Fora/Forums and Debates and Discussions
“The Single Global Currency – Common Cents for the World” at
Recent Posts
The Single Global Currency – a 22nd Solution for the world at http://www.foreignpolicy.com, the website for Foreign Policy magazine.
Related Currency-Oriented Organizations
1worldcurrency.net An online discussion of global currency issues, with moniker, "One World Currency can cure the economic downfall."
Centre
Jouffroy
The Centre Jouffroy, in France, proposes a new non-national
world currency to be called the “New Bancor”, after the
proposed name of John Maynard Keynes’ proposed single global
currency at the 1944 Bretton Woods Conference, the "Bancor".
(Efforts to reach the Centre Jouffroy by email have failed.)
Der Global See the website, in German, of Uwe Raab, a supporter of a Single Global Currency.
European Movement – Midlands UK (Trumpeter Campaign) Part of the European Movement, which has worked for U.K. integration with Europe since World War II, the Midlands group is particularly interested in the U.K. joining the Eurozone.
Guangdong Advanced Research Institute of Allwin Economics
We aim to create an Independent Global Currency, one that will not require sovereign states to abandon their own currency, but help stabilize the world economy by being a commonly accepted means of payment in international trade with little variance in value. Its value will be derived from the exchange surplus that it accumulates by being part of international trade transactions (this involves the new concept of the non-neutrality of money). This is grounded in the belief that in any global economic system with n number of economies, and thus n number of currencies, the appropriate number of currencies needed to ensure global prosperity is n+1.
Two websites by Hossan Shaltout of Toronto, www.internationaldollar.com and www.worlddollar.com, are the same, and they begin….
"International Dollar in a currency which always appreciates against all other currencies. It actually keeps its value since all other currencies lose their value. …"
Reinventing Bretton Woods Committee
The goal of the Reinventing Bretton Woods Committee is to foster consultation between governments and markets that aimed at building a stable and sound international financial system by organizing regular events that bring together market players, government officials, and members of international organizations.
SENNACIA BANKO (Bank Without Nation – in Esperanto)
From the Sennacia Banko website…..
"The Sennacia Banko (Bank Without Nation) is proud to announce the launch of Mono, the new world currency
The current currency market causes great unfairness in the world. Why should a bowl of soup cost $0.10 in one place and $10 another? This is beyond understanding for most mortals. And isn’t it impractical to exchange money when you travel?
Mono doesn’t depend on any state or any specific geographical territory. It is a world currency, which will further international business and at the same time reduce inequality between countries. Soon, when people realize the advantages of it, you will be able to use it everywhere in the world.
The DESIGN of the bank notes features the portrait of the inventor of Esperanto Ludwik Lejzer ZAMENHOF on one side, and a snail on the other. The motto “Unu Mondo, Unu Lingvo, Unu Mono” (“One World, One Language, One Currency” in Esperanto) subtly appears in the background."
The Perfect Currency urging a Single Global Currency, based on units of energy.
The Money Trap is the name of the website (www.themoneytrap.com) and the name of the book ( “The Money Trap,”) by Robert Pringle.
The website begins with this introduction…
"The world is caught in a money trap. Robert Pringle’s indepth analysis explains how the world got into the grip of global finance and how it can escape, with a growing demand for reform. This website is designed to share the thinking around Pringle’s latest book, The Money Trap, and encourage discussion and debate.
Look around. Here you can find the main themes and messages of the book (and endorsements here). These are not ersatz substitutes for the real thing – the book took more than two years to write… read more… "
“Towards a World Currency” by Peter Greenfinch.
The article begins….
The current distrust towards most currencies and a lack
of real global
monetary system bring the menace of a general monetary
collapse.
It is urgent to organize things more seriously. It seems too
early to create a full fledged World currency/World money.
But at least a
World monetary standard (the WOMOST)
managed by a World monetary institution
(the WOMOI)
with some cooperative legal traits, has to be implemented
ASAP.
United Future World Currency organization. Its home page states,
"…. A single currency becomes the premise
for an increasingly global planet. A virtual currency capable
of speaking a single, comprehensible language to foster
humankind’s innate desire to go farther, to surpass boundaries,
and move towards true principles of peace, freedom, brotherhood
and understanding beyond issues of race, political and religious
beliefs and party interests.
We are presenting the peoples of nations, governments,
institutions, intellectuals, ordinary people, pragmatists
and idealists, scholars and, above all, young people – the
real protagonists of the future – with a simple, ingenuous
yet determined long-term vision for building an ideal bridge
with tomorrow and interpreting a dream to transform into
reality.
….." See the enlarged
image of the Global Currency coin produced
by the UFWC.]
WOCU for WOrld Currency Unit, as created and administered by WOCU, Ltd, of London. It’s a "derivative currency basket" of 16 currencies and is constantly recalculated according to currency values and national GDP size.
YES2015 (with symbol for Yen, Euro and US Dollar forming "yes")
The goals of this Italy-based organization are stated in its website. To the extent that it supports a Single Global Currency, the Single Global Currency Association looks forward to working with YES2015 toward that common goal.
Blogs related to the Single Global Currency
“Tek Para” (Single Currency – in Turkish) A Blog by Celali Yilmaz of Turkey, and a member of the Advisory Board of the Single Global Currency Assn.
Related Non-Currency-oriented Organizations
The
Globalist
This web site is "For global citizens. By global citizens."
It contains much current information about the world with
separate sections for "hot topics", and "Countries
and Regions". There is a "Globalist Quiz"
each day about a current global issue.
Organized in 1993, Transparency International is the leading global non-governmental organisation devoted to combating corruption. Its mission is to create change towards a world free of corruption.
It is presented here as an example of what the Single Global Currency Association may be able to do in a short period of time.
Online currency conversion calculations
Oanda
Oanda is one of the leading traders of foreign exchange.
This site permits the conversion of 164 currencies. Date
can be specified.
Yahoo Currency Converter
Converts 162 currencies, including some precious metals and currencies of countries and territories not members of the United Nations. On current date, only.
Bank of Canada “10 Year Currency Converter”
Converts 69 currencies, but can do this as of any specific date over the past 10 years.
Convert Plus Currency Conversion for simultaneous conversion of one currency into 172 currencies, including gold and platinum. Oddly the old currencies of the eurozone are still included in the list, too. Still, it’s helpful, as you can input an amount in one currency and see the converted amounts for all the others at the same time. (This will be used to set the price for the upcoming book, "The Single Global Currency: Common Cents for the World" for which the price will initiall set as 10 euros. ) [Convert Plus can also be used to convert almost any measurement into other standard measurements such as foot-pounds into metric.]
Yahoo Discussion Group about the Single Global Currency
The summary description states: "This group seeks
to promote a universal currency that will be used by all
countries in exchange for goods and services. The group’s
objective is to discuss the role of a currency that will
ultimately replace all currencies. One that will be used
by all countries. A universal currency will ultimately remove
artificial trade barriers created by differences in exchange
rates. This will give the chance to poor countries
to trade with rich countries without bothering about foreign
exchange reserves and currency convertibility.
Rich countries do not have to worry
about acceptability of poor counties’ currencies in exchange
for goods and services. This will go a long way to promote
trade. It will lead to an increase in specialisation and
thus an increase in international trade due to concentration
on goods with comparative advantage."
International monetary systems and currencies, generally
This site has an excellent selection of sites and information about macroeconomics and the international monetary system. For a better understanding of the background to the single global currency, see the site’s section called Exchange Rates. [Note, however, that Prof. Roubini opposes a single global currency. See “A Single Global Currency? Not Any Time Soon Nor in the Long Run in Which We Are All Dead” ]
History of Global Currencies, up to the present
This is a page of the site of the Global Financial Data, Inc., and it has three sub pages: Introduction to the Global History of Currencies, Global History of Currencies Description by Country; and Global History of Currencies Excel File Containing All Countries and Codes.
The Chief Economist at Global Financial Data, Inc., is Bryan Taylor and he has written an excellent history of monetary unions, “A History of Universal Currencies”.
History of Money and Payments” from Squareup.com. A good 3-page summary, with several links to other sites. (Recommended to us by Veronica Taylor’s Social Studies class in El Paso County, Colorado, in December 2015.)
Money – Past Present and Future by Roy Davies.
This is a marvelous web site for many aspects of money. It’s maintained by Roy Davies in the U.K., whose recently deceased father, Glyn Davies, was a scholar of money. Roy’s sister, Linda Davies, writes "financial thrillers", so money is in the family’s blood. His brother, John, is a Professor of Economics at Acadia University in Nova Scotia.
International Economics Network
This site aims to be a portal for international economics, and is maintained by Jamus Jerome Lim, and has the following sections:
International Economics, International Politics, International ICT & Biotech, News & Commentary , Global Business & Finance, International Law, International , Development and Research Papers.
The Single Global Currency Assn is linked in the "Economics Resources” section of the International Finance section of International Economics.
Web Resources for International Economics and Business
maintained by Daniel Y Lee.
Other Economics Databases
Statistical Resources on the Web – Foreign and International Economics , maintained by the University of Michigan. Stats from around the world and historically.
De facto classification of exchange rate regimes (xls file)
by Eduardo Levy Yeyati and Federico Sturzenegger
This is a de facto Excel spreadsheet classification of exchange rate regimes covering 183 countries over the period 1974-2000. The methodology is described in detail in “A de facto Classification of Exchange Rate Regimes: A Methodological Note”, and discussed in the paper “Classifying Exchange Rate Regimes: Deeds vs. Words.”
The Big Mac Index from the Economist
"The Economist’s Big Mac index seeks to make exchange-rate theory more digestible. It is arguably the world’s most accurate financial indicator to be based on a fast-food item." The sites of the various surveys show the variations among nations of the cost of the Big Mac in local currency and as converted to the U.S. dollar.
Education and the Single Global Currency
Thinkquest questionnaire about Finance, including the Single Global Currency. Thinkquest is sponsored by Oracle Education Foundation.
Several questions are about the euro and common currencies, but Questions #10 and 11 are directly on point:
10. What is the greatest benefit of having a single global currency?
__ a. Greater stability
__ b. Lower cost
to manufacture and maintain
__ c. Reduces
countries’ economic independence
__ d. It would
take up less space in your wallet
11. The establishment of which multinational currency has been a
major step toward the development of a global currency?
__ Dollar
__ Pound
__ Yen
__ Euro
This site has a wealth of information about the global economy as well as currency and exchange rates.
Gold – as associated with money.
There are many in the world who are devoted to gold as a symbol of money, and as money itself. See Stephen Metcalf’s New York Times Magazine 5 June 2005 article, “Believing [and Believing and Believing] in Bullion”.
Alex Wallenwein writes a newsletter A1 Guide to Gold Investments, and has written specifically about the Single Global Currency: “A Single Global Currency? Sure, Why Not. But Only if it’s Gold and Silver Bullion!”
First Single Global Conference attendee, James Turk, is a Principal at www.goldmoney.com, an online means to buy and sell gold. See his article in his Newsletter “Free Market – Gold & Money Report”, entitled, “A Single Global Currency”.
Worldwide implementation of the Metric System.
The use of the metric system for measurements of distance,
weight and size is nearly universal. While its use
is not required for a single global currency, the reasons
for implementation are similar to those for the SGC: primarily,
ease of use and elimination of costly conversions (i.e.
exchange). See the site of the U.S.
Metric Association, as the United States is
the major country not yet using the metric system as its
primary system of measurement.
Of special interest is the page with a list of currencies which have converted from a non-decimal to a decimal system. Primarily, these are countries which formerly used the old British system, with, for example, its 20 shillings for 1 pound and 12 pence for a shilling. Ironically, the United States pioneered the use of a 10-based or decimal currency with its dollar equaling 100 cents in 1786.
Complementary money systems.
The use of a single global currency is compatible with the continued use of various types of complementary money systems. One type is called ‘corporate scrip’, such as those maintained by retailers. In Canada, the most famous is the Canadian Tire Company’s use of Canadian Tire Money with denominations similar to those of the official Canadian dollar. Frequent flier miles, maintained by most of the worlds’ airlines, are a type of complementary currency.
Bernard Lietaer’s Theory of Money (summarized on web) has an exhaustive review of the various types of complementary currency systems. The review has numerous links to other relevant sites.
In Ithaca, New York, USA, the complementary currency called Ithaca Hours was started in 1991. Each hour is valued at $10.00 U.S. and Ithaca Money is printed in denominations of two hours, one hour, one-half hours, one-quarter hour and one-eighth hour.
Ithaca Hours are among the best known of the Time Dollar currencies as originated by Edgar Cahn. Many localities have them, e.g. Maine and Mesa County, Colorado.
For information about other systems, click on Kuro5hin, which includes information about Bernard Lietaer and his book, "The Future of Money", which extensively discusses complementary money systems.
For the view that private banks should be utilized more for the creation of money, see Why Private Banks and Not Central Banks Should Issue Currency, Especially in Less Developed Countries by Lawrence White and George Selgin.
See a list of resources on Free Banking and Monetary Economics for the view that money systems should be governed more by free market principles, such as having money systems compete with ech other like other goods and services.
For an alternate view of a global banking system based upon natural wealth, see the Global Resource Bank.
The Maharishi Yogi, of the Transcendental Meditation movement, has launched what he terms a global currency, called the “Raam”. The currency is used at his Iowa facility and in a few locations around the world.
[See related BBC Story “Dutch give nod to ‘guru currency’ “]
Electronic Money Systems
Different types of e-money and cybercash are being developed. For a thorough review of such systems, see Robert Guttmann’s Cybercash. All such systems are compatible with the single global currency.
Visa
In a sense, "Visa" cards are a type of money. See an interview in "efinance insider", a "Visa" company publication with Sarah Perry; Director, Visa’s Strategic Investment Program. She was asked, if Visa could be considered "the world’s first global currency", and she replied, "When Visa was founded 25 years ago, the founders saw the world as needing a single global currency for exchange. Everything we’ve done from a global perspective has been about trying to put one piece in place after another to fulfill that global vision. That’s why the name, speedy and consistent global systems, and ATMs were developed. It has been a wonderful thing to see this come to fruition." (efinance insider, April 17, 2001)
Science Fiction
There are many Sci-Fi books which include the vision of a single global currency. When reading, remember that many of Jules Verne’s predictions came true.
The single global currency plays a role in this long-running, 11-volume science fiction saga by Tim LeHaye and Jerry Jenkins, as presented in a recent book review of the latest book in the series, Armageddon. The reviewer wrote: "Meanwhile, the rising Antichrist is Nicolae Carpathia, a handsome, urbane and lethally devious Romanian national who started his ascent to power as Secretary General of the United Nations (a longstanding object of fundamentalist wrath). Before long, Carpathia establishes himself as a global dictator and foists onto a gullible population a totalitarian, one-world government, a single global currency and a syncretic universal religion that combines Catholic-style pomp with New Age rhetoric." (The Nation, "An Empire of Their Own" by Melani McAlister, 22 September 2003)
For a review of
the latest volume of the Left Behind series,
"Glorious Awakening", see, “Armageddon:
now available in paperback” by Jacqui Goddard"
She writes, "Satan appears in the form of a Romanian
politician, Nicolae Carpathia, who becomes Secretary-General
of the United Nations, takes a foxy air stewardess as his
love interest and has his followers implanted with hi-tech
bio-chips to symbolise their loyalty. He creates a single
world government, single world currency
and single world religion, designating a rebuilt Babylon
– modern-day Baghdad – as the global headquarters."
(Sunday Scotsman News, 16 May 2004)
Blueprint
for a Prison Planet, by Nick Sandberg.
"…The ultimate goal being to bring about a single globalised marketplace, controlled by a world government, policed by a world army, financially regulated by a world bank via a single global currency, and populated by a microchipped population connected to a global computer…."
History of the Uplink World
"…In April 2007, after months of talks, the major governments of the world merged into a single International Government. The leaders of the government consisted of 2 people from each country, and although political lobbying on the parts of a majoring of the government members hindered the progress of changes, a few positive major changes were made. The currencies of the world were merged into a single global currency, which was simply known as Credits, and because everything was run by a single government, organisations like the FBI were able to operate more easily on a global scale and as a result, International crime dropped to almost non-existent levels."
"The Communauté globale has not, as of yet, established a single global currency, like Earth Prime. However, there are only three major currencies, all of which are accepted almost everywhere in the Communauté globale. Exchange rates are usually fixed, with an approximate ratio of 1:3:12 between the Occidental franc, the Russian ruble, and the Japanese yen respectively. Off world currency is usually not accepted, though most banks will happily convert legitimate off world currencies into their Communauté globale counterparts."
“European UFO Fans Devise Intergalactic Currency”
European UFO fans have devised a currency to show extraterrestrials that trade between earthlings and ETs is possible.
Kiril Kanew, who is head of the UFO watchers group Contact, says they’ve brought out an “intergalactic currency” called the galacto.
He said: “We propose that the galacto becomes the official currency in space.”
Kanew, who is also the president of the Bulgarian Foundation for the Search for Cosmic Life, says the first coins have already been circulated among ground based ET watchers.
The coins have been inscribed with the word Galactos and the year 2004.
Kanew and others believe ETs are just waiting for the world to put an end to its internal disputes before opening trade negotiations. “Just imagine you’re an extraterrestrial civilisation and you want to contact a country on earth,” said Kanew.
“That would be unimaginable, because all countries have opposing interests, and there are so many conflicts. The Galactos should give them a common currency to trade in.” (from Ananova.com, 8 June 2004)
Movies
The Omega Code was released in 1999, and starred Michael York.
"A marketing
phenomenon, the picture was released to just 300 screens
but rocketed to capture a spot on the top 10 box office
list the week that it came out, thanks to local churches
talking it up. The religious thriller, produced by the Trinity
Broadcasting Network, can truly be called a thriller of
apocalyptic proportions. Avoiding any sex, nudity and even
a single “darn,” the film, except for its gun violence,
was carefully crafted in an attempt to appeal to a family
audience.
Described as a Buddha-like figure, Chairman Stone Alexander
(Michael York) presents himself as a world savior. Responsible
for world peace and for skyrocketing stock markets due to
his revolutionary idea of a single global currency,
Chairman Alexander will, nevertheless, prove to have some
serious character flaws. As a clue to his true identity
perhaps I should mention that strange bombings, food shortages
and epidemics have recently been striking the planet…."
(Review by Steve Rhodes)
Poetry and Novels
The poem, "Politics for Peace" by Edward Graham MacFarlane of Scotland, includes the lines,
"SO THAT THERE WILL BE UNDERSTANDING EVERYWHERE.
AND A SINGLE GLOBAL CURRENCY to give easier
traded global fare.
All mankind will be much happier, Better
watered , better fed,
Supplied with global products to enchant every sort of human
head"
Money Museums
Money Museum (in Zurich)
This museum contains collections of coins and bills, primarily
from Europe.
Currency as Art
One of the results of implementing a single global currency is that there will be less diversity of design of coins and bills. Some of that effect may be ameliorated by allowing some parts of the coins and bills to vary with each country having their own designs. This is what is done currently with the euro and with quarter-dollar coins in the U.S. where each of 50 states has a customized side of the coin. For more discussion of currency as art see an article, "Bills sport nations’ selling points" by David Standish, author of "The Art of Money", where he laments the potential above-mentioned loss of diversity in design.
He wrote, "We should enjoy the diversity of the remaining world paper currencies while we can. They may be becoming obsolete. More and more financial transactions are entirely electronic.
Credit cards are taking over. There are even new ersatz currencies like airline miles. Certain South American countries are trying out “dollarizing” – eliminating their own local paper currency in favor of simply using U.S. dollars.
The euro may simply be the wave of the future. In 20 years, all the currencies of North and South America may be consolidated into the amera. And 50 years after that, there may be just one single global currency: the ‘worldo.’ "
The Single Global Currency Association is soliciting proposals for designs of the new currency. See the page in this site at Feedback on SGC Designs.
The Single Global Currency and Religion – In favor and opposed.
In Favor
“Perspective: One world, one currency” from the Bahai Community.
“Over the last few years, the monetary crises in Mexico, Brazil, Russia and Southeast Asia – to name but a few of the countries and regions whose economies have been especially hard hit – have demonstrated the fragility of the international financial system.
While some countries and regions have been relatively insulated so far from the very real economic hardship and dislocation caused by these crises, specialists in international finance have warned repeatedly of a possible domino effect, through which a deepening economic collapse in one region could spread elsewhere, if not worldwide.
Such warnings stem from the fact, now well established, that the world’s economy is today entirely integrated. While this integration offers a degree of redundancy and resiliency, it also calls for a much greater attention to the whole system – and mandates greater cooperation to ensure the economy’s proper functioning.
Government leaders, economists, business leaders and others have accordingly raised the call for some sort of reform of the global financial system. As policy makers consider the options, the long-neglected idea of establishing a world currency system deserves a thorough investigation.
In an age when international interdependence and integration are increasing on all fronts, a “uniform and universal system of currency” is one of a number of complementary measures that will help to “simplify and facilitate intercourse and understanding among the nations and races of mankind,” as Shoghi Effendi, who led the worldwide Bahá’í community from 1921 to 1957, wrote in 1936.
A single currency would in some respects be like a world language, improving communications around the globe. It would eliminate the present problems of speculation, instability and uncertainty and would provide a strong foundation for the growing world economy. It would reduce a significant cost and risk of doing business internationally.
A global currency would also be an important step in promoting economic justice in the world, removing the advantage of a few favored countries whose currency is seen as stronger or more secure and preventing the poor from being hurt by the impacts of currency fluctuations. In the long run, such a step would do much to counteract the local harm that is sometimes induced by economic globalization by putting everyone, everywhere, on a more “level” economic playing field.
The idea of a world currency is not new. Economist John Maynard Keynes proposed an “international currency union” in the 1940s. His idea was watered down at the Bretton Woods Conference by diplomats afraid of something quite so dramatic, and in its place emerged the International Monetary Fund and the World Bank. More recently The Economist, among the most orthodox of financial journals, called for a re-examination of the idea, suggesting in a 26 September 1998 article that “One world, one money” might be worth “a moment’s thought.” Certainly, a world currency would go far to solving the immediate problem of the regional currency crises.
Under the present system, over a trillion dollars changes hands each day as investors seek the best returns for the least risk. These currency movements are managed by professionals who must anticipate or protect themselves against adverse changes in exchange rates, which often leads to speculation for or against particular currencies. Governments also frequently intervene to protect their currency’s position or to seek trade advantages. The system is fundamentally unjust, inasmuch as countries whose money is held as a reserve currency receive undue economic benefits compared to less favored countries.
The instability in exchange rates between currencies creates difficulties for international trade and investment, for business planning, and for national economies, with impacts on prices and inflation. With any movement, there are not only winners and losers, but also general economic penalties. If a country opts for a fixed exchange rate, its monetary policy must defend that rate; if it chooses a managed float, it is open to speculative attacks. Central banks can intervene to defend their currency, but major currency crises today can quickly overwhelm national reserves and require emergency international assistance – assistance that in recent years has amounted to tens of billions of dollars.
The psychological dimension is important in currency crises, since much depends on the confidence investors have in a particular currency. Yet confidence is easily shaken and hard to restore. A world currency would not only eliminate the opportunity for speculation but also provide universal confidence.
In the past, various objections to a world currency have been raised, ranging from the rational to the emotional. A single currency would impose a common economic rigor on all countries and force them to face unpleasant realities. No longer could governments print money at will or ignore the fact that they cannot live forever beyond their means. Yet, in many important ways, these would obviously be positive developments.
Some argue that the best protection against international fluctuations is many more local currencies that people can manage for themselves, insulating their economies from the outside. Yet while this may apply in a world of fluctuating monies, a world currency would in fact eliminate a major source of outside impacts.
Another fear is that the abandonment of national currencies and foreign exchange markets would increase unemployment in some regions, both because some occupations would become redundant and because of the likelihood that a more open and level economic “playing field” would divert some jobs to other regions. But such transitions are occurring already – and without any underlying sense of justice that a world currency with its leveling power entails.
There are also those who fear such steps towards world unity as a further loss of control to powerful interests and distant bureaucracies. In the same vein, a national currency is a symbol of national sovereignty, and such symbols are rarely given up easily.
Yet, as shown by the launching in Europe of the Euro, a single currency for 11 countries that will by the year 2002 entirely replace the French franc, the German mark, the Italian lire and other long-established currencies, such symbols can be dispensed with when the promised benefits are strong.
A single currency must be accompanied by many other measures for integration and harmonization. It would require a strong and effective world monetary authority or central bank, working in the common interest and freed from political manipulation, to manage the world currency, regulate the money supply, and ensure adequate liquidity without inflation. The creation of such an institution would go hand in hand with the development of other mechanisms for global decision making aimed at building trust and consensus among the world’s governments.
The adoption of a world currency by itself will not solve all the world’s problems. It is one element needed to support a more just and effective world economic system, which in turn is but one facet of the world federal system necessary to accompany globalization and to achieve world unity and peace. Ultimately, technical solutions to economic problems will only work effectively if a new spirit permeates economic life and a new economic system is evolved based on the application of spiritual principles. Money itself needs to be put back in its place as a medium of exchange rather than the measure of economic performance or development. Economic values must be balanced by social and spiritual values.
A single world currency may seem like a distant goal, but the logic behind it as a solution to some of the critical problems threatening our present economic well being cannot be denied. Indeed, given the trends of global interdependence and integration, its desirability – and its ultimate inevitability – suggest that the idea should receive a thorough investigation by world leaders sooner rather than later.”
[from One Country, the Online Newsletter of the Bahai Community, Volume 10, Issue 4 / January-March 1999. This article is also reposted on the website of the University of Florida Bahai Association. See “One World, One Currency”]
Opposed
There are groups whose members believe that the single global currency is part of some religious prophecy. While there is absolutely no truth to such fantasy, there seems to be a lot of web space filled by these groups.
A sample quote: "Setting The Stage For the Prophesied Global Currency and Economy — In Revelation 13:16-17, we see that the economy of the world must have become global, with unprecedented dictatorial control, and that the money must have become cashless. Listen to the prophecy. ‘And he causeth all, both small and great, rich and poor, free and bond, to receive a mark in their right hand, or in their foreheads: And that no man might buy or sell, save he that had the mark, or the name of the beast, or the number of his name.’ "
Gary Kah, from Indiana, USA, has a religion-based view that the single global currency is part of a world-wide conspiracy:
"….In the mid 1980’s, Gary
stumbled onto some information about the United States printing
a “new currency”. After some investigation, he found that
many countries around the world had already begun issuing
new currencies similar in design. Gary discovered that this
coordinated effort was merely a stepping stone toward establishing
a single, global currency–which was to
be part of a coming one-world government."
