I agree with nearly all of your argument here. Where we diverge is in the false claim that people are not working to redesign money as it relates to the bioregional movement. The history of local currencies is deeply embedded in the history of bioregionalism. This is interwoven into a 40+ year flow of local experiments.
More recently, there have been communities like the SEEDS crypto money for regeneration that attempt to redesign money. They have grown toward and into bioregional thinking. Tyler Wakefield was very active in that community before he met Samantha Powers.
Also I'll just add that the real work of bioregional funding ecosystems that we do with many people around the world is completely absent from both writings that you reference to make your argument. The BioFi book was written with multiple moments of overt exclusion of our work. They knew about us and were quite intentional to exclude reference to what we were doing. In the case of the work done by David Bollier and Natasha Hulst, they simply weren't aware of our work and would like to learn more about it.
So the best practices and most advanced efforts in this realm are not part of the two writings you make your argument around.
All of this said, I agree with where you are going and see the deep work of redesigning money as fundamental. I suspect the authors you referenced would agree with this too.
I deeply appreciate your reply, Joe, and please know that (as I’ve said many times publicly) I honor and respect the work you’re doing. I’m also aware of SEEDS (was involved with them for almost two years) and other initiatives along similar lines.
What I’m trying to point towards is that, when compared to the coordination potential represented by the Market (in TIMN), the Network form emerging through Bioregionalism (in no small part due to your heroic and unwavering efforts) still has a long way to go. From a funding perspective, we still have new lenses to see through.
Specifically, I am pointing towards the window of opportunity that will open when the existing monetary system either falters or an attempt is made to reset it. It’s at that moment that we have an opportunity to step in with a coherent alternative to a top-down imposed system (Panarchy Theory). My main argument is that most (all?) bioregions are insufficiently prepared for this shock to the system to be able to take full advantage when the moment calls for deep coherence.
Anyhow, thank you for reading and replying. I continue to follow your work with interest. 💚
I switched to a green bank last year. It’s called beneficial state bank. I was surprised that a lot of small credit unions lend out their investments to big banks without the consumers consent. That’s why I went with a green bank that invests in home loans in low income communities and of course no investment in the prison industrial complex. I have been waiting for more to make the jump. I used the commons app to identify where I could make the most impact in changing and have systematically (since the election haha) aligned with entities outside of our current sick system.
Thanks for this comprehensive article. Im looking forward to more people joining us on this journey.
Dear Michael,
I agree with nearly all of your argument here. Where we diverge is in the false claim that people are not working to redesign money as it relates to the bioregional movement. The history of local currencies is deeply embedded in the history of bioregionalism. This is interwoven into a 40+ year flow of local experiments.
More recently, there have been communities like the SEEDS crypto money for regeneration that attempt to redesign money. They have grown toward and into bioregional thinking. Tyler Wakefield was very active in that community before he met Samantha Powers.
Also I'll just add that the real work of bioregional funding ecosystems that we do with many people around the world is completely absent from both writings that you reference to make your argument. The BioFi book was written with multiple moments of overt exclusion of our work. They knew about us and were quite intentional to exclude reference to what we were doing. In the case of the work done by David Bollier and Natasha Hulst, they simply weren't aware of our work and would like to learn more about it.
So the best practices and most advanced efforts in this realm are not part of the two writings you make your argument around.
All of this said, I agree with where you are going and see the deep work of redesigning money as fundamental. I suspect the authors you referenced would agree with this too.
Onward, my friend.
I deeply appreciate your reply, Joe, and please know that (as I’ve said many times publicly) I honor and respect the work you’re doing. I’m also aware of SEEDS (was involved with them for almost two years) and other initiatives along similar lines.
What I’m trying to point towards is that, when compared to the coordination potential represented by the Market (in TIMN), the Network form emerging through Bioregionalism (in no small part due to your heroic and unwavering efforts) still has a long way to go. From a funding perspective, we still have new lenses to see through.
Specifically, I am pointing towards the window of opportunity that will open when the existing monetary system either falters or an attempt is made to reset it. It’s at that moment that we have an opportunity to step in with a coherent alternative to a top-down imposed system (Panarchy Theory). My main argument is that most (all?) bioregions are insufficiently prepared for this shock to the system to be able to take full advantage when the moment calls for deep coherence.
Anyhow, thank you for reading and replying. I continue to follow your work with interest. 💚
Solidarity all the way, brother. I feel the need for this too and agree with what you are saying here.
I switched to a green bank last year. It’s called beneficial state bank. I was surprised that a lot of small credit unions lend out their investments to big banks without the consumers consent. That’s why I went with a green bank that invests in home loans in low income communities and of course no investment in the prison industrial complex. I have been waiting for more to make the jump. I used the commons app to identify where I could make the most impact in changing and have systematically (since the election haha) aligned with entities outside of our current sick system.
Thanks for this comprehensive article. Im looking forward to more people joining us on this journey.