Mankind and Money

For millennia, mankind is operating under the thumb of a construct so familiar, yet so elusive, we’ve become immune to its implications. The system of money, credit, and debt, an engineered web with roots as deep as civilization itself, was created by mankind. It’s an abstract tool for commerce. But also a meticulously designed labyrinth from which escape seems impossible.

Yet, it is privately owned and run for profit. This unperceived ‘aquarium’ within which we swim is not the free ocean we imagine, but a container that shapes our lives, our dreams, our potential, in ways we seldom question. Why is it we simply accept it as our reality or how things are done?

We have built the structure of our lives around money: based on what we can afford or wish to have.

Our money system is old. It’s like a fish tank. And what if we are the fish. We don’t see the glass walls. And think we’re free, but we’re not. Do we ever question who owns this tank? We have given our power so big banks and corporations control it for their gain. They use a tool called interest. It takes our hard work and gives it to them. And yet, we seek justice elsewhere in our lives?

The monetary system we created hasn’t changed much. It’s still unfair in its divisions. Movies and television shows project the luxurious life of the rich and powerful. And it causes a want in those who may not even know where the next meal will come from.

Money as Air

But what if we could change it? What if money was like air? We need air to live, but we don’t live for air. Money is needed to live, but we shouldn’t live for money.

Can we dream and imagine a system that values people, not coins? It shares wealth, not hoards it. A currency that helps people grow, not traps them. We can swim in open waters, not in a fish tank.

Change needs big thinking. It needs bold steps. But we can start small. We can start now. We ask ourselves: Why not make money like air—there when we need it, but not why we live?

And if you want to know how to take a first step. Faced with a crippling recession, residents of towns in the Berkshire Mountains, Massachusetts, had to get creative to keep their businesses alive. Unable to secure loans from local banks, farmers and merchants were on the brink of losing their livelihoods.

Creating A Healthy New System for Mankind

Dan, a farmer who typically relied on loans to get through the winter months, was turned down by the banks when he needed it most. A suggestion made in jest—to print his own money—turned out to be their saving grace. Dan and his wife Martha created “farm notes,” a form of currency that allowed their customers to invest directly in their farm. In the fall, customers could purchase a farm note for $9. By spring, that note would be worth $10 in produce.

Despite the unconventional approach, this initiative generated the $5,000 Dan needed, proving a successful alternative to traditional banking loans. It was not just a currency; it was a bond of trust between the farmer and the community.

In nearby Monterey, other merchants followed suit. Maynard Forex, the owner of a 211-year-old general store, and Frank Tortora, a deli owner, started issuing their own “store notes” and “deli dollars.” Customers bought these notes at a lower value, knowing they could redeem them for more worth in goods at a later date.

The merchants had the funds needed to maintain their businesses; showing a remarkable shift in community trust away from traditional financial institutions. Even a vice president of a local bank, who turned them down for loans, bought into the system.

In essence, these Massachusetts communities pioneered their own form of currency, based not on debt and interest, but on mutual support and faith. They transformed their financial crisis into an opportunity for community building, demonstrating that money can indeed be like the air we breathe: necessary, but no longer defining our existence.