The future is not some place we are going to, but one we are creating' The paths are not to be found

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The future is not some place we are going to,
but one we are creating. The paths are not to be
found, but made, and the activity of making them
changes both the maker and the destination. John
Schaar
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Its like a war

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"in an interdependent global economy the ethic of
co-operation matters more than ever. We are in
this together." Gordon Brown Oct 08The markets
must reflect society's values, including
"fairness, stewardship and co-operation," he said.

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Holistic v Mechanistic

• Non-linear
• Context
• Relationships and feedbacks
• Unpredictability of complex systems
• Coming into being
• Everything is a story

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EvolutionGaia TheoryDeep Ecology

• The so called struggle of life, and survival of
  the fittest, should be interpreted in the sense
  of ability to coexist and cooperate in complex
  relationships, rather than ability to kill,
  exploit, and suppress. Live and let live is a
  more powerful ecological principle than Either
  you or I. Arne Naess

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The financial system coming into being

• The Goldsmiths Story
• Money created as debt
• Fractional reserve banking

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Details of UK Money Supply 1977-2007
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The number and value of home loans are at their
lowest levels since current records began,
according to the Council of Mortgage Lenders.
The number of loans granted for house purchases
in August fell to 42,000 - some 59 lower than
the same month a year ago. The value of these
loans was 6bn, which was 63 down on August
2007.

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Public sector net borrowing hit 8.092bn in
September, up from 4.775bn in the same period a
year earlier, marking a record for the month.
The amount borrowed so far this financial year
stands at 37.6bn - the highest since records
began in 1946

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The Role of Interest

• What is interest?
• Is interest good?
• bad?
• necessary?

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Systemic Effects of Interest

• The impossible contract
• Competition
• Need for perpetual growth
• Short-termism, high resource use
• Concentration of wealth

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Concentration of Wealth through Interest
80 of the population pays twice as much as they
gain 10 gain more than twice as much as they
pay Source MargritKennedy.de
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What is Interest for an Individual?

• An expected return on money?
• To receive money only because I own money
• To receive money without doing anything
• A cost in everything we buy - waste collection
  fees 12
• - drinking water costs 38
• Source MargritKennedy.de - rent in public
  housing 77

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Banking Alternatives

• Co-operative bank and mutually owned building
  societies
• Triodos Bank and Ecology Building Society
• Micro-credit Grameen Bank and Kiva
• Direct Lending Zopa
• Credit Unions

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The Reciprocal Bank
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The Reciprocal Bank

• JAK Bank
• Cooperative members bank one share, one vote
• Annual membership fee
• Loan fee
• Very high member commitment, low defaults
• Savings points retained even if money taken out

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The Reciprocal Bank

• Responsible borrowing
• Certainty of payment plan
• Plays a meaningful role in the community
• Promoting Genuine Wealth
• Viable enterprise, minimising profits

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The Reciprocal Bank

• Education not advertisement
• Word-of-mouth marketing force
• Magazine
• Workshops and exhibitions

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Voluntary Work
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Support Saving

• People want their money to be used in better ways
• Donate points without any risk to own money

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The Reciprocal Bank can

• alleviate financial exclusion
• fund environmental projects
• educate about economy, financial system and
  interest
• encourage behaviour change towards equality and
  cooperation
• and run a fair saving and loan system without any
  need for damaging interest charges.

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• www.reciprocalbank.org
• mark_at_reciprocalbank.org
• http//www.feasta.org/forum/files/unravelling_debt
  _671.pdf
• boits_at_hotmail.com