Bernard Lietaer is in a position to offer a refreshing perspective because he is both a mainstream economist who was involved in the creation of the Euro and a thought leader in the world of alternative currencies. In this interview you will hear him bring up interesting points:
- That the original design of the Euro did not include a change in the relationships between central banks and governments … that was a last minute addition (I wonder what political machinations brought that development about).
- There are examples of countries operating with two currencies. One example is Switzerland with its national currency and an 80 year old business-to-business currency called the WIR. The other example is the UK where businesses can manage their books in both pounds and euros.
- Iceland took another approach to the economic crisis: it allowed banks to go under, put bankers in jail and is now operating a government controlled currency (instead of a bank-debt-based currency).
- The ubiquity of mobile phones means that a door is open for new alternative currencies based on information technology.
Almost every answer he gives challenges the mainstream conversation and introduces outside-the-box thinking: