The Potential for Community and Complementary Currencies (CCs) to Enhance Human Aspects of Economic Exchange

Abstract

This article explores the potential for Community and Complementary Currency (CC) use to enhance human aspects of economic exchange. As far back as Aristotle, social thinkers have expressed concern that the pursuit of profit for its own sake leads to the dehumanization of those participating in economic relations, a concern which was echoed in the work of foundational thinkers in the modern Social Sciences, for example Karl Marx and Max Weber. This article probes the scope of CC use to alleviate such dehumanization, situated within this broader social context of contemporary global Capitalism. Beginning with a review of the types of CCs, this paper considers the objectives and goals of CCs worldwide. Indeed, there is room for optimism that CCs may ease negative aspects of traditional financial exchange by serving those on the fringes of and/or excluded from formal economies, and without necessarily competing with public or private traditional banking institutions. The paper concludes with reflections on the key aspects of CCs aiding their successful implementation and sustainable use. Although this paper is conceptual in nature, it offers a meta-analysis from many case studies of CCs, and suggests that CCs can be an effective tool for lessening some of the harmful impacts of the dominant economic relations found in today’s globalized world.

Complementary Currencies: An Analysis of the Creation Process Based on Sustainable Local Development Principles

“…Although the advantages for the municipalities are small and the expected economic benefits are lower, the CC will create a social capital that they did not have before [77]. This makes money seem more social and moves it away from the vision of money as only a means of exchange and reserve of value [78].…”

Design of Strategies for the Implementation and Management of a Complementary Monetary System Using the SWOT-AHP Methodology

“…A CSMS, as highlighted in various investigations, seeks to set up a new social and economic infrastructure based on different values from conventional provisioning systems [74]. Complementary monetary systems have been identified, among others, as instruments that can enable multiple objectives to be achieved [35], such as defining sustainable development projects in one territory [26,51,75,76], fostering the social and solidarity economy [49], local resilience [18,43,46], social inclusion [77] and economic development [39,67].…”

“…As a result of this monetary movement, a territorial economic dynamic is generated which may lead to: new economic incentives, increased domestic demand, new business ideas, new jobs or the possibility of valuing and rewarding unpaid social reproduction work; structures and institutions are also established within which society is engaged in economic transactions. A territorial economic dynamic is created which is ultimately capable of increasing endogenous development and territorial self-reliance by providing new opportunities for the economic and social activity of that territory [27,39,[76][77][78][79].…”

“…The fact that a given complementary monetary system can only be used in a particular territory is identified in various investigations as one of its most relevant strengths [77].…”

“…O4. Contribute to greater economic equity, stability and social inclusion of the territory [28,77]. O5.…”