[johnmarkos]

Assuming that, as MonteQuest and others asserted here, that our monetary system and oil depletion are not compatible, what is a sound basis for currency in a world of declining energy?

Here are some alternatives to debt based currencies that people are trying today.

Ithaca Hours: time and labor based currency

Noney: art based currency

In my own brainstorm today I dreamed up . . . the Nutrion, equivalent to the amount of nutritious (and reasonably delectable) food required to sustain an individual adult human for one day. Of course, I thought of a few problems with the Nutrion, chief among them the fact that food decays over time.

So if we're not going to base our currency on debt, what will we base it on?

[Colorado-Valley]

The best I've thought of so far is kruggerands. I have no idea whether they'll be worthless of confiscated, but I've been buying a few.

We tried "valley bucks" a few years ago here in the valley. But when the coffee shop wouldn't take them, the whole thing fell apart.

[Doly]

I think our current system is based on time (or based on a system that was based on time), with the idea that the time of experts is more valuable than the time of non-experts. Scarce things are expensive because they take a long time to get.

If we want to avoid the problems of unlimited growth, we need a currency that naturally includes the limitations of nature. We could imagine a system where sustainable things are cheaper than limited resources, the faster ones to replace the cheapest. And limited resources would get more expensive the less there is left of them, tending to infinite as the amount left tends to 0.

[GD]

CV, your point about the coffee shop highlights that one of the main problems with any system of money: the confidence people have in it.
Once the confidence has gone from the national currency, these alternatives will spring up everywhere, as they tend to do in bad times (especially high unemployment).

So here's the challenge for all peak oilers who think we're in for hard times ahead. Find out all you can about alternative money systems, and think about how you could make use of them when TSHTF. Maybe you won't have to wait for TS to HTF and could get one running now.

It would be interesting to hear from anyone else posting here if they are involved in an alternative currency and what their experience with it is.

(PS I'll be posting a book review on this topic shortly).

[RonMN]

Barter! I could give somebody a handfull of grain for 3 hours use of their axe or wheelbarrow (plus the promise of returning it in the same condition). What you need Vs. what they need.

[julianj]

There's a very good FREE online book on this

By Richard Douthwaite

Called Short Circuit - tells you all about lots of alternative currencies that have been tried and how to make them work best and links to relevant websites.

It's at Feasta - Irish Ecosite

you can read my review in the Books/Media Section which has a direct link if you can't find it.

[Malthus]

Well it doesnt take a genius to figure that out. Gold and silver +palladium and platinum. they have it all scarcity, divisability, store of value, great weight to value ratio etc... Buying Krugerrands is a great idea since it takes the smallest premium over the spot ;krugerrand coins are the most numerous coins in circulation. If you dont have enough money to buy gold coins you can purchase silver 750 oz bags for a bit over 5k Forget the pinko commie cooperation currencies listed above and buy real stuff before the fiat $ reaches its intrinsic value of 0. You should diversify at least 1/3 of your assets (if you have any) in precious metals

[Malthus]

You can start here
http://www.onlygold.com/Coins/SouthAfri ... Screen.asp
http://www.nwtmintbullion.com/

[Kingcoal]

Lenin said that "grain is the best currency." After all, you can't eat the internet, gold, oil or greanbacks. If you doomers are so convinced of societal colapse, get a couple cows, some chickens and grow some grain. In such a situation, one Kruggerand might only get you one chicken.

[GD]

I've finally got the book review together and it's on this link:
Bernard Lietaer, The Future of Money:

[GD]

Not all alternative currencies are "pinko commie" stuff (I love some people's ability to equate community to communism. Community currency is a proactive way to improve quality of life where "normal" money is too scarce. No Marx/Stalin/Lenin worshipping involved).

Sustainable capitalism using a global money system:

A global trade reference currency - the Terra.
$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('', 'T')he Trade Reference Currency (TRC) TM is a new currency privately issued by the TRC Alliance, with a built-in circulation incentive that could play a significant role in getting the world out of recession. Its unit of account is the Terra. It would systematically stabilize the effects on the business cycle and re-align financial interests with long-term sustainability.

[Tyler_JC]

Your idea for the "Terra" is, perhaps, the worst idea for a currency I've heard about since a friend of mine suggested an oil-based currency.

Inflation is a healthy thing that free markets create. The price of copper goes up. People use less copper, the price goes down. If 1 Terra=1 unit of copper, what happens when copper becomes rare? What happens when we have a surplus of copper? The price won't be allowed to change. This would be like price controls in many of the Socialist countries. The government sets a fiat price for corn. If the number they pick is higher than the actual value of corn, too much corn will be produced. If the price is too low, no corn will be produced.

Economics is how the forces of supply and demand allocate scarce product and service resources. How can you allocate supply if the price doesn't rise with an increase in demand? The USSR ran into major problems with this. Should I build a wood bridge or a metal bridge? Well, what's the cost of each material? I don't know... That's probably for the best comrade, we don't have any metal or wood anyway!

Why should you force people to spend their money? They should be free to save and invest their money. Should Ryan be punished for saving money for a rainy day?? Can Lucy be punished for saving money for her child's education? How would people save up enough money to buy an expensive thing if they are taxed for saving money?!?

[GD]

I'm afraid I can't claim the idea of the terra as my own. I'm just someone who's read about it.
The terra is the brainchild of Bernard Lietaer, who's CV includes such things as setting up the Euro, being one of the world's top currency traders, a professor of finance etc... (see for yourself)

The key thing to remember is it is a trade reference currency.
It is not intended to replace completely the normal national currencies, but merely operate alongside them, in this sort of manner:

1) Global reference currency.
2) Multinational currencies.
3) National currencies
4) Local complementary currencies.

For a bit more, see my review of his book.

Let me requote this bit too:
$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('', 'T')rade Reference Currency. The Terra is backed by a standardized basket of the most important commodities as well as some standardizable services traded in the global market. Though conceptually similar to a fully backed gold standard, the Terra backing would consist not of one single commodity, but a dozen of the main international commodities, including gold. Since it is fully backed by a physical inventory of commodities, it would be a secure, very robust, and stable mechanism for international contractual and payment purposes.