What is the Colour of Money? - Kudos As Currency

If our modern, corporate-controlled currency had a personality - what do you think it would be? If money was a person - what would they be like? Do you think that the "nature" of the currency we use has an influence on society? If we could change the nature of our currency, could we also change the nature of the societies using that currency? These are some of the questions I have been asking myself recently and they have lead me to some pretty surprising conclusions.

In order to identify the likely personality traits of our modern currency I'm going to look at how it is created and used, how it behaves and how it influences those who have it. Furthermore, I am going to talk about why I think the "character" of our currency is important, as well as how I think it influences our society as a whole. Make no mistake, I am not trying to claim that a £20 note has human traits, I am instead looking at the currency system itself - how money works.

The Personality of Modern Money

When money is created, it is done so out of nothing. There is no physical value attached to it; it is effectively defined by itself and has no relationship to the real world. In order for it to be created (by a loan), the demand is made that greater than the amount created is "paid-back" (via interest). If the terms of this agreement are not met, then the entity who created the money will confiscate the property bought with the money, which didn't exist until it was created.

When money moves, it does so from the hands of the people who need it most, to the people who already have it in abundance; From the people who will die without it, to
the people who have more than they could ever use in a million lifetimes of comfortable living. It abandons the very people who it promises to help and sits idle while people suffer and perish. The most productive people of the Earth are awarded the least of it and the least productive, the most of it.

The people who have money always want more and no matter how much they acquire, it is never enough. The people with the most of it will even let others physically suffer in order to hoard ever-increasing amounts of wealth, which they continue to use in self-service. People feel that their success is defined by it, that the control of it will give them the key to happiness, when all it ever brings is the want for more.

From this I feel justified in arguing that money is a psychopathic personality, viciously competitive, greedy and without empathy. It cares not for the people who need it and tells those who have it that they are unfulfilled, that they still need more - that they are not enough as they are. Modern money is the spirit of competition in spite of the consequences, it is the voice that tells you to consume and the cancer at the heart of our society.

Alternative Currencies: Idea's and Examples

Transition Towns are a concept which is part of the Permaculture Movement. Permaculture is an initiative which focuses developing a robust local economy by supporting local businesses and encouraging sustainability within the community. Trade is often supported within the community by
the use of Complementary Currencies, which can be used at local businesses for buying services and goods. Residents of the communities involved have even been known to have salaries paid in local currency, to show support for the businesses which are taking part.

Fureai Kippu is an alternative currency which is issued in Japan. The phrase itself means "Caring Relationship Ticket" and credit is earned by offering services to the elderly. These Fureai Kippu credits may be  transferred to other family members or saved for when the owner becomes sick or elderly themselves. In this way, people may work helping others within their own communities to earn Goodwill Tokens, which they can transfer to an elderly or sick friend or relative in another community. The personal connection and spirit of kindness implied by the currency transfers with the tokens - which I think is something quite beautiful.

The most interesting thing about this concept is that, when surveyed, the elderly people preferred the services of those who were paid in Fureai Kippu, over those paid in Yen. The nature of the currency as a "Goodwill Token" seems to imply a personal connection which is not conveyed by Yen. Essentially, I think the Fureai Kippu concept is a quantified version of the idea of using Kudos as a currency. But what is Kudos? Do we already have it in some form and how could we implement this in modern society?

Money Just Gets in the Way...

Kudos is a form of public esteem, it is the respect of your peers that is earned through service to others, cooperation and kindness. It is the regard with which others hold you and is the foundation of all healthy relationships; romantic, platonic or
otherwise. If you feel that a person has a lot of Kudos, then you respect them simply because you believe that they act in a way which you find admirable. It is created by the actions of people and can be traded because you are more likely to assist someone who has your respect (and gain Kudos by doing that), than you are to assist some one who does not.

In our society, material wealth has for many people become a proxy for Kudos. If you have a lot of it - an expensive house/car/wardrobe etc - you are deemed to be a success, society tells you that. People who have money feel that they can demand respect, some will give it to them based purely on the fact that they have a lot of it and some will even believe that Kudos can be bought with material gifts. Although I would contend that this is untrue because this Kudos usually disappears with the material wealth, where true Kudos has an endurance to it beyond the act of acquisition and is not "spent" in the traditional sense of the word - think about it. Do you lose esteem for someone when you help them out? What acts could cost someone Kudos?

Making a Money-Free Economy Work

"But if we take away money, what will people have to work for?" "Yeah! Won't people just get lazy or greedy anyway?" "Competition is in human nature! We can't change that!" These are the protests that I most often hear when I table the idea of A World Without Money (cue dramatic music). Challenging the status-quo is hard because the Cognitive Dissonance surrounding the subject of competition is so strong. The urge to compete and be better than another person, team or country is so ingrained at every level of the system that many people struggle to operate outside that box.

I would argue that many of the examples I am given of "natural competition" are Texas Sharp-Shooters quite short-sighted and fail to consider the wider context. Nature doesn't compete with itself on a grander scale, it finds balance as a cybernetic system and different organisms generally achieve this balance by exploiting niches within the system which allow it to live harmoniously with it's greater environment. They align themselves with the naturally existing system of their environment and thrive within it. Genes only compete to reproduce by finding new niches or better exploiting existing niches than their predecessors.

In a Kudos-based economy, we can all work together to live more harmonious lives and better use the finite resources of the earth wisely. We will need to work together because no one person has the answer to our problems, our desires and to making our dreams come true. Only together can we continue to exists, prosper and advance ourselves into a higher quality of life because in a society of competition somebody always has to lose. When we put a price on the essentials of life - food, shelter and health - the losers pay the ultimate price. Is that the world you want to live in?

Namaste,

Fanfare for The Conscious

Sources

Oxfam: Growing Inequality
OxfordDictionaries.com: Kudos
Wikipedia: Transition Towns
Wikipedia: Permaculture
Wikipedia: Complementary Currency
Wikipedia: Fureai Kippu
SimplePsychology.org: Cognitive Dissonance
YourLogicalFallacyIs.com: Texas Sharpshoter