Jean-Francois Noubel

Although Jean-Francois Noubel has lived in US and is fluent in English, his energies are directed towards his home country France, where he lives and works. He occupies an ideological niche far outside the realm of conventional economics or monetary theory, working closely with Art Brock and Eric Harris-Braun of 'Metacurrency' fame. The thrust of his teaching is that if society is to organise itself appropriately we need to better understand collective intelligence. 'Free currencies' are a way of passing information around so all the parts have information about the needs, values, and resources of the whole.

Noubel emphasises that personal transformation is a necessary aspect of monetary transformation. He has traversed the full social spectrum, from an angry and disillusioned youth to a partner in AOL France last decade. His main work now is consulting to large organisations about strategy and dealing with the future.

But he's not your average consultant. For a start he doesn't sign contracts or charge fees. He maintains this is critical for maintaining his integrity. More than once he has walked away when he felt his time was not appreciated. Instead of contracting, he lives 'in the gift', only accepting free gifts his sustainnance. This arrangement is manifest in a document he created called the Vow of Wealth, in which he pledges not to own any money personally. And it seems to work for him. Even his house was donated as a gift by someone who wanted to help him be more productive and supportive to his son.

All this would be a waste of paper if I didn't tell you that there are people all over France, and not only men in suits, who have been profoundly influenced by Noubel's teaching, and are seeking to implement free currencies in their communities.