Emperor has no clothes." He also showed me the money, warts and all.

If you really want to understand money, the problems with money and solutions to enable civilization to prosper, read "The End of Money and the Future of Civilization."

You need to know this information, understand it and act upon it.

1 comment:

Sandhya Subramaniam said...

i will read that book! seems to interest me alot! :D