Michael Linton wrote this to the Schumacher Society in 1996. He was writing to The Future of Local Currencies Conference which he was unable to attend. http://www.gmlets.u-net.com/go/focc.html

Since 1982, when he designed and developed LETSystems, the most widely used mutual credit currency system in the world, Michael has been at the leading edge of community currency (cc) development. For example, he suggested using smart cards for cc transactions in that 1996 piece.

That work is all about providing a free, open source system that enables people to contribute more to their communities than they take/receive – building common wealth.

You ask “what will change everything”? Having our own money, community currencies that circulate within the millions of networks, associations, and communities around the world, not as alternatives to existing national currencies, but in addition to normal money which comes and goes without our having any control whatsoever.

Over the last few years, he and his associates (i am one) have developed an open money platform that enables the creation of these cc as easily as creating and maintaining egroups on google/yahoo, facebook, friendfeed. Imagine a cell phone in an african village providing access to om/cc “banking” for merely the cost of the call, people managing their own accounts online.

Consider the possibilities in education. People being able to pay teachers wherever they may be in ways that aren’t possible with limited conventional moneys. Similarly music and the arts in general will flourish as never before.

I’m hoping you will explore these ideas and move the meme. http://lets.net

Many of these essays are hugely thought-provoking, thanks for bringing them to the attention of your readers. Clearly Chris Anderson’s topic is close to your personal goal of creating an education establishment, but I do wonder how with such excellent material in many of the others, how did you whittle your selection down to just 6?

Paul S

@mark, I will make sure I let you know when I get closer to starting my school.
@gordon, I think the evolution of mobile and wireless will give us the infrastructure we need.

“Where are our flying cars? My answer is clear: we haven’t developed them because we couldn’t be bothered,”.

“Never Ending Childhood” may have been unwise to talk about neotony and “evolutionary strategy”.

Sadly, “THE USE OF NUCLEAR WEAPONS AGAINST A CIVILIAN POPULATION” seems more appropriate at the moment.

Chris Anderson’s ideas excite me. There are people who want to contribute, many of whom haven’t even the self-esteem to realise they can contribute, let alone the resources. What infrastructure, and institutions and politics do we need nto connect those people?