Introduction

  It takes some audacity for a non-economist to write a
book about economics, especially if the book deals with
one of the basic yardsticks of the profession, i.e., money.
Money is the measure in which most economic concepts
are expressed. Economists use it as merchants use kilo-
grams and architects use metres. They seldom question
the way it works and why in contrast to the meters and
kilograms it is not a constant measure but varies, now,
almost daily.
  This book takes a look at how money works. It exposes
the reason for the constant change in one of our most
important measures. It explains why money not only
"makes the world go round" but also wrecks the world
in the process. The huge debt accumulated by Third World
countries, unemployment, environmental degradation, the
arms build-up and proliferation of nuclear power plants,
are related to a mechanism which keeps money in circu-
lation: interest and compound interest. This, according
to economic historian John L. King, is the "invisible
wrecking machine" in all so-called free-market economies.
  Transforming this mechanism into a more adequate
way of keeping money in circulation is not as difficult as
it may seem. While the solutions put forward in this book
have been known to some people since the beginning of
this century, the way and the time in which it is presented
offer a special opportunity for its implementation.
  The purpose of this book is not to prove anybody
wrong. It is to put something right and to open up a choice
we have which is hardly known among experts, not to
mention the public at large. However, it is far too important
to be left to experts alone to determine whether it will
be dealt with or not. The significance of this book, there-
fore, lies in its ability to explain complex issues as simply
as possible, so that everybody who uses money may un-
derstand what is at stake. Another significant difference
from other books which have dealt with this issue in the
past is that it shows how, at this particular point in time,
the change to the proposed new monetary system could
create a win-win situation for everyone. It could help to
develop, finally, a sustainable economy.
  The question remains whether we will be able to change
before the next large breakdown happens or after it has
happened. Either way it will be useful to be informed about
how to create an exchange medium which works for
everybody.