I wanted to share a few reflections after participating in Mindshare and Project Butterfly's conversation around Complimentary Currencies. First, big thanks to the whole team - I thought this was a great panel and was honored to be part of it.
There were the usual few, who focused on the negative, doom and gloom, economic collapse as the end of the world. During the panel, I had a minor epiphany. We as humans have survived more dramatic catastrophes and created more unbelievable possibilities than what we face today.
The human species survived active predation, living in the wild, surviving highly sophisticated killers. (Don't get me started on DinoFelis and the dark African Caves. You can read it directly in Bruce Chatwin's Songlines.) We created language, naming objects we saw, as well as concepts like truth, justice and love. We created written language, using diverse alphabets. We understood/discovered laws of the universe like physics and mathematics.
Compared to those feats, an economic evolution pales. Come on people, we're talking about the method and process of transacting.
This is not rocket science. This is not discovering the laws of the universe. This doesn't have to be predatory. And it doesn't have to include (or exclude) particular values because they are not held by everyone.
Evolving the economic system is something we can do - and do faster and more effectively by working together.
There can be a space for day traders to play the money greed game, and a space for people who are vehemently opposed to this activity. The space can hold for both "opposing views." That's diversity. That's rocks bouncing against each other, shaping and changing each other. That's how we'll discover and learn what works.
Rapid economic evolution. We can do it together. Leave your judgements and preconceptions at the door. I'm not saying it's going to be easy, but it's certainly not impossible.
Good post, Heather. I know a lot of people that should read this one.
Posted by: Scott | August 29, 2011 at 10:25 AM