Future of Money : A New Way to Create Wealth, Work, and a Wiser World

B.A. Lietaer

ISBN 10: 0712683992 / ISBN 13: 9780712683999

Published by Century, 2001

Seller Inventory # 0712683992-VB

Synopsis:

A devastating analysis of how and why society depends on money. Money affects every area of life both for the individual and for business, socially, politically and economically. Clear-sighted, intellectually challenging, inspirational and controversial.

Review: Following the gloomy prognostications of the future of the global economy in John Grey's False Dawn, it is refreshing to read Bernard Lietaer's upbeat account of The Future of Money. Lietaer made his name implementing the convergence mechanism for the European single currency, and was named the world's top currency trader in 1989. This suggests that he knows what he's talking about when he argues that "we are largely ignorant about our money system", concerning the nature and management of money. Lietaer argues that once we understand the shifting temperament and function of money, particularly in relation to the current revolution in information technology, we can harness it for a brighter future.

Lietaer begins by addressing what he sees as the four "megatrends" currently driving society--an "Age Wave", the growth of an increasingly aged population, the Information Revolution, Monetary Instability, and Climate Change. Lietaer argues that "all crises contain hidden opportunities", which leads him to his central thesis that "we are now engaged in a structural shift of the world system, and this shift offers an unprecedented opportunity to give birth to Sustainable Development". Much of the rest of the book deals with defining sustainable development, and offering practical scenarios for its implementation. Much of this seems vague and utopian, but along the way Lietaer offers a wonderfully lucid account of the philosophy of money, the liquidity of currency and the nature of personal savings. As a financial map of the 21st century, The Future of Money is a little hazy, but as a story of the current state of money, it's extremely entertaining. --Jerry Brotton

Bibliographic Details

Title: Future of Money : A New Way to Create Wealth...
Publisher: Century
Publication Date: 2001
Binding: hardcover
Condition: As New