The idea we could build an alternative economy is hubristic, to say the least. The economy is how the material world is organised, and that system is defended by the powerful with military force where necessary. Economies based on exploitation will always provide better value for money and can never be outcompeted by an economy based on justice. The best I can hope for is to build an economy in the cracks, and wait and hope that the internal contradictions of capitalism will be its undoing, and that that will happen without too much violence. Those cracks are ever more evident, and more and more people are falling though them.
The megatrends towards globalisation increasing dependence on technology work together to turn the world into a single, efficient but fragile system. The simplest objects, even local food, depend ever more on global supply chains. Many advocates for sustainability and resilience are focused on doing whatever they can to own the few means of production still remaining, but another, complementary approach is to build alternative global infrastructure, to complement the local efforts.
This is my message to activists in money and payments: relocalisation is great, but connecting all those efforts must not be neglected. Connecting is not only a matter of enabling payments between projects, but also sharing knowledge and good practices. We are not successfully taking advantage of today's hyper-connectivity to build global level infrastructure. The many well-funded #DeFi projects, with staff in all countries and continents often appear as new forms of crypto-colonialism rather than connecting with and serving the alt-economy. And there are many other ways to do it wrong!
I think it is very inefficient when everyone works in his/her own corner. They go fast but not far. But re-orienting our paths and building trust in order to go further doesn't happen in tiresome Zoom meetings. It takes eye contact, leisure time, cooking and cleaning together. That's why after last year's #CoFi gathering, this year I'm organising a #CoFi retreat in Belgium with Stephen de Meulenaere for anyone who wants to align their work on monetary systems and go further together.
We have cunningly planned it to be right adjacent to another event, #CoFi Liege, 3 days of full conference with many of the local economy activists of the region, so if you can spare a week, you can come to both!
Note that both events require booking in advance.
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