Essential Knowledge for Transition: Money and Banking System

By Marco Vangelisti, originally published by Transition US

March 24, 2014

NOTE: Images in this archived article have been removed.

Image RemovedThe second in a 3-part series of teleseminars on economic transformation by Marco Vangelisti.

Money and Banking system

Currently, the money and banking systems are conflated (money is mostly created as debt by the banking system) and by their very design they demand continuous economic growth and an ever expanding level of debt (public and private). There is very little understanding in the general public about what money is, how it is created and how the banking system operates. Only a fundamental shift in the design of the monetary and banking systems will allow for a viable way of addressing increasing inequality, the mounting problem of public and private debt and make possible a shift towards a sustainable steady-state economy that works for everybody and is compatible with environmental stewardship.
 
Reference materials

Marco Vangelisti

Marco came to the US from Italy as a Fulbright scholar in mathematics and economics at the University of California in Berkeley. After a stint in the financial industry, Marco worked as visual artist on a full-time basis for 5 years and obtained a MFA focusing on the intersection between public art and ecology. He later worked for 6 years for Grantham, Mayo, Van Otterloo & Co. LLC ("GMO"), managing investment equity portfolios primarily on behalf of large foundations and endowments.

In April 2009 Marco left the finance industry and has since been instrumental in the formation and development of the Slow Money Northern California chapter where he currently leads the investor working group. Marco is currently developing Essential Knowledge for Transition– a curriculum for engaged citizens to understand the money and banking system, the economic system and the financial system and how we need to transform them.  Marco is also helping communities increase their capacity for local investing.

Tags: banking, Economics for Transition, finance, Transition movement

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