Category Archives: Money

Crisis of Faith in the Financial System

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Thought provoking post by Adam Richardson at Harvard Business Review on the levels of abstraction implicit in the financial system and the trust that is required from all participants for it to continue to operate.

Crisis of Faith in the Financial System:

From Bernie Madoff to derivatives to the housing bubble to dubious AAA credit ratings, we continue to find new ways to encourage people to make financial leaps of faith. Have we reached a breaking point where the abstraction has gone too far, and is too complicated for 99% of people to understand what they’re signing up for, that we must backtrack to more conventional methods? And has the level of trust in private and state financial institutions sunk so low that most people now feel there is no accountability or responsibility for the promises made, or that sound decisions will be made to guarantee “circulation forever”?

(Via HBR.org)

BEN Bicycle Empowerment Network

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Its Blog Action Day – my plug is for BEN the Bicycle Empowerment Network of Namibia.
Established by Australian Michael Linke who had previously edited Australian Cyclist, which at the time was Australia’s largest circulation cycling magazine, and ReNew, a magazine aimed at people designing, making and using solar, wind and biofuel energy devices, lowering their energy consumption and designing envirionmentally sustainable houses and businesses.

Since starting in May 2005, they have distributed more than 7,000 bicycles, 80 bicycle ambulances and 9 community-based bicycle workshops. BEN has partnered with 51 community-based organisations, mainly focused on home-based care services for people living with HIV/AIDS and orphans and vulnerable children, as well as the dissemination of information on HIV prevention.

Head over to their web page and make a donation, also check out Bicycles for Humanity.

New perspectives on money

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The May/June issue of Resurgence has arrived and it looks very interesting.

Its a special focus issue titled “The money delusion: In search of true wealth”.

It kicks with an excellent editorial from Satish Kumar which introduces the topic.

Here are a few quotes to give you a flavour of the article:

“Let us be clear. Money is not wealth. It is a delusion to think that money is wealth. True wealth is good land, healthy animals, flourishing forests, clean water, honest work, abundant creativity and human imagination”

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“For example, there is never a shortage of money for wars and weapons, but it is always in short supply for arts and education”

Its worth a read and can be found here.