Adventures in mutual credit

• CES has been providing community currency software-as-a-service since 2002
• Community Forge has been providing free web sites for LETS and timebanks since 2009
• CES Australia became independent from CES in 2011, to run its own local web server.

Despite their social impact, these networks find it very hard to enga

Does cooperativism work?

Since 'political economy' became a subject in the 18th century, the predominant political dichotomy has been framed as labour versus capital. Marx talked about 'control of the means of production' as the essential political power that the workers needed to wrest from the capitalists. A great deal of activism and political theory continues in that vein: Gar Alpowitz work What then must we do? is all about rebuilding worker-owned coops and similar institutions.

It is my pleasure to offer you this seminal book in audio format, and my tribute to the authors. It cuts to the root of the linguistic, semantic and structural paradoxes not only of modern fiat money, but its several 'paradigm-of-liquidity' precedents; and reminds us of Keynes' genius in showing us a way towards a stable financial system.

In the complementary currency movement most of us have been so preoccupied with our software platforms that we haven't had the capacity to build apps; when apps are built, they are tightly coupled to one platform, making them difficult to share.

I just spent rather longer than I care to admit completely revamping the wikipedia article on mutual credit.

This seemed valuable to me because that idea has been the focal point of my work, and source of much inspiration, since starting this blog in 2008, and I feel it is a simple yet profound idea which is appreciated only by a few money geeks.

I've just discovered that the mailing list on my website hasn't been working, so if you receive this by mail, do have a look back at my blog!

In particular I'd like to draw your attention though to two things.

Firstly in considering how to build on my career so far, how to reduce technical dependence on me, and how the whole complementary currency movement can move forward, I wrote this analysis:
Community forge must move on from Drupal!