# Forging the Divine Economy

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> Source: Bahá'í Library Online (bahai-library.com), curated by Jonah Winters. Used by permission of the curator. Original citation: Justin Scoggin, Forging the Divine Economy, bahai-library.com.
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> 
> Forging the Divine Economy
> 
> Justin Scoggin
> 
> 2002-12
> 
> I. Introduction
> 
> Establishing a civilization that accurately reflects the basic spiritual and
> material teachings necessary for the maturing of humanity at the time of their
> revelation has been the principle occupation of all of the Founders of the
> world's great religions. However, not until the inauguration of the
> Bahá'í Faith through the Revelation of its Prophet Founder
> Bahá'u'lláh, has the goal of establishing a Divine Civilization
> as envisioned by all of the great Founders come within the possibility of
> humanity. For Bahá'u'lláh, we should readily
> recognize, has not only imbued mankind with a new and regenerating Spirit. He
> has not merely enunciated certain universal principles, or propounded a
> particular philosophy, however potent, sound and universal these may be. In
> addition to these He, as well as `Abdu'l-Bahá after Him, has, unlike the
> Dispensations of the past, clearly and specifically laid down a set of Laws,
> established definite institutions, and provided for the essentials of a Divine
> Economy. These are destined to be a pattern for future society, a supreme
> instrument for the establishment of the Most Great Peace, and the one agency
> for the unification of the world, and the proclamation of the reign of
> righteousness and justice upon the earth.[1]
> 
> It is clear, however, that the Divine Economy referred to in this passage
> utilizes the term "economy" in its broadest sense as "The fundamental purpose
> animating the Faith of God and His Religion is to safeguard the interests and
> promote the unity of the human race, and to foster the spirit of love and
> fellowship amongst men."[2] The Prophets of God
> shared their divine wisdom in order to bring forth a continuously progressing
> civilization that to a full extent would "ensure the happiness of the human
> world..." and at the same time "ensure the happiness and eternal continuance of
> the soul." These "Prophets of God have founded the laws of divine
> civilization."[3]
> 
> The laws referred to above have been principally spiritual in nature, although
> the material aspect of human life has been increasingly addressed in each
> successive established religious system. However, until the Revelation of
> Bahá'u'lláh, the world's religious systems did not include
> specific guidance about economic behavior or organization. Even here we can
> only find "certain guiding principles... on the subject of economics..." as the
> Faith of Bahá'u'lláh "is not an economic system, nor can its
> Founders be considered as having been technical economists."[4] This, we can safely assume, results from the fact that
> "religion alone can, in the last resort, bring in man's nature such a
> fundamental change as to enable him to adjust the economic relationships of
> society." It is thus to the extent that the Bahá'ís demonstrate
> spiritual maturity in their individual behavior and in their use of this
> "supreme instrument", this "one agency", that their efforts to "evolve an
> economic system which would function in full conformity with the spirit, and
> the exact provisions of the Cause on this... subject" will meet with success.[5]
> 
> The intention of this paper is to contribute towards defining certain economic
> aspects of the Divine Economy as envisioned by Bahá'u'lláh and to
> suggest specific strategies to further its establishment. I will analyze these
> economic aspects in the light of one specific approach, a community currency
> system. It is clear to the writer that Bahá'u'lláh advocates "A
> world script, a world literature, a uniform and universal system of currency,
> of weights and measures..." in order to "simplify and facilitate intercourse
> and understanding among the nations and races of mankind."[6] I propose that the Divine Economy as established by
> Bahá'u'lláh and further articulated by `Abdu'l-Bahá,
> Shoghi Effendi and the Universal House of Justice, with all of its component
> parts harmonized and in full functioning mode, which, to the best of my
> understanding would take place in the distant future, will depend upon "a
> uniform and universal system of currency" at the global level and concurrently
> functioning currencies issued and regulated at the bioregional level. The
> period of transition between the present time and the full establishment of the
> Divine Economy, must, as well, depend on parallel local currency strategies
> that counter the harmful elements of the globalization trend and foster the
> institution of certain principles identified with Bahá'u'lláh's
> Divine Economy.
> 
> II. Current Economic Situation
> 
> At this point a brief description of the nature of the general trend towards
> globalization as well as the current protagonist role of currency (money) in
> this trend will set a frame of reference for the development of the thesis of
> this paper.
> 
> General Trend towards Globalization
> 
> A trend towards globalizing the world economy initiated in July, 1944 with the
> establishment of what are now known as the Bretton Woods institutions, the
> International Bank for Reconstruction and Development (commonly known as the
> World Bank), the International Monetary Fund (IMF), and the General Agreement
> of Tariffs and Trade (GATT). The collective public purpose of these
> institutions was to "unite the world in a web of economic prosperity and
> interdependence that would preclude nations' taking up arms."[7] When the policies of these institutions took effect on a
> global scale, the system worked, though not in the way originally predicted or
> intended. Thus from the 1960's on, an "increasingly transnational
> economy began to emerge", replacing the international order set up after
> the Second World War. This new economy had three characteristic components
> that distinguished it from its predecessor, "transnational firms, the new
> international division of labour and the rise of offshore finance."[8] The collective effect of these three
> components led to the impossibility of fulfilling the public purpose of the
> Bretton Woods institutions as stated above, and created the conditions
> necessary for the covert purpose to take full effect: "to create an open world
> economy unified under U.S. leadership that would ensure unchallenged U.S.
> access to the world's markets and raw materials."[9]
> 
> During the 1960's "dollars held on deposit in non-U.S. banks and not
> repatriated, mainly to avoid the restrictions of U.S. banking law, became a
> negotiable financial instrument. These free-floating dollars, accumulating in
> huge quantities thanks to the growing American investments abroad and the
> enormous political and military expenditures of the U.S. government, became the
> foundation of an entirely uncontrolled global market, mainly in short-term
> loans." The volume of offshore finance exploded during the early 1970's, and
> ironically, "the U.S.A. was the first country to find itself at the mercy of
> these vast, multiplying floods of unattached capital that washed round the
> globe from currency to currency, looking for quick profits. Eventually all
> governments were to be its victims, since they lost control over exchange rates
> and the world money supply. By the early 1990's even joint action by leading
> central banks proved impotent."[10]
> 
> Steadily deteriorating since this time, the global financial situation has been
> a source of a generalized values crisis initiating simultaneously at the
> societal and individual levels and colliding to undermine the family unit. To
> understand this process from a Bahá'í perspective, the following
> paragraphs from "Century of Light" will be instructive: In
> the perspective of Bahá'u'lláh's teachings, the greatest danger
> of both the moral crisis and the inequities associated with globalization in
> its current form is an entrenched philosophical attitude that seeks to justify
> and excuse these failures. The overthrow of the twentieth century's
> totalitarian systems has not meant the end of ideology. On the contrary. There
> has not been a society in the history of the world, no matter how pragmatic,
> experimentalist and multiform it may have been, that did not derive its thrust
> from some foundational interpretation of reality. Such a system of thought
> reigns today virtually unchallenged across the planet, under the nominal
> designation `Western civilization'. Philosophically and politically, it
> presents itself as a kind of liberal relativism; economically and socially, as
> capitalism -- two value systems that have now so adjusted to each other and
> become so mutually reinforcing as to constitute virtually a single,
> comprehensive world-view.
> 
> Appreciation of the benefits [of globalization] -- in terms of the personal
> freedom, social prosperity and scientific progress enjoyed by a significant
> minority of the Earth's people -- cannot withhold a thinking person from
> recognizing that the system is morally and intellectually bankrupt. It has
> contributed its best to the advancement of civilization, as did all its
> predecessors, and, like them, is impotent to deal with the needs of a world
> never imagined by the eighteenth century prophets who conceived most of its
> component elements. Shoghi Effendi did not limit his attention to divine right
> monarchies, established churches or totalitarian ideologies when he posed the
> searching question: `Why should these, in a world subject to the immutable law
> of change and decay, be exempt from the deterioration that must needs overtake
> every human institution?'
> 
> Bahá'u'lláh urges those who believe in Him to `see with thine own
> eyes and not through the eyes of others', to `know of thine own knowledge and
> not through the knowledge of thy neighbour'. Tragically, what
> Bahá'ís see in present-day society is unbridled exploitation of
> the masses of humanity by greed that excuses itself as the operation of
> `impersonal market forces'. What meets their eyes everywhere is the destruction
> of moral foundations vital to humanity's future, through gross self-indulgence
> masquerading as `freedom of speech'. What they find themselves struggling
> against daily is the pressure of a dogmatic materialism, claiming to be the
> voice of `science', that seeks systematically to exclude from intellectual life
> all impulses arising from the spiritual level of human consciousness.[11]
> 
> The economic model proposed by the Bretton Woods institutions is no longer
> credible. "Even though up to recently there were theorists who believed that
> economic growth would inevitably spill over to the more marginalized groups, it
> has been amply demonstrated that this will simply not take place: during the
> last forty years the worlds Gross National Product grew by five times and in
> the same period the number of poor doubled."[12]
> 
> The moral bankruptcy of this system is further evidenced in its efforts to win
> new adherents to its precepts through large-scale deceptive propaganda.
> "Although the culture of materialism has been created by the most sophisticated
> and highly paid propagandists, it is at its core a falsified, manufactured, and
> non-consensual culture. If material acquisition were truly the dominant value
> of the human species, then surely capitalism would find it unnecessary to spend
> $450 billion a year to propagate it throughout the world. Nor would so many of
> the advertising messages and images that promote these desires be designed to
> appeal to our longing for acceptance, love, and contact with nature. Successful
> as capitalism has been in creating a mass consumer culture, the fact remains
> that its values are largely alien to our basic nature."[13]
> 
> In spite of all of the evidence to the contrary, no effort can be spared to
> understand all of the consequences of the globalizing trend, even the positive
> ones. Clearly, viewing the world as one nation, more united every day is an
> undeniable facet of modern life. This unifying trend teaches us the value of
> unity in human endeavors, whereas the increasing cries to infuse the global
> financial system with justice draws upon the deepest yearnings of mankind and
> etches upon the heart the importance of these two pillars of human society,
> unity and justice.
> 
> The Nature of Money
> 
> The principle instrument of the "impersonal market forces," so-called
> "science," and "freedom of speech" that undermine the human spirit to create a
> consumer culture is money. The purpose, use, issuance and meaning of money
> have therefore undergone a profound transformation that has allowed it to be
> used towards the construction and maintenance of the globalization process.
> Without delving too deep into the evolution of the concept of money, let it
> suffice to state that money served humanity principally as a means of exchange
> until the globalizing, and especially the speculative, process gave it new
> roles to play.
> 
> In the U.S. up until the Great Slump money was generally issued by local banks
> at rates necessary to facilitate exchange. However, as the Depression
> deepened, "...with problems caused by over-issuance and speculation,
> governments stepped in to regulate the issuing of money, creating the first
> central banks and issuing money ... by printing it, selling government bonds to
> commercial banks and the public, [and] by borrowing it from the bank at
> interest. Thus, in order to ensure an expanding money supply, money is issued
> as interest-bearing debt."[14] However, as
> the years passed, governments discovered that a particular difficulty with this
> system existed because "at any given moment in time, the total amount of debt
> in a conventional money system always exceeds the total amount of money
> available in the system. The money needed to pay the interest over these loans
> can only come from some other similar circuits, i.e. money issued by some other
> borrower. If that happens, the second borrower will not be able to earn back
> enough money to pay his debt. In order to prevent an economic stagnation, the
> money supply must be continuously expanded: there is need of a perpetual
> borrower that can never go bankrupt despite the fact that he never pays his
> debt. Since the 1950s, governments have assumed this role. In order to stay
> above this debt, economic growth must exceed the growth of debt. However, in
> reality the global economy is not catching up with the exponential growth of
> interest bearing debt."[15]
> 
> Scarcity is then a central component of the current economic system. This
> brings up several issues each of which merits attention. First, scarcity of
> money has a double effect. First, it motivates people to work harder to earn
> money out of fear of falling into poverty. This is a major source of
> deterioration of society as people are driven towards a profit motive and often
> forced to work for unsatisfying and often socially and ecologically destructive
> jobs. Second, we can see that "businesses and individuals are forced to
> compete for markets and scarce money in a futile attempt to avoid defaulting on
> their debts. The system requires that some must fail. Capital wealth becomes
> ever more concentrated in giant corporate conglomerates, which must seek higher
> returns on their investments. They are driven to expand their markets and
> dominate economies, often through government's application of military power
> and `covert operations' to assure the continued flow of low-priced raw
> materials and the availability of low-cost labor."[16]
> 
> In order to increasingly expand the money supply, currency is used as a store
> of value. "Using currency as a store of value, to generate interest or for
> expected profits at a later time means that others cannot use it as a medium of
> exchange, which works against the interests of the economy" as less
> transactions can take place causing a downturn in the economy and recession.[17] Of course, when signs of recession appear,
> more money is issued or interest rates are lowered, enabling more transactions
> to take place at the risk of rising interest rates. This give and take of the
> money supply keeps people fluctuating with the system, a perpetual
> scarcity-abundance, boom-bust uncertainty. "Providing incentives to ensure
> that the medium of exchange does not also incorporate the store of value
> function would therefore automatically dampen this boom-bust tendency of the
> current system."[18]
> 
> Giving money the function of a store of value also motivates people to search
> for short-term profits at the expense of long-term growth, creating conflicting
> moral and economic incentives. "Consider as metaphor, for example, the life of
> a tree (or any other living resource). Because of interest, the net present
> value of any income far away in the future is negligible. So, it literally pays
> to cut down a tree and put the proceeds in a savings account instead of letting
> it grow for another decade or century. Similarly, the only types of trees worth
> planting commercially are the fastest-growing varieties such as pine. (Nobody
> plants redwoods for commercial reasons.) So even when we plant trees, we are
> systematically losing biodiversity."[19]
> 
> Another way to expand the money supply is through speculation. Over the last
> five or six decades money increasingly developed into a tool for speculative
> profit until it became the dominant use for money today. "Today more than 95%
> of all currency transactions are motivated by speculation; less than 5% are for
> trades of goods and services."[20] Able to
> generate spectacular profits within increasingly short periods of time, money
> acquired a new purpose: reproduce. It searches for the scheme that will offer
> it the largest profits within the shortest amount of time, blind to real human
> needs and ecological concerns.
> 
> In this way money has become confused with wealth. "Wealth is something that
> has real value in meeting our needs and fulfilling our wants. Modern money is
> only a number on a piece of paper or an electronic trace in a computer that by
> social convention gives its holder a claim on real wealth. In our
> confusion we concentrate on the money to the neglect of those things that
> actually sustain a good life."[21] Even those
> who understand the difference between money and wealth often acquire money
> thinking it will bring real wealth, an illusion that becomes reality for
> increasingly few people.
> 
> III. Introduction to Community Currency Theory
> 
> Community currencies are reversing the trend towards globalization at the local
> level, valuing money exclusively as a means of exchange and redefining real
> wealth for spiritually, socially and ecologically healthy societies. A brief
> mention of them in the Declaration and Agenda for Action of the "We the
> Peoples" Millennium Forum was sufficient to demonstrate their potential
> strength: "Objective: To make serious commitments to restructure the global
> financial architecture based on principles of equity, transparency,
> accountability, and democracy, and to balance, with the participation of civil
> society organizations, the monetary means to favor human endeavor and ecology,
> such as an alternative time-based currency."[22] These systems arise out of a critique
> of the dominant debt-based economy, and are designed in contrast to it. The
> dominant economy is one in which money is owned by Banks, issued as debt to
> Governments, in scarce supply in order to maintain its value, and which can go
> anywhere. As this currency can circulate inside and outside national borders, a
> contradiction arises: the currency must be scarce to maintain its value on
> foreign markets, but there must be enough in the country to facilitate
> exchange. In times of economic crisis, this contradiction can reach disastrous
> proportions. Thus, community currencies can fill an important role, holding the
> domestic economy together while the national currency is being battered on
> international money markets.[23]
> 
> Briefly, community currencies are issued by local entities as a medium of
> exchange within the locality. "Their natural niche is linking unused resources
> to otherwise unmet needs," due to scarcity of money.[24] Eliminating the scarcity of money and meeting real human
> and community needs reverses the operation of the entire economic system as the
> number of financial transactions that take place no longer depends on the
> amount of money in circulation, rather the number of financial transactions
> that take place dictates the money supply. This is true because local
> currencies are meant to function parallel with the national currency to expand
> the money supply while avoiding the normal pattern of inflationary pressure.[25] As the money supply expands for local
> products and services, more financial transactions take place, creating jobs
> that use local commodities to create welfare for local residents.
> 
> For example, if a purchase of $10 takes place using only national currency,
> then 10 dollars is transferred to the seller in exchange for a product. If the
> transaction takes place using 70% dollars and 30% local currency, then $7
> dollars with $3 dollars worth of local currency are transferred to the seller,
> leaving $3 dollars to be spent on something else. This expansion of the
> economy directly benefits socially and ecologically constructive businesses and
> related initiatives as locally produced products and services can receive and
> spend the local currency, whereas foreign or at least non-local businesses that
> do not normally treat their products with the environment or local social
> circumstances in mind, will only benefit indirectly from the expansion of the
> money supply.
> 
> No interest is charged on negative balances of local currencies, although
> several economists have proposed charging interest on positive balances to
> encourage circulation. In fact, accumulating community currency only decreases
> circulation and impedes others from benefiting from the system. Without using
> money as a store of value, people will be encouraged to invest in products and
> services that create general welfare over the medium and long term eliminating
> financial speculation.
> 
> "Local currencies are issued in quantities sufficient to meet the needs of the
> users of the locality. Although there are different methods for issuing local
> and/or community currency, the idea is to have enough in circulation and supply
> as needed, with no more and no less. Otherwise, the up-and-down cycles of the
> conventional economy are merely replicated."[26] Determining the correct amount of currency ranges in
> difficulty according to the type of community currency scheme employed.
> However, even at its most difficult, the size of the economy and the personal
> contact that the administrators have with the members of the community
> facilitate this process enormously.
> 
> In addition to the multiple benefits to the financial sector, perhaps the
> greatest advantage the system offers is the creation of community as
> illustrated in the following testimony: "The majority of the local currencies
> I know about have been started for the purpose of creating employment, but
> there is a growing group of people who are starting local currencies
> specifically to create community. For example, I would feel funny calling my
> neighbor in the valley and saying, `I notice you have a lot of pears on your
> tree. Can I have them?' I would feel I needed to offer something in return. But
> if I'm going to offer scarce dollars, I might just as well go to the
> supermarket, so we end up not using the pears [or interacting]. If I have local
> currency, there's no scarcity in the medium of exchange, so buying the pears
> becomes an excuse to interact."[27]
> 
> Personal interaction reverses the monetization of the social economy, one of
> the most harmful aspects of globalization. People used to ask their neighbor
> to watch their house during a vacation whereas now some service is hired,
> situation that decreases interaction and trust among neighbors and increases
> dependency on the formal economy. A community currency - or any other for that
> matter - "is only as strong as the confidence that people have in one another
> to produce something of value," confidence that needs to be rebuilt by
> encouraging people to use their capacities to benefit the community and
> supporting initiatives that train people to meet the real human needs of their
> own community.[28] The role of a community
> currency comes into play when people arise to serve the community knowing that
> they are participating in a scheme that is equally beneficial to him or her as
> well as to the community at large.
> 
> "In designing the LETS (the first form of modern community currency), Michael
> Linton sought to disconnect the contradictory roles of conventional money as a
> store of value and a medium of exchange into separate parts. He saw money as
> `an information system for recording human effort', and saw no difference
> between money mediating an exchange, and inches mediating the length of a piece
> of wood. Using the analogy of a home builder, what if the home builder were to
> go to the Building Supply Store, only to be told that he could not have any
> wood because there were not enough inches to measure them with? If the
> materials and human resources are in place, why do we accept that there is not
> enough money to move them? Money, then is simply information and need not also
> represent a store of value at the same time."[29]
> 
> "If money is simply information, then it need never be scarce. That's not to
> say that the supply is unlimited, it is limited by various realities. However,
> it is always there when needed. The responsibility for maintaining the value of
> the money was given to the person who issued it. Thus, LETS currency is
> identified as `personal money'."[30]
> 
> "The fact that the LETS currency is always sufficient in supply, that it
> remains within the locality or community into which it is issued, that it is
> issued by the members themselves and that no interest is charged on it,
> complements perfectly what the conventional economy is lacking."[31]
> 
> Using a community currency is not a new idea, in fact they were the norm up
> until central banks were created. Stephen DeMeulenaere illustrates how crises
> were resolved time and again through the issuance of and local control over
> currencies.[32], [33],34 "During the Great Depression many cities had few
> dollars to pay employees. Therefore, some cities printed their own local
> money. City employees could spend it at local stores. Anyone who accepted the
> city's money could use it to pay taxes. The local money benefited everybody:
> city employees got paid instead of fired, local stores got more customers, city
> government got more sales tax, and taxpayers retained city services without
> paying higher taxes."
> 
> Paul Glover, Hometown Money. [35]
> 
> At present, several thousand community currency initiatives are gaining
> momentum around the world, including several in China, using a variety of
> approaches and techniques. The two most successful are similar systems that
> have been adapted to specific conditions, one in the "developed" North, and the
> other in the "developing" South. The system created in Ithaca, New York by
> Paul Glover called the Ithaca HOUR has proven to be an effective response to
> the globalization process in the United States. "They are called HOURS to
> remind us that the real source of money's value is created by people--our time,
> skills, and energy. The one HOUR to $10 equivalence is based on the average
> hourly income in Tompkins County when HOURS were developed in 1991. By
> encouraging people to think about the value of everyone's time, HOURS help
> bring equity to work."[36] In Ithaca over 400
> storefront businesses and several thousand individuals participate in the
> system which has issued approximately $10,000 worth of HOURS over the last ten
> years and generated "several million" dollars worth of trading in HOURS.
> 
> Additionally, "Ithaca HOURS are backed by thousands of goods and services
> listed in the local currency directory HOUR Town. Since the correlation between
> the HOUR supply and commodity backing is direct (food is Ithaca's largest
> category), we call HOURS real money. HOURS are also backed by labor, a measure
> of value as steady as the clock."[37]
> 
> The following quotes from participants in the system illustrate the
> power community currencies have to humanize the economy and empower people to
> create general welfare for themselves and their neighbors: "HOURS are a very
> creative social support network, a good model for preserving kindness and
> compassion in the economy. They avoid the mass business focus and remind us
> that we're serving other human beings."[38]
> "We have a growing Ithaca HOUR community. We can see and feel that we're part
> of doing this. I don't feel that way about the national economy, which is so
> dependent on centralized, impersonal government and business that we've become
> alienated. HOURS show us that we don't need somebody far away to allow us to do
> things; we have the power here."[39]
> 
> The growth of the community currency system denominated Global Barter Network
> in Argentina and several surrounding countries has caught the attention of even
> the most skeptical. As of August, 2002, the Network estimates that
> approximately 4,500 district clubs exist throughout the country in which
> approximately 2.5 million people participate regularly. In Buenos Aires alone,
> 75 new clubs opened during the first 6 months of 2002, and they calculate that
> approximately 5,000 people join their ranks each day.[40]
> 
> The system is based upon participation in weekly barter fairs in which members
> set up stands to buy and sell everything from the most essential items to cars
> and houses. Because participation requires a complete paradigm shift (they
> call it reinventing the market), members are trained to understand basic
> economic principles and to develop capacities that render them agents of
> positive change.
> 
> The rapid growth of this system has presented the founders with multiple
> challenges that are resolved through a constant learning process. Their
> experience has been amply documented which provides a useful body of literature
> for other regions passing through similar economic and moral crises.
> 
> IV. Introduction to the Divine Economy
> 
> It is evident from the previous section that adjusting certain elements of the
> current economic structure can cause significant positive change for involved
> communities. However, as we have stated previously, a basic principle
> enunciated by Bahá'u'lláh is that "religion alone can, in the
> last resort, bring in man's nature such a fundamental change as to enable him
> to adjust the economic relationships of society."[41] Comprehension of the significance and implications of
> this concept are crucial at this point in time as the world's citizens search
> for permanent solutions to the multifaceted problems that envelop all of
> humanity.
> 
> First and foremost, all of the problems that humanity suffers are essentially
> spiritual in nature. In other words, the perfect administrative and economic
> structures, either at the macro or micro level, would in time deteriorate if
> they were not based upon fundamental spiritual truths that inspire individuals
> to act selflessly. Any transformation of society and its structures must be
> accompanied by a simultaneous transformation in the individuals that make up
> this society, otherwise this process will not be complete nor will it last.
> The following quotes help illuminate this idea: The
> fundamentals of the whole economic condition are divine in nature and are
> associated with the world of the heart and spirit... Hearts must be so
> cemented together, love must become so dominant that the rich shall most
> willingly extend assistance to the poor and take steps to establish these
> economic adjustments permanently. If it is accomplished in this way, it will
> be most praiseworthy because then it will be for the sake of God and in the
> pathway of His service... Strive, therefore, to create love in the hearts in
> order that they may become glowing and radiant. When that love is shining, it
> will permeate other hearts even as this electric light illumines its
> surroundings. When the love of God is established, everything else will be
> realized. This is the true foundation of all economics... Economic questions
> are most interesting, but the power which moves, controls and attracts the
> hearts of men is the love of God.[42]
> 
> Manifest true economics to the people. Show what love is, what kindness is,
> what true severance is and generosity....[43]
> 
> It must be accomplished solely through the divine bounties and spiritual
> bestowals which have descended from God in this day for that purpose. This is
> an exigency of the times, and the divine remedy has been provided. The
> spiritual teachings of the religion of God can alone create this love, unity
> and accord in human hearts.[44]
> 
> And for a Bahá'í the ultimate issues are spiritual. The
> Cause is not a political party nor an ideology, much less an engine for
> political agitation against this or that social wrong. The process of
> transformation it has set in motion advances by inducing a fundamental change
> of consciousness, and the challenge it poses to everyone who would serve it is
> to free oneself from attachment to inherited assumptions and preferences that
> are irreconcilable with the Will of God for humanity's coming of age.
> Paradoxically, even the distress caused by prevailing conditions that violate
> one's conscience aids in this process of spiritual liberation. In the final
> analysis, such disillusionment drives a Bahá'í to confront a
> truth emphasized over and over again in the Writings of the Faith:
> 
> `He hath chosen out of the whole world the hearts of His
> servants, and made them each a seat for the revelation of His glory. Wherefore,
> sanctify them from every defilement, that the things for which they were
> created may be engraven upon them.'45
> 
> "`Love of God is the true foundation of all economics.' This may be hard for us
> to comprehend if we have been raised to think that economic activity means
> efficient selfishness. Yet it is not so. Nor is the alternative that
> complicated. We love God, therefore we love God's people. Every economic
> activity we engage in, when we are producing things, adding value to things, or
> exchanging things, creates opportunities to express love, concern, and respect
> for other people. The more this happens, the more vital the connections will
> be, and also, the more prosperous."[46],47
> 
> True religion, however, cannot be confused with religious fanaticism that
> rejects scientific interpretation of creation. Scientific discoveries are
> fundamental to human progress, and religious belief is only complete when this
> aspect of God's Revelation is incorporated. "If religion were contrary to
> logical reason then it would cease to be a religion and be merely a tradition.
> Religion and science are the two wings upon which man's intelligence can soar
> into the heights, with which the human soul can progress. It is not possible
> to fly with one wing alone! Should a man try to fly with the wing of religion
> alone he would quickly fall into the quagmire of superstition, whilst on the
> other hand, with the wing of science alone he would also make no progress, but
> fall into the despairing slough of materialism."[48]
> 
> It is for these reasons that a search for solutions to current economic crises
> is to be based upon the most advanced economic thought developed by mankind in
> light of universal spiritual principles. One of the central concepts in the
> Bahá'í Faith is the idea that the social structure of humanity is
> constantly changing and so no economic theory is always going to be right for
> the whole world. Instead, in the Bahá'í scriptures, a number of
> principles are put forward which must be the foundation upon which any specific
> economic plans are based.[49]
> 
> As stated previously, the Divine Economy is defined as the workings that "are
> destined to be a pattern for future society, a supreme instrument for the
> establishment of the Most Great Peace, and the one agency for the unification
> of the world, and the proclamation of the reign of righteousness and justice
> upon the earth."[50] Righteousness and
> justice are concepts that must be approached, understood and applied from a
> deeply spiritual perspective in order that their true significance be revealed.
> "Only those who have already recognized the supreme station of
> Bahá'u'lláh, only those whose hearts have been touched by His
> love, and have become familiar with the potency of His spirit, can adequately
> appreciate the value of this Divine Economy - His inestimable gift to
> mankind."[51] This "social code ...which must
> guide humanity's concerted efforts in establishing that all-embracing
> federation which is to signalize the advent of the Kingdom of God on this
> earth..." is essentially a commitment to fulfill the individual soul's purpose
> given to it by it's Creator. This same purpose can only be fulfilled by
> developing the civilization promised to humanity that is nothing short of the
> Kingdom of God on earth.[52]
> 
> The guidance provided in the Bahá'í Writings is complete enough
> for its foundations to be clearly understood and for it to evolve according to
> the exigencies of humanity's quest for spiritual and material fulfillment:
> Not only have they revealed all the directions required for
> the practical realization of those ideals which the Prophets of God have
> visualized, and which from time immemorial have inflamed the imagination of
> seers and poets in every age. They have also, in unequivocal and emphatic
> language, appointed those twin institutions of the House of Justice and of the
> Guardianship as their chosen Successors, destined to apply the principles,
> promulgate the laws, protect the institutions, adapt loyally and intelligently
> the Faith to the requirements of progressive society, and consummate the
> incorruptible inheritance which the Founders of the Faith have bequeathed to
> the world.[53]
> 
> V. Community Currency Theory Applied to Bahá'í Economic
> Principles
> 
> This section is dedicated to identifying the principles expressed in the
> Bahá'í Faith specifically related to economic practice and
> demonstrating ways which community currency theory can be instrumental in
> putting them into practice. Because no specific economic system is advocated
> for the development of the Divine Economy, there are benefits of community
> currency systems that fall more conveniently under the general
> Bahá'í principles than under the economic principles identified
> below. Examples of these include independent investigation of the truth,
> cultural preservation and integrity, ecological sustainability and unity in
> diversity, all central themes expressed in the Bahá'í Writings as
> fundamental to establishing the Divine Economy.
> 
> The following principles of economic thought have been identified and expressed
> according to the author's discretion as this list is in no way official or
> final. They will be identified in no particular order at the beginning of each
> section in italics. The principle shall then be elaborated through the use of
> quotes from the Bahá'í Sacred Writings and other
> Bahá'í authors and then the symbiotic relationship between the
> principle and community currency strategy shall be illustrated.
> 
> V.1 Voluntary Sharing
> 
> Willing identification of one's own needs
> combined with recognition of the
> 
> harmful effects of living with excess and the realization of the
> organic
> 
> oneness of humanity, leads to voluntary sharing and general prosperity.
> 
> This principle is embodied in three specific ways within the
> Bahá'í Faith. First, all Bahá'ís have the
> spiritual obligation to sacrifice their own money or goods as donations to the
> Bahá'í Fund. The Fund is voluntary, it is secret and the
> spiritual benefits derived from participating in the Fund depend on the level
> of sacrifice of each donation.
> 
> Second, this principle is put into action through the law of
> Huqúqu'lláh, which in Farsi means the Right of God. Although
> Huqúqu'lláh is a law for all adult Bahá'ís, its
> nature is essentially spiritual, which means that obedience to the law and
> receiving benefits from participating in it, are entirely dependant upon the
> will of the individual and his or her spiritual maturity. "The payment of
> Huqúqu'lláh is based on the calculation of the value of the
> individual's possessions. If a person has possessions equal in value to at
> least nineteen mithqals of gold,[54] it is a
> spiritual obligation to pay nineteen percent of the total amount, once only, as
> Huqúqu'lláh. Thereafter, whenever one's income, after all
> expenses have been paid, increases the value of one's possessions by the amount
> of at least nineteen mithqals of gold, one is to pay nineteen percent of this
> increase, and so on for each further increase."[55] As determining the amount of one's necessary expenses
> depends upon the spiritual maturity of each individual, the amount of
> Huqúq paid is ultimately voluntary. Huqúq is paid only to the
> highest world body of the Bahá'í Faith, which redistributes it as
> need be throughout the world towards worthy projects.
> 
> Third, local Bahá'í economies in the future will be based upon a
> village storehouse as detailed by `Abdu'l-Bahá. It is stipulated that
> any excess resources of the storehouse are to be directed to the national
> Bahá'í administrative body, which in turn directs excess
> resources to the Universal House of Justice at the international level. These
> resources are to be redirected back down to other countries or localities where
> scarcity exists.
> 
> These three provisions for raising consciousness of the harmful effects of
> living with excess, identifying one's real needs and for voluntarily sharing to
> create general welfare are based not upon a principle of equality, but rather
> upon the act of sharing itself. ...among the teachings of
> Bahá'u'lláh is voluntary sharing of one's property with others
> among mankind. This voluntary sharing is greater than equality, and consists in
> this: that man should not prefer himself to others, but rather should sacrifice
> his life and property for others. But this should not be introduced by coercion
> so that it becomes a law and man is compelled to follow it. Nay, rather should
> man voluntarily and of his own choice sacrifice his property and life for
> others, and spend willingly for the poor, just as is done in Persia among the
> Bahá'ís.[56]
> 
> Man reacheth perfection through good deeds, voluntarily performed, not through
> good deeds the doing of which was forced upon him. And sharing is a personally
> chosen righteous act: that is, the rich should extend assistance to the poor,
> they should expend their substance for the poor, but of their own free will,
> and not because the poor have gained this end by force. For the harvest of
> force is turmoil and the ruin of the social order. On the other hand voluntary
> sharing, the freely-chosen expending of one's substance, leadeth to society's
> comfort and peace. It lighteth up the world; it bestoweth honour upon
> humankind.[57]
> 
> True sharing requires purity of intention, in which one does not expect to be
> rewarded for having shared one's possessions. Rather, sharing is done for the
> sake of sharing, with the desire of bringing about general prosperity. This is
> the reward for sharing, and if any other reward is expected, the act loses
> meaning. It is this reward that this participant in the Ithaca HOURS local
> currency system refers to here, "Everybody is out to get as much as they can
> for doing as little as possible, instead of doing as much as we can and know
> we'll be rewarded for it."[58] Just as
> selfishness and hoarding are contagious, so is sharing when the benefits can be
> seen and felt on both individual and community levels.
> 
> Another participant in a Time Dollars community currency scheme describes this
> same effect in a different way: "When Vincent gives Jean a ride to the store,
> for example, he gets a credit in a computer bank that he can draw on when he
> needs help himself. At first it might sound crass - getting credit for helping
> others, which we ought to do for free. But in practice the system replicates
> the collective memory bank of small towns and stable inner-city neighborhoods,
> in which good deeds were remembered and returned in due time."[59] Although Vincent does not expect his good deed to be
> returned to him, he knows that it will have a positive effect upon the entire
> community in which he actively participates, which directly increases his own
> well-being.
> 
> In a healthy economy, money is not the dominant value, nor is it the sole or
> even dominant medium of exchange. Indeed, one of the most important indicators
> of economic health is the presence of an active economy of affection and
> reciprocity in which people do a great many useful things for one another with
> no expectation of financial gain. Such voluntary sharing creates and maintains
> the fabric of trust and mutual caring of which the social capital of any
> healthy family, community, or society is comprised.
> 
> V.2 "ye must give forth goodly and wondrous fruits..."
> 
> Engaging in a productive livelihood
> develops
> 
> individual capacities and creates general welfare.
> 
> This principle is manifested in the law for all Bahá'ís
> to engage in some occupation. Specifically, Bahá'u'lláh calls
> upon all people to engage in "what will profit you and others," because "ye
> must give forth goodly and wondrous fruits, that ye yourselves and others may
> profit therefrom." This is made a law so that "the poor may exert themselves
> and strive to earn the means of livelihood." It is encouraged that all "earn a
> livelihood by their calling" because "[t]rue reliance is for the servant to
> pursue his profession and calling in this world..."[60] Shoghi Effendi adds, "As a corollary of this principle,
> Bahá'u'lláh further states that mendacity should not only be
> discouraged but entirely wiped out from the face of society. It is the duty of
> those who are in charge of the organization of society to give every individual
> the opportunity of acquiring the necessary talent in some kind of profession,
> and also the means of utilizing such a talent, both for its own sake and for
> the sake of earning the means of his livelihood. Every individual, no matter
> how handicapped and limited he may be, is under the obligation of engaging in
> some work or profession, for work, especially when performed in the spirit of
> service, is according to Bahá'u'lláh a form of worship. It has
> not only a utilitarian purpose, but has a value in itself, because it draws us
> nearer to God, and enables us to better grasp His purpose for us in this
> world."[61]
> 
> Several points from the above paragraph can be analyzed in light of a community
> currency scheme. First, the injunction that all "must give forth goodly and
> wondrous fruits, that ye yourselves and others may profit therefrom," gives
> direction to human productive activity. The majority of jobs currently
> available in any given city or region that pay enough for one to earn a decent
> living, do not contribute towards the general welfare of the population. The
> reason behind this is that society values financial return over social return
> and forces the individual to uphold the same value in order to avoid financial
> impoverishment. This encourages idleness or unethical means of earning a
> living on one extreme, or participating in financially profitable but socially
> or ecologically destructive processes on the other. Community currency schemes
> offer the possibility to its participants of producing goods and services that
> are valued by the community because they contribute towards the general welfare
> of the community at large but are not able to afford normally with scarce
> dollars. Community currency schemes dictate purchasing power by the amount of
> transactions that take place and not by the scarcity of dollars. Thus, at
> least in the initial stages of a community currency scheme, purchasing power
> must be expanded to give people the opportunity to produce and buy what they
> really value and not only what produces the most financial return or is least
> expensive. Many success stories from community currency participants testify
> to this idea: As a tradesman I like the idea of people
> trading things we make, rather than just earning dollars and buying stuff.
> These days we're all caught up with going really fast. Trading gives more value
> to handmade, over mass-produced goods. It puts more quality and personality
> back into commerce.[62]
> 
> HOURS are cool because they reflect my own philosophy that we need to localize
> our agriculture and economy, and take responsibility for our own lives.[63]
> 
> The second point is intimately related to the first. In our current economic
> system, "those who are unable to borrow must work for those who are able to
> borrow in order to earn the money they need, to purchase the things they need
> that they cannot make themselves. This puts the working person in competition
> with others for limited amounts of money and for the collateral needed to be
> given the opportunity to borrow."[64] This
> system thus effectively ignores the fact that all human beings are inherently
> provided with productive capabilities that he or she enjoys practicing and
> which add to the general prosperity of the community. It is, therefore,
> logical that everybody should earn his or her living by exploiting these
> capabilities, by answering one's "calling". Making this possible assures a
> wide variety of products and services as well as the general felicity of people
> and a higher quality standard for these products and services as they are
> produced with natural talent and desire. By expanding purchasing power, a
> community currency scheme provides a new market for goods and services and
> "allows the participants to offer what they want, rather than being forced to
> perform work that they would prefer not to do if they had the choice. As well
> as discouraging harmful activities simply for the money, local currencies give
> their participants a safe way of trying out their new employment choices."[65]
> 
> Third, Shoghi Effendi's point that "it is the duty of those who are in charge
> of the organization of society to give every individual the opportunity of
> acquiring the necessary talent in some kind of profession, and also the means
> of utilizing such a talent, both for its own sake and for the sake of earning
> the means of his livelihood," gives direction to community management efforts.
> Given the opportunity to produce goods and services that are useful to the
> community according to one's "calling" would give "billions of workers now
> underemployed... (the possibility for finding) their creativity engaged.
> Reliance on unemployment as a tool of labor control would be overridden by
> realizing that idle labor is idle capital, as the world approached
> universal sufficiency."[66] Further, "the
> more direct relation between community currency supply and local commodity
> backing (labor) can provide stability to federal dollars. Moreover,
> supplemental local cash, targeted to small businesses and under/unemployed
> sectors, enables more local trading to take place, which expands formal
> business activity and improves creditworthiness. Community currency is a
> powerful way to bring underutilized labor and talent into local markets, which
> then feed regional and global trade."[67]
> 
> Although expanding purchasing power is a powerful tool for eliminating under /
> unemployment, community organizers must take into account the importance of
> training towards this end as well. This is particularly important in the
> initial stages of a community currency scheme as "with the Toctiuco SINTRAL
> system (Mexico) in which the range of goods and services offered is very small.
> Therefore, efforts must be made to encourage trade creation through skills
> development and capacity building. This requires a detailed social survey to
> assess these needs."[68] The experience in
> Dakar, Senegal offers further insights into this idea: As
> the system in Dakar, Senegal discovered, parallel currency systems are
> significant in their ability to identify specific education and training needs
> and meeting them within a market framework. They discovered an immediate need
> for training in skills that could be marketed, as well as general education for
> those that may not be directly marketed but could provide the foundation for
> future skills development.
> 
> The need for marketable skills development is immediately identified through
> the use of a notice board (or bulletin, newspaper) of Offers and Requests.
> Individuals willing to provide training (mentors) may be found in the Offers
> section who would benefit by having an apprentice. The trade creation effects
> of the local currency may also open up new areas for which there is no local
> expertise, requiring outside educators. If skills are imported then some
> national currency funds will be required, so a better option may be to seek out
> local expertise. Skills that cannot be directly marketed can be identified
> through the community markets. Some education, such as mathematics,
> construction, agriculture, and computer skills can be learned in productive
> activity, again providing an outlet for expected trade creation or cooperative
> development activities.
> 
> The experience in Senegal suggests that the demand for training in marketable
> and non-marketable skills is high, along with the willingness to pay for it in
> local currency. This is because training offered by private institutions is
> often too expensive for low-income people to be able to attend, and because
> they don't have time to devote entirely to study. Tying skills and basic
> education into productive activity would be very beneficial for the people in
> the community. The initiative to set up a Popular University will be of extreme
> interest in this respect.[69]
> 
> Identifying existing local capacities as well as skill needs and providing a
> means to create more capacity according to these identified needs is thus an
> integral part of any community currency scheme.
> 
> Fourth and lastly, work performed with excellence in a spirit of service is a
> form of worship and has value in and of itself. Applying this principle alone
> would cause a true revolution within the economic structure. When the spirit
> and intention of work is considered as important as the work itself, its value
> is elevated, enjoyment is taken from it and quality is the result. Providing
> the possibility and means for this attitude to develop and the avenues for its
> consequences to be both socially and financially productive would be the basis
> for a community-based, ecologically sustainable, spiritually healthy
> society.
> 
> V.3 Eliminate extreme poverty and wealth through justice.
> 
> ...poverty shall disappear, [and]
> everyone, as far as possible, according
> 
> to his rank and position, shall share in comfort and
> well-being.[70]
> 
> This issue in general is also of great concern for community currency
> theorists as the following two quotes from Paul Glover of the Ithaca HOUR
> demonstrate: More local money among the poor enables more
> national money to trickle up and down, and reduces the explosive disparity of
> wealth.[71]
> 
> Such a world could still accommodate singularly wealthy people in beautiful
> homes, proud of investments that have made everyone's life easier. But they
> would be less pressured to consume conspicuously. They and their children would
> enjoy wealth even more fundamental than their bank accounts, and be far more
> secure from social upheaval.[72]
> 
> In contrast to other suggested solutions to this problem, justice is the
> animating principle behind these laws put forward by Bahá'u'lláh,
> and not equality: The government of the countries should
> conform to the Divine Law which gives equal justice to all. This is the only
> way in which the deplorable superfluity of great wealth and miserable,
> demoralizing, degrading poverty can be abolished.
> 
> ...absolute equality is just as impossible, for absolute equality in fortunes,
> honors, commerce, agriculture, industry would end in disorderliness, in chaos,
> in disorganization of the means of existence, and in universal disappointment:
> the order of the community would be quite destroyed. Thus difficulties will
> also arise when unjustified equality is imposed. It is, therefore, preferable
> for moderation to be established by means of laws and regulations to hinder the
> constitution of the excessive fortunes of certain individuals, and to protect
> the essential needs of the masses.[73]
> 
> Justice in this context is carried out through two principle means. First, a
> definitive standard linking capital and labor, or wages and productivity, is
> required to ensure continuing participation in the activities necessary to the
> general welfare. Second, systems must be enacted that redistribute wealth
> voluntarily (as explained above) and obligatorily.
> 
> As to the first measure, Shoghi Effendi explained, "Social inequality is the
> inevitable outcome of the natural inequality of man. Human beings are different
> in ability and should, therefore, be different in their social and economic
> standing. Extremes of wealth and poverty should, however, be abolished... The
> Master (`Abdu'l-Bahá) has definitely stated that wages should be
> unequal, simply because that men are unequal in their ability and hence should
> receive wages that would correspond to their varying capacities and
> resources."[74] A definitive relationship
> between capital and labor can therefore only be established when the most
> beneficial professional livelihoods to a spiritually and ecologically
> sustainable society coincide with those which are most lucrative, or in other
> words when true contribution is adequately rewarded.
> 
> `Abdu'l-Bahá explains: The question of socialization
> is very important. It will not be solved by strikes for wages. All the
> governments of the world must be united and organize an assembly the members of
> which should be elected from the parliaments and the nobles of the nations.
> These must plan with utmost wisdom and power so that neither the capitalist
> suffer from enormous losses nor the laborers become needy. In the utmost
> moderation they should make the law; then announce to the public that the
> rights of the working people are to be strongly preserved. Also the rights of
> the capitalists are to be protected. When such a general plan is adopted by the
> will of both sides, should a strike occur, all the governments of the world
> collectively should resist it. Otherwise, the labor problem will lead to much
> destruction, especially in Europe.[75]
> 
> The general plan referred to above implies the existence of just salaries,
> which will be defined by principle. The only way this principle can be
> established is through a thorough examination of the Sacred Writings and a
> process of trial and error, based upon our understanding of the Writings. This
> trial and error process can only begin to occur when people are given the
> possibility to develop their capacities through their work, work that will be
> highly valued both by the worker and the capital owner. The more this work is
> valued, the closer the relationship between capital and labor can be
> established through cooperation and mutual understanding.
> 
> In a community currency scheme, the community members themselves (instead of
> large corporations) decide the value of such things as childcare, artisan
> skills or community organizing. In particular, this gives them the opportunity
> to reassess, for example, the value of women's work, either undervalued or
> unvalued in the larger market economy while at the same time discourage
> environmentally, socially and spiritually destructive activities.
> 
> The following quote by `Abdu'l-Bahá illustrates why reassessing the
> value of women's work will only gain importance as time passes:
> The world in the past has been ruled by force, and man has
> dominated over woman by reason of his more forceful and aggressive qualities
> both of body and mind. But the balance is already shifting; force is losing
> its dominance, and mental alertness, intuition, and the spiritual qualities of
> love and service, in which woman is strong, are gaining ascendancy. Hence the
> new age will be an age less masculine and more permeated with the feminine
> ideals, or, to speak more exactly, will be an age in which the masculine and
> feminine elements of civilization will be more evenly balanced. [76]
> 
> The second measure involves obligatory wealth redistribution. Doing this
> principally assures basic welfare for those unable to be economically
> productive and for those who have suffered disasters while it also provides
> general income tax and support for educational institutions. In the
> Bahá'í administrative system, this is carried out through a
> community storehouse as stipulated by `Abdu'l-Bahá with its seven
> specific revenues and seven expenditures as well as specific tax and
> inheritance laws.
> 
> The seven revenues for each community storehouse are the following:
> The first revenue will be that of the tenth or tithes. The
> second revenue (will be derived) from the animals. The third revenue, from the
> minerals, that is to say, every mine prospected or discovered, a third thereof
> will go to this vast storehouse. The fourth is this: whosoever dies without
> leaving any heirs all his heritage will go to the general storehouse. Fifth, if
> any treasures shall be found on the land they should be devoted to this
> storehouse.[77]
> 
> The last two revenues are to be derived from all things discovered whose owners
> cannot be found and voluntary contributions.
> 
> The tithe, or income tax, referred to above will be calculated on a sliding
> scale: From such an one a tenth will be required, because he
> has a surplus. But if his income be ten thousand dollars and his expenses one
> thousand dollars or his income twenty thousand dollars, he will have to pay as
> taxes, one-fourth. If his income be one hundred thousand dollars and his
> expenses five thousand, one-third will he have to pay because he has still a
> surplus since his expenses are five thousand and his income one hundred
> thousand. If he pays, say, thirty-five thousand dollars, in addition to the
> expenditure of five thousand he still has sixty thousand left. But if his
> expenses be ten thousand and his income two hundred thousand then he must give
> an even half because ninety thousand will be in that case the sum remaining.
> Such a scale as this will determine allotment of taxes. All the income from
> such revenues will go to this general storehouse.[78]
> 
> "Citizens will be encouraged to assume greater conscientiousness in paying
> their taxes, because they will not pay them to national institutions, as they
> do today, but directly to local bodies. Likewise, each locality will pay its
> taxes to a national institution, according to the same system which applies to
> individuals. In other words, each locality will pay its taxes, according to
> what remains of its income, after all necessary local expenses have been
> deducted. Citizens therefore will be able to see how their money is being used
> in the same locality where they live, and not -as happens today- very far from
> them. Local institutions will defray -by means of the taxes paid by their
> citizens- the following expenditures: `support of local educational
> institutions'; `supplying any deficiency in the expenses of the poor' -i.e.
> anyone whose income was not enough to cover their expenses, although they
> worked hard; `support of orphans', `of cripples and incurables', of `those
> incapacitated' (the blind the old, the deaf) or unfit for work; `general
> running expenses of the institution -salaries, etc.; and the administration of
> public safety, including the hygiene department'; local public safety; local
> public health, drainage, investments in favor of institutions which may be
> required for each local citizen to be accorded a dignified standard of life."[79]
> 
> There are additional laws with this same purpose as well. There is a series of
> laws dictating inheritance procedure that benefits the generality of the
> community and especially workers. There is also the law of Zakat that aims to
> contribute to the general welfare of the community. This law will be further
> defined in the future.[80]
> 
> Community currency theory does not contemplate laws directed towards wealth
> redistribution. However, the very nature of the system involves a natural
> obligatory wealth redistribution process. Trade creation
> involves a transaction that would not have taken place without the parallel
> currency. The economic benefits of parallel currency systems (in terms of extra
> revenues and employment) are expected to derive from this effect. Excess
> production capacity that is left idle within the present monetary system is
> employed within the parallel system: restaurants accept local currency during
> low activity hours, under and un-employed people are hired for gardening
> services, excess stock is sold at `regular' prices (parallel + conventional
> currency) in addition to other multiplier effects. These are clear cases of
> local demand creation: transactions that would not have taken place without the
> parallel currency.[81]
> 
> HOURS keep people in our community employed better than dollars that leave the
> community. Dollars that go to large corporations do not really trickle back
> down, they concentrate capital, making the rich richer and the poor poorer. We
> see America's inner cities becoming Third World countries as a result. What's
> better about HOURS is that since you can't bank them, you have to spend them to
> benefit, so you don't get that concentration of capital.[82]
> 
> This natural wealth redistribution process is not, however, comprehensive
> enough to avoid the need for the laws described above. Rather, they seem to be
> complimentary to each other and would, together with a spiritually and
> ecologically based reassessment of the value to the general community of each
> productive activity, create a solid foundation for a socially just society.
> 
> V.4
> 
> Industrial relations must be based upon
> profit-
> 
> sharing, consultative decision making processes
> 
> and a service motive for the worker-manager.
> 
> The past two centuries have witnessed a profound differentiation
> between the worker and the capitalist. Control over resources as well as
> banking policies are what distinguish the capitalist, whereas the laborer must
> conform himself to what is dictated by the capitalist. Each side is trained to
> demand respect for its rights often to the detriment of society as a whole.
> 
> This issue is addressed by the Bahá'í Writings in several
> different ways. First, `Abdu'l-Bahá asserts that the structure that
> must be given to the relationship between laborer and capitalist is to be based
> primarily upon profit-sharing as illustrated in the following quote:
> For instance, the owners of properties, mines and factories
> should share their incomes with their employees and give a fairly certain
> percentage of their products to their workingmen in order that the employees
> may receive, beside their wages, some of the general income of the factory so
> that the employee may strive with his soul in the work.
> 
> ...Also, every factory that has ten thousand shares will give two thousand
> shares of these ten thousand to its employees and will write the shares in
> their names, so that they may have them, and the rest will belong to the
> capitalists. Then at the end of the month or year whatever they may earn after
> the expenses and wages are paid, according to the number of shares, should be
> divided among both. In reality, so far great injustice has befallen the common
> people. Laws must be made because it is impossible for the laborers to be
> satisfied with the present system.
> 
> It is impossible for a country to live properly without laws. To solve this
> problem rigorous laws must be made, so that all the governments of the world
> will be the protectors thereof.[83]
> 
> Second, an inclusive, consultative decision-making process about economic
> policy is essential to defining industrial relations. It will be argued later
> in this paper that currency issue and control should be undertaken at the
> bioregional level as a certain level of democratic autonomy is crucial to
> gaining control over economic activity, but for now we will concentrate on the
> nature of the governing structure that would make these decisions.
> 
> When policies concerning currency issue and control and other related economic
> issues like laws about profit-sharing or policies about the functioning of the
> community storehouse are motivated by politics, by a desire to maintain
> economic or political power or by special interest groups, the gulf between the
> benefits society offers to the laborer and the capitalist widen. When one
> sector of society benefits at the expense of another, the entire society
> suffers as a consequence of the conflict that is inevitably generated. If,
> however, policies about currency issue and control are made by a diverse body
> of informed citizens whose only interest is the general welfare of the region,
> and the general electorate is educated to understand that criticizing these
> policies will only result in further disunion, conflict will then be avoided
> and consensus built.
> 
> The first step towards achieving this governing body is an annual election in
> which all of the people of voting age participate and in which there are no
> candidates or campaigns. Rather, people, in a prayerful attitude, secretly
> elect the nine or so people who have demonstrated capability, loyalty to the
> principles set down for the governing body, and desire to serve the general
> populace and not be served by it regardless of their age, race, education
> level, creed or gender. Regardless of whether it is composed of laborers,
> capitalists or both, each member will yield his or her personal interests to
> the interests of the whole community as dictated by the governing universal
> principles. This body will set policies and make final decisions either by
> itself or by appointing a group of experts to advise it.
> 
> Local and bioregional governing bodies that dictate policies about community
> currencies are essential elements in the establishment of the Divine Economy.
> Both the Ithaca and the Argentinian systems employ local governing models to
> regulate currency and train participants, although neither are as purely
> democratic as the one described above. Results from the functioning of these
> bodies are predictable as those affected by them feel included in the economic
> system, feel constructive, feel that their opinions are important to the
> correct functioning of the system and feel that they are important actors in
> the process of building a spiritually and ecologically healthy society. One
> member even suggests that "Control of money is more important to democracy than
> voting."[84]
> 
> Here are some other comments: If more of our wealth stays
> here to strengthen locally-owned or controlled businesses, our community as a
> whole becomes more self-reliant. And with self-reliance comes the power to
> make the decisions affecting our future, including the possibility of changing
> economic patters to build sustainability.[85]
> 
> Regular money is dehumanizing and anti-community, sending wealth to big banks.
> With HOURS, we're bound together, showing how unique our town is and supporting
> one another. The wealth of the community stays here, more wealth is controlled
> locally, and that gives us more democratic control over local issues.[86]
> 
> Lastly, when both capitalist and laborer are motivated by their desire to serve
> and better the larger community, a common goal will be set and worked towards
> in unison. In this process the role of the laborer will be highly valued and
> compensated justly, releasing all of the involved from the prejudices generated
> towards "menial" jobs.
> 
> V.5
> 
> A sustainable and healthy economic order
> rests on the organizing
> 
> principle that each human being on earth must learn to
> 
> accept responsibility for the welfare of the entire human family.
> 
> Loyalty to being a responsible world citizen takes precedence over
> other lesser loyalties for constructors of the Divine Economy. Being a world
> citizen implies being conscious of the economic and social situations of others
> throughout the world, of the causes of these situations and having an attitude
> of applying all of one's actions to their enhancement. This attitude puts
> one's own situation in perspective, allows one to appreciate opportunities and,
> most importantly, acts as a compelling motor behind empowering people to
> change.
> 
> Bahá'u'lláh and `Abdu'l-Bahá have drawn our attention to
> the spiritual unity that characterizes all of humanity by comparing it to the
> human body. Bahá'u'lláh says: Regard the
> world as the human body which, though at its creation whole and perfect, hath
> been afflicted, through various causes, with grave disorders and maladies. Not
> for one day did it gain ease, nay, its sickness waxed more severe, as it fell
> under the treatment of ignorant physicians, who gave full rein to their
> personal desires, and have erred grievously.[87]
> 
> `Abdu'l-Bahá adds: It means to consider the welfare
> of the community as one's own. It means, in brief, to regard humanity as a
> single individual.[88]
> 
> The Universal House of Justice gives us an idea of the power this principle
> has: Commitment to this revolutionizing principle will
> increasingly empower individual believers and Bahá'í institutions
> alike in awakening others to the Day of God and to the latent spiritual and
> moral capacities that can change this world into another world.[89]
> 
> And again: Humanity's crying need will not be met by a
> struggle among competing ambitions or by protest against one or another of the
> countless wrongs afflicting a desperate age. It calls, rather, for a
> fundamental change of consciousness, for a wholehearted embrace of
> Bahá'u'lláh's teaching that the time has come when each human
> being on earth must learn to accept responsibility for the welfare of the
> entire human family.[90]
> 
> The Global Barter Network stresses the importance of this principle, which they
> have denominated solidarity, through regular training sessions of the
> "prosumers". The current market economy teaches people that the underlying
> value for making decisions is personal satisfaction. This value must be
> replaced by solidarity for the community currency to function effectively. They
> call it living in "network", a market structure that promotes solidarity.
> Within a depersonalized and fragmented society, the Network
> rescues traditional values through cooperation, service and personal contact.
> This Network is an open system where everything flows freely: information,
> capacities, materials and energy. These are reorganized and adapted to each
> situation in the most optimum and flexible way. Because these elements have
> the exclusive purpose of benefiting the community, there are no hidden agendas
> or barriers to change supply or demand. The ultimate purpose of the Network
> is, on one hand, that people do not feel isolated or excluded from the system,
> and on the other, that they are less vulnerable to conflicts, changes,
> disasters...
> 
> Living in Network generates a progressive change in the quality of the economy
> when the concept of solidarity becomes more concrete. The Global Network
> proposes that living in Network with the concept of solidarity as its
> foundation is the logical evolution of the natural desire of each human being
> to serve others. Charity has left beneficence while solidarity produces social
> service which is defined as fomenting development of productive capacities that
> are spiritually and ecologically beneficial to the entire community.
> 
> We must recognize that money and material goods do not satisfy the human
> spirit. Human needs are the same independently of the place and of the stage
> of scientific evolution of the culture.
> 
> Our current crisis is caused by losing our sense of community and by losing
> contact with the earth. Contact with these elements generates a sense of
> simplicity and of what is natural, sense that is contradicted by the models of
> accumulation at the root of the current formal economy. Introducing the
> concept of Network (solidarity) into the various aspects of our lives like
> politics, production, economy and science gives them a human orientation, which
> means they work together towards a common goal and not separately for their own
> interest.[91]
> 
> Constructing this Network offers us the opportunity to identify universal
> principles that serve as a foundation to put into action our natural
> inclination towards solidarity, which we use as a guiding light to recreate or
> reinvent the economy so that it encourages the maximum use of human productive
> capacities towards the general well being of the community. "This economy
> promotes the joy of sharing, the joy of quality and not quantity, and the joy
> of relating to one another instead of possession. This new economy is a
> creative process."[92]
> 
> Although the Ithaca HOUR participants do not receive specific training on the
> meaning of solidarity and how to apply it to their daily lives, they have
> gained awareness of the functioning of the global market system and the
> responsibilities they have towards it through participation in the HOUR system.
> HOURS are a very creative social support network, a good
> model for preserving kindness and compassion in the economy. They avoid the
> mass business focus and remind us that we're serving other human beings.[93]
> 
> I've become aware of global economic order, and the need to foster the sense of
> community that's lacking in our country.[94]
> 
> One of the most important benefits of participating in an economy that is based
> upon solidarity is becoming aware of the consequences involved in buying
> certain products and services. Informed consumers buy only what is beneficial
> spiritually and ecologically to the bioregion where it was fabricated and where
> it will be consumed. This is especially possible when people consume local
> products made by cottage industries that also value what is beneficial to the
> community in the long term, a practice that is encouraged by the use of
> community currencies. Consuming local products significantly raises the
> possibility that the consumer is informed of the nature and origin of the
> product. This "information, its accuracy and flow, is a critical determinant
> of market efficiency. Therefore the quality of information we use to make our
> decisions directly affects the ability of the market to meet society's
> collective material needs."[95]
> Barbara sells and repairs shoes. She's spent HOURS for gifts
> and advertisements. `This is really starting to take off. I wouldn't have
> bought gifts where I did, except that I had HOURS. This money makes everybody
> more aware of what's available in the community. So it helps community
> development by keeping money local.[96]
> 
> I enjoy barter. HOURS cause people to consider whether they could get
> something locally, and we need as much action as we can get locally, to
> produce jobs and economic vitality.[97]
> 
> Another benefit that comes from living in solidarity as defined in the
> Bahá'í Writings is that the principles that guide one's life will
> be universal in nature, and the actions that result from practicing these
> principles are the definition of morality. The advantages of raising the moral
> standards of society are enormous, both spiritually and materially. According
> to Bryan Graham, "the close relationship between the material and spiritual
> worlds suggests that there are significant material gains to improvements in
> the moral fabric of society; reciprocally, moral decadence is costly."
> 
> The Baháí Faith and economics: a review and synthesis Bryan Graham. https://bahai-library.com/articles/#N_1_[98]
> 
> As things stand today, "money has no heart, no soul, no conscience, no
> homeland. It knows only profit." It's time for money to have a home, and a
> heart. Money must be an instrument in the building of the Divine Economy
> otherwise it is useless. Therefore, the money that is used must reflect the
> true nature of man and of creation, it must have a soul, it must be created to
> encourage generosity, kindness, satisfaction of needs and above all solidarity
> with all of humankind. A community currency is an important step towards
> achieving this goal.
> 
> V.6
> 
> "economic barriers and restrictions will
> be completely abolished..."
> 
> Bahá'u'lláh envisioned the evolution of mankind leading
> to the creation of "a world community in which all economic barriers will have
> been permanently demolished..."[99] This
> community is called a Commonwealth of nations and, as further explained below,
> will have an international executive, a world parliament, and a supreme
> tribunal that will regulate the economic, political and social state of affairs
> throughout the world for the benefit of every human being.
> 
> An apparent contradiction arises when comparing this principle to
> anti-globalization policies that advocate the Tobin and other taxes on the
> movement of capital. Because the current economic order permits extreme
> poverty and undignified wages to exist, limiting the movement of capital would
> be a justifiable step towards amending these wrongs. Further, "conventional
> money has unlimited mobility. It can go anywhere, and it goes to where it can
> earn the greatest return of profit. This interferes with the ability of a
> currency within a specific area to function with enough money in circulation.
> As stated previously, if the currency of an area does not have enough in
> reserves to offset the fluctuations in liquidity, then the currency may
> devalue, causing a recession."[100] Thus the
> nature of money within the current economic order including its ability to
> multiply passing through exchange rates, its natural movement towards the
> greatest profit and its ability to multiply through interest by being stored,
> justifies limiting the mobility of currency so that it stays local to fulfill
> its function as a unit of exchange.
> 
> However, it is understood that this principle would come into effect only when
> wages and capital have been definitely linked by law, when voluntary and
> obligatory wealth redistribution measures have been set in motion and when
> money is defined as information that exclusively functions as a unit of
> exchange.
> 
> Even under these circumstances, money, defined as a unit of exchange, is
> optimally regulated at the bioregional level, which implies that currencies
> should be issued and managed within this restricted area. This restrictive
> nature of bioregional currencies does not exclude the existence of a
> supranational, world-embracing currency backed by the strength of thousands of
> bioregional currencies. Eliminating exchange rates and strengthening
> bioregional economies to be as self-regulating and self-sufficient as possible
> would permit the demolition of all economic barriers, releasing the flow of
> this supranational currency from any restriction.
> 
> V.7
> 
> The foundation of society and its economy
> must rest
> 
> upon the peasant class and the farmer as their
> 
> contribution to society is greatest among all livelihoods.
> 
> In one of His Tablets, Bahá'u'lláh listed and explained
> the "fundamental principles for the administration of the affairs of men."[101] Among these principles, He mentions:
> "special regard must be paid to agriculture. Although it hath been mentioned in
> the fifth place, unquestionably it precedeth the others."[102]
> 
> In a variety of Writings, `Abdu'l-Bahá confirms that the foundation of a
> healthy society is agriculture: To solve this problem we
> must begin with the farmer; there will we lay a foundation for system and order
> because the peasant class and the agricultural class exceed other classes in
> the importance of their service.
> 
> The question of economics must commence with the farmer and then be extended to
> the other classes... ...it is fitting that the economic problem be first solved
> with the farmer, for the farmer is the first active agent in the body
> politic.[103]
> 
> `Abdu'l-Bahá even likens the Kingdom of God itself to a farmer:
> The Kingdom of God is like unto a farmer who comes into
> possession of a piece of pure and virgin soil. Heavenly seeds are scattered
> therein, the clouds of divine providence pour down and the rays of the Sun of
> Reality shine forth.[104]
> 
> The farmer and his work have only lost value in the current economic order.
> Even large-scale farming is too often seen as antiquated, boring and reserved
> for poor people. Farmers and their children migrate to cities looking for
> better opportunities to integrate themselves in the current economic order.
> 
> The world market encourages profit above all other motives, which rewards
> increasing specialization in certain exportable products. In search of money,
> corporations acquire traditional small farmland and plant non-edible,
> monoculture export goods and hire the former owners of the land as peasant
> workers for unsuitable wages. Farmers must then depend upon these wages to pay
> for food they used to grow creating a dangerous dependency upon money. In this
> way farmers lose their livelihood, farming loses its meaning as a necessary
> benefit for the community, local economies become dependant upon the world
> economy for foreign currency, communities lose their biodiversity and become
> increasingly dependant upon unnatural agents to maintain or raise productivity
> and quality levels.
> 
> The following quote illustrates the importance of striking a balance between
> specializing in certain productive areas and building diverse capacities for
> healthy agricultural and stewardship practices: A degree of
> specialization is beneficial and community currency systems do not pretend to
> make communities entirely self-sufficient: products which demand a high degree
> of specialization and in which scale advantages play an important role are
> simply not traded within the parallel system. New computers, cars, and other
> highly specialized products consist of so many specialized elements that they
> cannot possibly be developed and produced at the level of a community unless
> all the various factors of production are in place at a cost which is
> competitive with other sources.
> 
> As said earlier, parallel currencies are not intended as an alternative to the
> national currency. However as a result of specialization, communities have lost
> a great deal of their skills diversity, making them more vulnerable to outside
> shocks. If skills in such essential areas as agriculture, housing and clothing
> are lost because many people specialize in tasks that are only of value in the
> world market, the community degrades from an economically productive unity into
> a subsidized collection of individual households that have no viability on
> their own. A new balance has to be found between the dependence on outside
> markets and self-reliance at community level. It is easy to lose a skill; it is
> much more difficult to acquire one. Parallel systems can help to employ and
> retain skills within the community, thus contributing to their very right of
> existence.[105]
> 
> This issue gains importance given that "three-quarters of the world's poorest
> people live in rural areas. [Thus], pro-poor growth means raising agricultural
> production and income. This is achieved by creating an environment for
> small-scale agriculture, microenterprise and the informal sector, which in turn
> generates economic activity, employment and the meeting of basic needs."[106]
> 
> For all of these reasons, and because agriculture is in itself the most noble
> and useful skill, creating and supporting small-scale farms that provide a
> living wage for the farmer gains considerable importance. Paul Glover asserts
> that "creating fresh clean food for local sale, while enriching the soil, is
> the most essential work being done hereabouts. Without these farms, and their
> expanding regional market, future generations of Ithacans will be hungrier, and
> less healthy. All other work is important, but less fundamental."[107] Neal sells organic
> food at the Farmer's market and has spent HOURS for many needs. As a farmer,
> he believes HOURS help support local agriculture. `Every community needs to
> grow as much local food as possible. It's absurd when more calories are used
> to transport food than the food contains.'[108]
> 
> It is key to this discussion that small-scale, organic agricultural activity is
> compensated adequately through the use of a community currency. "The many
> Ithacans who earn below $6.00 per hour can't afford local organic food. We're
> forced to buy poisoned food from California and Mexico. When we earn an HOUR
> per hour, which can only be spent locally, we can afford local organic food.
> Thus HOURS expand the market for locally-grown."[109] This fact alone is sufficient foundation for the
> functioning of a community currency scheme as the source of spiritual,
> ecological and economic health depends upon the well-being of the farmer and
> local farms.
> 
> V.8
> 
> A proper equilibrium must be found
> between globalization
> 
> and decentralization, between cooperation and competition,
> 
> so that basic market principles are allowed to function in
> 
> a way that permit both the spiritual and material faculties of
> 
> man to be expressed in benefit of every human being.
> 
> It is perhaps striking to note that the economic, political and social
> balance advocated in the Bahá'í Writings to create healthy
> societies both at the local and global level is exactly the balance that the
> world is inadvertently searching for through the globalization process.
> Harmonizing unity on the one hand and justice on the other will characterize
> the next century of human activity as the following quote from Century of Light
> so eloquently illustrates: Globalization itself is an
> intrinsic feature of the evolution of human society. It has brought into
> existence a socio-economic culture that, at the practical level, constitutes
> the world in which the aspirations of the human race will be pursued in the
> century now opening. No objective observer, if he is fair-minded in his
> judgment, will deny that both of the two contradictory reactions it is arousing
> are, in large measure, well justified. The unification of human society, forged
> by the fires of the twentieth century, is a reality that with every passing day
> opens breath-taking new possibilities. A reality also being forced on serious
> minds everywhere, is the claim of justice to be the one means capable of
> harnessing these great potentialities to the advancement of civilization. It no
> longer requires the gift of prophecy to realize that the fate of humanity in
> the century now opening will be determined by the relationship established
> between these two fundamental forces of the historical process, the inseparable
> principles of unity and justice.[110]
> 
> Economic and social justice implies increasing regional autonomy to control
> resources and maintain the wealth generated there and at the same time it
> implies equilibrium of the satisfaction of interests among regions in the
> spirit of solidarity at national and global levels. The importance of the
> principle of unity in diversity in this context cannot be overstated as it will
> be the light that guides humanity to find the harmony it needs between unity
> and justice. Paul Glover illustrates this concept by asserting that the
> "health of the macro-economy depends ultimately on the vigor of city and
> village economies, just as healthy lungs depend on tiny air sacs."[111]
> 
> The subject of regional economies must be handled with the utmost caution. If
> the tiny air sacs in the example above are healthy, the entire respiratory
> system can function normally. In the same way, the most stable and fundamental
> level to issue and manage currency is at the bioregion. First, I will define
> the term bioregion and then explain why this level of administration is the
> most appropriate for currency regulation and how this could function
> concurrently with a world currency.
> 
> Quoting a dictionary, a bioregion is "An area constituting a natural ecological
> community with characteristic flora, fauna, and environmental conditions and
> bounded by natural rather than artificial borders."[112]
> 
> It is worthy to note that as of January 2001, the Universal House of Justice
> (the supreme administrative body of the Bahá'í Faith) began a
> process of defining manageable administrative areas denominated clusters into
> which the entire world would soon be partitioned that closely resemble the
> above-mentioned definition of bioregion. The Universal House of Justice
> facilitated this process by indicating to the Bahá'í world that
> "Among the factors that determine the boundaries of a cluster are culture,
> language, patterns of transport, infrastructure, and the social and economic
> life of the inhabitants." Thus, instead of focusing entirely on natural
> geographic boundaries, clusters were defined by social patterns that naturally
> identify a cultural group.
> 
> These clusters into which a region divides will fall into various categories of
> development defined by specific criteria. The national administrative body is
> to "identify patterns of growth on the regional and local level which can be
> systematized and used in other regions," so that it can "Launch plans of
> systematic growth in region after region." "Programs initiated in such areas
> should aim at fostering sustainable growth by building the necessary capacity
> at the levels of the individual, the institution, and the community. ...
> Success will depend on the manner in which lines of action are integrated and
> on the attitude of learning that is adopted."
> 
> "Throughout the endeavor, periodic meetings of consultation in the area need to
> reflect on issues, consider adjustments, and maintain enthusiasm and unity of
> thought. The best approach is to formulate plans for a few months at a time,
> beginning with one or two lines of action and gradually growing in
> complexity."[113]
> 
> Among the multiple advantages this model of administration and growth offers is
> the social cohesion that provides a natural forum to observe and monitor
> economic activity. Every region has its own distinct
> character that makes it different in very critical ways from other bioregions.
> It has its own resources, both natural and human, particular to the kind of
> land there and the people who live on it. Therefore each bioregion has its own
> unique productive capacity. Since the creation of money, in order to avoid
> inflation or deflation, should increase or decrease with the amount of
> production at any time, it is essential that the supply is created at the local
> or regional level by institutions which are focused on their own regions.[114]
> 
> The self-regulating possibilities this model offers provide significant
> advantages: A very significant part of any region's economy
> is governed by a monetary and banking system over which members of a community
> have little or no control. The dependency on national currencies actually
> deprives regions of a very useful self-regulating tool and allows stagnant
> economic pockets to go unaided in a seemingly prosperous nation. What we
> propose instead is the establishment of a system with community
> accountability.[115]
> 
> Communities and banks in the past had this advantage. How
> were these banks different from banks today? Because they were located in small
> towns, the bankers knew the people they were dealing with in a personal way and
> could make loans on the basis of "character," not strictly on the basis of how
> much collateral an individual had to secure the loan. A more striking
> difference is that each bank could issue a local scrip. Unlike a national
> currency, which easily leaves the region in which its value is created, the
> local currency could circulate only in a limited regional area; local
> currencies and local capital could not travel to the money centers to finance
> the operations of multinational corporations or interest payments on debt.
> Credit decisions were made by local bankers with particular personal
> knowledge not only of the borrowers but also of the needs of the region as a
> whole.[116]
> 
> Just like a nation, a region which does not produce enough of the goods it
> consumes, comes to rely heavily on imports and finds that its currency is
> devalued. Import costs increase, the exchange of goods is reduced, and the
> region has to `borrow,' which means that it exports its capital - dollars, not
> goods - and ends up importing nearly everything it needs. But if the region is
> supplying its own needs, then its currency `hardens' and holds its value
> relative to other currencies. Imports are cheaper, and trade is more equitable
> - or even skewed in favor of the self-reliant or `import-replacing' region.[117]
> 
> Local currencies can play a vital role in the development of stable,
> diversified regional economies, giving definition and identity to regions,
> encouraging face-to-face transactions between neighbors, and helping to
> revitalize local cultures. A local currency is not simply an economic tool; it
> is also a cultural tool. [118]
> 
> E. F. Schumacher argued in Small is Beautiful: Economics as if People
> Mattered that from a truly economic point of view the most rational way to
> produce is "from local resources, for local needs." Jane Jacobs, one of today's
> foremost scholars on regional economies, emphasizes Schumacher's point through
> her analysis of a healthy region as one creating "import-replacing" industries
> on a continuing basis. A well-developed regional economy which produces for its
> own needs is possible only when control of its resources and finances lies
> within the region itself. At present, the ownership of land, natural resources,
> and industry and the determination of conditions for receiving credit have
> become increasingly centralized at the national level. Now all but a few large
> urban areas find that their economic resources are controlled from outside the
> area.
> 
> The banking system is one of the most centralized institutions of our economy
> and one of the major obstacles to strengthening regional economies and the
> communities within them.[119]
> 
> A planet of such communities, linked by national and supranational currencies
> which are themselves backed by hundreds of thousands of local currencies (whose
> integrity is credentialed), will likelier maintain stable, well-fed
> populations.[120]
> 
> The necessity of the "uniform and universal system of currency" advocated by
> Bahá'u'lláh must now be determined. "The need to promote the
> adoption of a global currency as a vital element in the integration of the
> global economy is self-evident. Among other benefits, economists believe that a
> single currency will curb unproductive speculation and unpredictable market
> swings, promote a leveling of incomes and prices worldwide, and thereby result
> in significant savings."[121] This currency
> could conceivably be electronic in nature. In fact, a somewhat popular and
> effective local currency system called LETS could very well be transformed into
> a world-wide system of currency. In a LETS system, all accounts start at zero,
> so that when one person buys a good or service from another, the buyer's
> account decreases by the same amount credited to the seller's account. All
> transactions depend upon both the buyer and the seller reporting the
> transaction which is recorded in electronic form in a central computer system.
> Thus the bioregional currencies would be hard currencies to facilitate
> exchange, and well managed to give strength to the world currency.
> 
> In this way, capital would be free to flow. However, because the consumer
> would pay the entirety of production costs, there would be tremendous material
> advantages gained by buying environmentally and socially sound, locally
> produced goods and services. Externalizing production costs in the name of
> maximum financial profit is possibly the most destructive characteristic of the
> globalization process, and an element that the transition period towards
> establishing the Divine Economy should no longer tolerate. Thus if money is
> going to continue to be the standard with which value is measured, then money
> must reflect factual ecological and social consequences of production,
> consumption and disposal.
> 
> The economic system advocated in this essay bears no relation with any specific
> ideology that has been or is still practiced. There are certain elements of
> different systems that are useful even if the entirety of that system fails to
> achieve its purpose. "It is important to analytically separate, for example,
> the "concept of a `market system' from that of a `consumer society.' Capitalism
> is necessarily a system where the market is the principal allocative mechanism.
> It does not follow, however, that consumerism is an inevitable by-product of
> the capitalist system."
> 
> Bryan Graham, The Bahá'í Faith and economics: a review and synthesis. https://bahai-library.com/articles/#N_1_[122]
> 
> Nor should we equate modern capitalism
> with competition and write competition off as destructive. A community
> currency system does not eliminate competition as a means to raise efficiency.
> ...rather than replacing the national currency with the
> parallel currency, consumers generally trade using a portion of the parallel
> currency in combination with the national currency, therefore producers taking
> part in the parallel currency systems are not insulated from outside
> competition. Because usually only a portion of the purchase is made using the
> parallel currency, producers are not dependent upon the parallel currency
> system for their income; it is often only the excess capacity that is sold
> through this system. By making use of this idle capacity, producers actually
> see their unit price decrease, thus increasing their efficiency.[123]
> 
> Even if service to humanity replaces profit as the primary motivation for
> commerce, business people still have to earn their niche in the market.
> Increasingly, however, people will prefer to produce quality, unique goods and
> services that build product diversity, a situation that will reduce competition
> and foster cooperation among business people. Demand will more purely determine
> supply so that the consumer actually gains freedom of choice, given, of course,
> that his choice would be an intelligent one.
> 
> V.9
> 
> A healthy and sustainable economy must be
> 
> based upon small, locally-owned and operated businesses
> 
> that provide real beneficial goods for the community.
> 
> This principle is manifested in `Abdu'l-Bahá's statement that
> "No more trusts will remain in the future. The question of the trusts will be
> wiped away entirely"[124] and from an
> excerpt of a letter written on Shoghi Effendi's behalf regarding: "the problem
> of trusts and monopolies...", putting them essentially on the same level.[125]
> 
> Modern capitalism prohibits monopolies just as Adam Smith and other theorists
> advised. They saw the importance of real competition among small industries
> for a healthy economy. Although prohibited in theory, the trend towards
> globalization encourages large industries to take over other large industries
> to control supply and prices and thus manipulate demand. Capital is
> increasingly concentrated in large industrial centers and communities and
> regions lose control over their economy. This situation causes products to
> have a mass-produced quality that alienates the
> 
> consumer and excludes the artisan.
> 
> The globalization process is a natural consequence of the nature of the
> economic system and of the characteristics given to money. Of course, this
> process has had its advantages, but they are short term and limited to a
> diminutive group. For example, "a national currency facilitated the
> industrialization of the United States, which in turn created many jobs;
> however, the centralization of the monetary system has served to centralize the
> benefits of the system as well."[126]
> 
> Large-scale disasters have ensued as the following quote explains:
> The local and decentralized banking systems of a hundred and
> fifty years ago had the advantage of diversity. The failure of a local bank -
> even a New York bank - was still a local failure, and its costs were
> internalized. But today we are facing the failure of an entire system. Consider
> the billions of tax dollars spent by the national deposit insurance system to
> bail out the Savings and Loan industry. And recall that billions were added to
> the national debt in order to bail out large banks when developing countries
> defaulted on their loans. These systemic failures are bound to occur if local
> economic control of banking customs and money supply is compromised by
> centralization and sacrificed to serve the heedless demands of growth.[127]
> 
> This system survives for the exclusive reason that it receives sufficient
> support from the general populace; it is viewed as a permanent fixture, a
> necessary evil, or a natural consequence of the innate human desire for
> well-being. A community currency scheme cannot entirely resolve these
> difficulties by changing the nature of the current economic system. Rather,
> its greatest strength lies in its ability to raise awareness about the current
> economic system, its goals, functioning and the outcomes resulting from it, and
> in providing an opportunity for those who find deeper meaning in living simply
> than in conspicuous consumerism. The goal, however, is not to encourage the
> functioning of community currency systems for their own sake as they are
> designed as a means and not an end. A much broader vision must replace narrow
> reactionary strategies so that people know that they are laying the foundations
> for the establishment of the Divine Economy. The results will be a faithful
> reflection of the goals over the long run and for this reason the goals set
> must express humanities' innermost desires.
> 
> The following testimonies illustrate how awareness is raised through
> participating in a community currency scheme: When you have
> local currency, it quickly becomes clear what's local and what's not. K-Mart
> will accept dollars only; their suppliers are in Hong Kong or Singapore or
> Kansas City. But Ithaca's local supermarket accepts Hours as well as dollars.
> By using local currencies, you create a bias toward local sustainability.
> 
> Ithaca HOURS are earned, spent and re-invested here in our community, so it's
> easier to see what your money is up to. You can better determine if a product
> is being made in an environmentally sound way, or if the service contributes to
> a healthy environment.
> 
> Ithaca HOURS also help build direct economic relationships between producer and
> customer. If you know the person growing your food, making the materials for
> your new house, etc... you stand a greater chance of affecting that person's
> environmental standards.
> 
> HOURS stabilize the livelihood of small-scale, freelance cottage industries.[128]
> 
> It is significant that "smaller firms in general are less likely to close than
> big firms (6.1% vs. 7.6% US failure rate). Smallest firms (1-19 employees)
> provide 25.2% of US jobs and are likeliest to produce most new jobs here. They
> are more accountable to the community. They are better able to innovate."
> Further, "every dollar spent with a locally-owned business gets spent here (in
> town) an estimated 2.3 more times than when spent with a company which takes
> its profits out of town."[129]
> 
> There are lots of jobs leaving the country that are never coming back. New jobs
> will mainly come from little companies like mine, with two employees, not from
> IBM. That means a healthier economy-- not all our eggs in one basket. And local
> businesses circulate money within the community better. Wal-Mart's profits go
> to Arkansas.[130]
> 
> V.10
> 
> A central, democratically elected
> international authority
> 
> will assure that the "The economic resources of the world
> 
> will be organized, its sources of raw materials will be
> 
> tapped and fully utilized, its markets will be coordinated and
> 
> developed, and the distribution of its products will be equitably
> regulated."[131]
> 
> This principle is a logical consequence of the creation of a world
> Commonwealth as the Commonwealth would have no foundation if not for the
> functioning of this principle.
> 
> Shoghi Effendi elaborated the details of this principle in the following
> paragraphs (highlights were added): ...all the nations of
> the world will have willingly ceded every claim to make war, certain
> rights to impose taxation and all rights to maintain armaments, except for
> purposes of maintaining internal order within their respective dominions.
> 
> Such a state will have to include within its orbit an international executive
> adequate to enforce supreme and unchallengeable authority on every
> recalcitrant member of the commonwealth; a world parliament whose members shall
> be elected by the people in their respective countries and whose election shall
> be confirmed by their respective governments; and a supreme tribunal whose
> judgment will have a binding effect even in such cases where the parties
> concerned did not voluntarily agree to submit their case to its
> consideration.
> 
> This supreme body will have as its animating principle to forge ...a
> world community in which the fury of a capricious and militant nationalism will
> have been transmuted into an abiding consciousness of world
> citizenship...
> 
> The unity of the human race, as envisaged by Bahá'u'lláh,
> implies the establishment of a world commonwealth in which all nations, races,
> creeds and classes are closely and permanently united, and in which the
> autonomy of its state members and the personal freedom and initiative of the
> individuals that compose them are definitely and completely safeguarded.
> 
> This commonwealth must, as far as we can visualize it, consist of a
> world legislature, whose members will, as the trustees of the whole of mankind,
> ultimately control the entire resources of all the component nations,
> and will enact such laws as shall be required to regulate the life, satisfy
> the needs and adjust the relationships of all races and peoples.[132]
> 
> The paradigm shift required to establish this administrative order is enormous.
> At the most essential level it requires, as mentioned earlier, loyalties to
> shift from individual to collective welfare, from national pride to world
> citizenship. Experience has shown that people will never be willing to
> moderate their needs for the benefit of others until they feel satisfied with
> their lives and have no need to fill a spiritual void with material comforts,
> something that a more cooperative society based upon creating community with
> meaningful work can bring about. The highest expression of this
> world-embracing loyalty is relinquishing resources formerly consumed in a
> certain region for their international control. Obviously this control would
> be coordinated with regional needs so that excess resources are delivered
> through the international body to a needier region.
> 
> Participating in a community currency scheme helps bring this paradigm shift
> about as illustrated in the following quote by Paul Glover:
> There is now far more money to be made, for far longer, by replenishing the
> earth and its cities than by exploiting dysfunctions. Investment in community
> currency systems brings such choices alive and helps establish the conditions
> for unlimited growth of a global economy.[133]
> 
> VII. Conclusions
> 
> O SON OF SPIRIT!
> 
> Noble have I created thee, yet thou hast abased thyself.
> 
> Rise then unto that for which thou wast created.[134]
> 
> With this single phrase, Bahá'u'lláh revolutionized the
> human concept of self and redefined human endeavor. People are created noble
> so they may accurately reflect those divine attributes that give meaning and
> joy to life. All human endeavor must, therefore provide a suitable framework
> in which meaning can be found and joy expressed. The Revelation of
> Bahá'u'lláh liberates the creative human spirit, which permits
> each person to rise, as Bahá'u'lláh Himself pronounces, to
> achieve that for which the soul was created.
> 
> The principles, concepts and vision revealed as defining elements of
> Bahá'u'lláh's Divine Economy are faithful expressions of the
> human spirit in this material realm. This is the key to its success, an
> accurate analysis of human nature and a suitable avenue for its expression.
> Any economic system that fosters demonstrations of less noble human qualities
> will inevitably result in degrading the level of behavior people are capable of
> exemplifying.
> 
> Social structures and purpose can be accordingly characterized, and human
> interaction involving economic exchange is no exception. As mentioned above,
> every economic activity we engage in, when we are producing, adding value, or
> exchanging things, creates opportunities to express love, concern, and respect
> for other people. The more this happens, the more vital the connections will
> be, and also, the more prosperous. Defining the details and daily functioning
> of this social economy thus becomes one of the most important challenges faced
> at this time in human evolution.
> 
> There are certain defining principles for social economy that can be
> universally employed like those contained in `Abdu'l-Bahá's instructions
> above as well as those associated with the Divine Economy identified throughout
> this essay. Many of these principles can be put into action during the fist
> stages of a project, and others can be included little by little as the
> situation permits. The majority of the elements of a project aiming at
> establishing a social economy, however, must be sought through grassroots
> involvement in an active learning process that aims to understand and respect
> existing patterns of interaction, power dynamics, habits and structures
> regarding who has a voice and who does not have a voice in the region. This
> way, the projects chosen and the details of their functioning will be coherent
> with the lives of those affected by it.
> 
> It has been demonstrated throughout this essay that a central element in
> establishing a social economy that fosters human prosperity is a community
> currency scheme. These currencies aim to connect unused resources with real
> needs and are directed towards anybody who has needs and has the possibility of
> offering goods, services or training to the community. The main outcome of
> this type of project is a market that has been reinvented. This new market
> fosters reciprocity, solidarity, equitable distribution, encourages local
> democratic control over the economy, enriches community life, educates
> participants to practice healthy economic principles, promotes social justice,
> permits accepting new and innovative initiatives as a normal part of life,
> invites the participants to cultivate the joy of sharing, the joy of quality
> and not quantity, the joy of relating to one another and not possession. It
> also builds the most important kind of capital, human capital. Trained,
> conscientious, motivated and ethical human beings are the only hope for
> challenging the social, political and economic structures at the root of the
> endemic poverty and misery that afflicts our world.
> 
> Success of a community currency project depends, however, upon the nature of
> the project itself. Analogous to the essence of each human being, the social
> economy must be essentially defined as spiritual in nature so that it may
> address the deepest human yearnings of love, unity and understanding. A
> central theme of this essay is that the most prominent motivating forces for
> active participation in a community currency scheme depends on the extent to
> which the spiritual principles associated with the Divine Economy are
> incorporated into the functioning of the project. If these principles are not
> incorporated and the project fosters a vision of material benefits, it will not
> last. People can influence the patterns of productive life in their
> communities and regions by making a deliberate effort to follow
> Abdu'l-Bahá's instructions to "Manifest true economics to the people.
> Show what love is, what kindness is, what true severance is and
> generosity...."[135]
> 
> Community currency schemes can be as simple or complex as the situation
> requires and can evolve with the capacities of the participants to administer
> and contribute to its growth. Parallel to the community currency, other
> supportive elements must exist that aim to foster economic and productive
> self-sufficiency at the cluster, or bioregional, level. Recycling waste,
> building productive capacity, fostering structural solidarity, and replenishing
> natural resources are some of these supportive elements. Further, organizers
> work with area businesses by tracking the goods that these businesses buy from
> outside the region and then connecting them with local producers of the same
> goods. This is the substance of an import-replacement program that will create
> sustainable jobs.[136]
> 
> The purpose of fostering self-sufficiency at the cluster level, however, cannot
> be lost upon itself. If the vision of prosperity is global, as one of the
> principles of the Divine Economy suggests, then every action at the cluster
> level must contribute towards fulfilling this vision. Localities contribute to
> the prosperity of the cluster according to their possibilities, clusters to the
> nation and the nation to the world commonwealth.
> 
> This kind of organization has, over the present one, the advantage of promoting
> an equitable distribution of wealth between individuals, localities, villages,
> cities and nations as well as of protecting whoever may run into financial
> difficulties, although he worked hard, and of guaranteeing the most important
> services.[137]
> 
> Payment of surplus at the cluster level must be made in a standard
> international currency, so currencies used by the clusters and the
> international currency must be interchangeable at all times, but only by
> authorized entities and only for specified objectives, otherwise many of the
> difficulties currently experienced with currencies will be repeated. In this
> way local governments may be able to fulfill their obligations of paying
> surplus to the national government, or of receiving funds to fill needs caused
> from a local deficit.
> 
> Initial stirrings of the processes proposed by this essay can already be
> perceived in many parts of the world. The infusion of Divine Revelation has
> awaked and heightened the spiritual and material capacities of human beings to
> fulfill their purpose in life, both at an individual and at a collective level.
> The process described so eloquently by `Abdu'l-Bahá in the following
> quote can also be strongly perceived, and the level to which this vision will
> be articulated in our time depends on the capacity we humans have of carrying
> it out. When, through the Divine bestowals, three things
> appear on earth, this world of dust will come alive, and stand forth wondrously
> adorned and full of grace. These are first, the fruitful winds of spring;
> second, the welling plenty of spring clouds; and third, the heat of the bright
> sun. When, out of the endless bounty of God, these three have been vouchsafed,
> then slowly, by His leave, dry trees and branches turn fresh and green again,
> and array themselves with many kinds of blossoms and fruits. It is the same
> when the pure intentions and the justice of the ruler, the wisdom and
> consummate skill and statecraft of the governing authorities, and the
> determination and unstinted efforts of the people, are all combined: then day
> by day the effects of the far-reaching reforms, of the pride and prosperity of
> government and people alike, will become clearly manifest.[138]
> 
> Appendix
> 
> Principles of the Global Barter
> Network
> 
> Our fulfillment as human beings need not be conditioned by
> money.
> 
> We aim not to promote products or services, rather we aim to foster
> mutual help in accomplishing a better way of life, through work, solidarity and
> fair trade.
> 
> We believe in the possibility of replacing competition, profit and
> speculation by reciprocity among people.
> 
> We assume that our actions, products and services respond to ethical and
> ecological standards more than to the will of the market, to consumerism and
> short-term profit.
> 
> The only conditions for being a member of the Global Barter Network are:
> participating in weekly group trade meetings, being trained permanently and
> being "prosumers" (both producer and consumer) of goods, services and
> knowledge, as recommended by Quality and Self-sufficiency Groups.
> 
> We assume that every member is responsible for her/his actions, goods or
> services bartered in the Network.
> 
> Group membership does not imply a dependence upon it since individual
> participation is free and common to every member of the Network.
> 
> We claim that groups do not necessarily need to be formally organized in a
> permanent way, since the network model implies constant change of roles and
> functions among its members.
> 
> We believe it is possible to combine the autonomy of groups (Clubs), in the
> management of internal affairs with all the principles of the Network.
> 
> We recommend not supporting, as members of the Network, moral or
> materially, any activity that might deviate us from the main goals of our
> Network.
> 
> We believe that the best example we can provide is our behavior both within
> and outside of the Network. We keep confidentiality about our private lives and
> prudence in the public treatment of those matters that might alter the growth
> of the Network.
> 
> We deeply believe that progress is a consequence of sustainable welfare of
> the great majority of people of all societies.
> 
> ENDNOTES
> 
> [1] Shoghi Effendi: World Order of
> Bahá'u'lláh, Pages: 19-20.
> 
> [2] Bahá'u'lláh: Gleanings, Page:
> 215.
> 
> [3] `Abdu'l-Bahá: Promulgation of
> Universal Peace, Page: 142.
> 
> [4] Shoghi Effendi, Principles of
> Bahá'í Administration, pp. 27-28.
> 
> [5] From a letter written on behalf of Shoghi
> Effendi to an individual believer, June 10, 1930, Lights of Guidance Page: 550
> #1862.
> 
> [6] Shoghi Effendi: World Order of
> Bahá'u'lláh, Page: 203.
> 
> [7] David Korten, When Corporations Rule the
> World, Pages 159-160.
> 
> [8] Eric Hobsbawm, The Age of Extremes: A Short
> History of the World, 1914 - 1991, Page 277.
> 
> [9] David Korten, When Corporations Rule the
> World, Page 160.
> 
> [10] Eric Hobsbawm, The Age of Extremes: A Short
> History of the World, 1914 - 1991, Page 278.
> 
> [11] Century of Light, Document prepared under
> the supervision of the Universal House of Justice, Bahá'í World
> Centre, 2001. Pages 135 - 136.
> 
> [12] Reinventando el Mercado, La Experiencia
> de la Red Global de Trueque en Argentina, Heloisa Primavera, Horacio Covas y
> Carlos de Sanzo. Abril 1998.
> 
> [13] David Korten, The Post Corporate
> World, Chapter 11. Culture Shift
> 
> [14] Towards an Economy in the Hands of the
> People: "Parallel Currencies in the Majority World" Study of the Tianguis
> Tlaloc Local Currency System in Mexico City. Prepared by Stephen DeMeulenaere
> (VIDEA) and Luis Lopezllera-Mendez (PdP), with the assistance of Thomas Greco
> (CIRC) and funding provided by the International Development Research Centre
> (IDRC). October 30, 1999.
> http://ccdev.lets.net/materiales/Towards_An_Economy_in_the_hands_of_the_People.pdf
> 
> [15] Ibid.
> 
> [16] The Trouble with Money, Thomas Greco,
> Yes! Magazine, Spring, 1997.
> 
> [17] Towards an Economy in the Hands of the
> People: "Parallel Currencies in the Majority World" Study of the Tianguis
> Tlaloc Local Currency System in Mexico City. Prepared by Stephen DeMeulenaere
> (VIDEA) and Luis Lopezllera-Mendez (PdP), with the assistance of Thomas Greco
> (CIRC) and funding provided by the International Development Research Centre
> (IDRC). October 30, 1999.
> 
> [18] Community Currencies: A New Tool for the
> 21st Century, Bernard A. Lietaer.
> http://ccdev.lets.net/materials/21stcent.html
> 
> [19] Ibid.
> 
> [20] Towards an Economy in the Hands of the
> People: "Parallel Currencies in the Majority World" Study of the Tianguis
> Tlaloc Local Currency System in Mexico City. Prepared by Stephen DeMeulenaere
> (VIDEA) and Luis Lopezllera-Mendez (PdP), with the assistance of Thomas Greco
> (CIRC) and funding provided by the International Development Research Centre
> (IDRC). October 30, 1999.
> 
> [21] David Korten, Money vs. Wealth, Yes!
> Magazine, Spring, 1997. http://www.futurenet.org/2Money/Korten.html
> 
> [22] We the Peoples Millennium Forum,
> Declaration and Agenda for Action.
> 
> [23] A Pictorial History of Community Currency
> Systems by Stephen DeMeulenaere, 2000.
> http://ccdev.lets.net/materials/pictorial_history_of_CCS.pdf
> 
> [24] Community Currencies: A New Tool for the
> 21st Century, Bernard A. Lietaer,
> 
> [25] "A common reaction to the concept of a
> local currency is that it will increase the money supply and therefore fuel
> inflation. This reaction is further reinforced by the observation that the
> built-in incentive to get rid of a booster or demurrage currency reflects
> behavior observed in an inflationary environment. What happens beyond these
> first impressions?
> 
> Consider the issue of increased money supply: Do airline frequent flyer
> programs increase total airline flying? The answer is obviously yes. But does a
> frequent flyer ticket create inflationary pressures on airfares? The answer is
> no, because the airline will readjust as needed the constraints on frequent
> flyer usage (by, for example, having frequent flyer seats available only on
> weekends or in off seasons, or only for red eye flights, or only for a certain
> percentage of the seats). In other words, the airlines will ensure that only
> otherwise empty seats will be used by frequent flyers.
> 
> The same is true for community currencies: their natural niche is linking
> unused resources to otherwise unmet needs. The more sophisticated community
> currencies even specifically target this application. The local businesses
> participating in the Commonweal experiment in Minneapolis accept the community
> currency only for otherwise unused resources, as when, for example, a
> restaurant accepts community currency from early diners. Even the quantity of
> local currency issued is only 75 percent of the discounts of goods or services
> made available to the system by participating merchants. So long as community
> currencies are issued specifically to ensure the use of otherwise idle
> resources, inflationary pressures cannot be generated.
> 
> In summary, while the behavior patterns generated by the booster concept may
> look similar to what is observed under inflation, the cause is different. More
> importantly, the consequences of spending are diametrically opposed: Under
> hyperinflation, society collapses, while with community currencies the fabric
> of society is reinforced." (Community Currencies: A New Tool for the 21st
> Century, Bernard A. Lietaer.)
> 
> It is important to realize that "normal" national currencies and community
> currencies play different roles. Nonetheless, theory and practice show that it
> is possible to design a truly symbiotic relationship between them.
> 
> [26] Towards an Economy in the Hands of the
> People: "Parallel Currencies in the Majority World" Study of the Tianguis
> Tlaloc Local Currency System in Mexico City. Prepared by Stephen DeMeulenaere
> (VIDEA) and Luis Lopezllera-Mendez (PdP), with the assistance of Thomas Greco
> (CIRC) and funding provided by the International Development Research Centre
> (IDRC). October 30, 1999.
> 
> http://ccdev.lets.net/materiales/Towards_An_Economy_in_the_hands_of_the_People.pdf
> 
> [27] Ithaca HOURS website.
> www.ithacahours.com/successes.html
> 
> [28] Local Currencies: Catalysts for
> Sustainable Regional Economies by Robert Swann and Susan Witt February 1995
> Shumacher Society Web Page. www.shumachersociety.org
> 
> [29] A Pictorial History of Community Currency
> Systems by Stephen DeMeulenaere, 2000
> http://ccdev.lets.net/materials/pictorial_history_of_CCS.pdf
> 
> [30] Ibid.
> 
> [31] Ibid.
> 
> [32] "In 1930, Herr Hebecker, owner of a small
> bankrupt coal mine in Schwanenkirchen, Bavaria, decided in a desperate effort
> to pay his workers in coal instead of Reichsmark. He issued a local
> scrip -- which he called "Wara" -- redeemable in coal. On the back were
> small squares where stamps could be applied. A bill would remain valid only if
> the stamp for the current month had been applied. This negative interest charge
> was justified as a "storage cost." The workers paid for their food and local
> services with these Wara. For example, the baker had no real choice but
> to accept them, and convinced his wheat suppliers to accept them in turn. The
> process was so successful that by 1931 this Freiwirtschaff (free
> economy) movement had spread through all of Germany, involving more than 2,000
> corporations and a variety of commodities as backing for the Wara. But
> in November 1931, the German Central Bank, on the basis of its monopoly on
> currency creation, prohibited the entire experiment." (A Pictorial History of
> Community Currency Systems by Stephen DeMeulenaere, 2000)
> 
> [33] "In 1816, England's Channel Islands of
> Guernsey and Jersey issued their own currency. During the war against Napoleon,
> the British government was basically bankrupt, with 80% of all tax revenue
> going towards debt payments to the banks who had issued the currency. The
> people and the materials were there, but there was no money (as a medium of
> exchange) to move their resources. They issued their own currency and, eighteen
> months later, they repaid their bank debts, repaired the civil infrastructure,
> built a church and a monument. Today, there are $36 million dollars of local
> currency in circulation for a population of 60,000." (A Pictorial History of
> Community Currency Systems by Stephen DeMeulenaere, 2000)
> 
> [34] In 1932 the mayor of the town - confronted with a 35%
> unemployment rate - convinced the town hall to issue 5.000 Austrian Shillings
> worth of stamp scrip, which were covered by exactly the same amount of national
> currency deposited in a local bank. Within a year, the 5.000 local Shillings
> had circulated 463 times, which was 14 times more than the national currency.
> In other words, on average, the same amount of money created 14 times more
> jobs. Local employment had fallen by 25% after one year and after two years
> Wîrgl became the first Austrian town to achieve full employment and major
> improvements to the town were implemented. When more than 200 other Austrian
> communities decided to follow the example set by Wîrgl, the Austrian
> State Bank stepped in and blocked the experiment. A legal appeal was made all
> the way to the Supreme Court, where it was lost.
> 
> Scrip has also been used by local governments as a creative solution for
> structural budget problems. In the beginning of the 1970s, the mayor of the
> Brazilian city of Curitiba (500,000 inhabitants) became concerned with the
> serious waste problem in the city's slum areas: garbage cars were unable to
> enter the narrow streets and the garbage was left in the streets. This
> attracted rats, flies and other vermin that spread diseases. The health
> situation was clearly deteriorating.
> 
> Lacking the funds to clean the slum areas, the city's mayor elaborated a
> low-cost plan to alleviate the problem in a sustainable way. Residents could
> exchange one bag of selected waste for one public transport token. Soon the
> tokens became an accepted exchange medium also for transactions between
> residents themselves and economic activity increased. In a similar program, the
> city government bought organic waste from the slum dwellers in exchange for
> tickets. These tickets could be used to buy food that the city government had
> bought from farms around the state. The organic waste was composted and sold to
> farms. Also these tickets have begun to live their own life and have become a
> generally accepted exchange medium. (Community Currency Systems: A Co-operative
> Option for the Developing World. Peter Moers, 1998)
> 
> [35(?)] HOURS website FAQ. www.ithacahours.org/allabouthours.html
> 
> [37] Paul Glover, INSTEAD OF WAR: Localizing
> while Globalizing with Community Paper Money, October, 2001 Ithaca Community
> News. http://www.ithacahours.com/0110.html
> 
> [38] Success stories from the Ithaca HOURs web
> site. www.ithacahours.com/successes.html
> 
> [39] Ibid.
> 
> [40]
> http://www.550m.com/usuarios/oestenoticias/trueque/quees.htm
> 
> [41] From a letter written on behalf of Shoghi
> Effendi to an individual believer, June 10, 1930, Lights of Guidance #1871.
> 
> [42] `Abdu'l-Bahá: Promulgation of
> Universal Peace, Page: 239
> 
> [43] Ibid.
> 
> [44] `Abdu'l-Bahá: Promulgation of
> Universal Peace, Page: 171
> 
> 45 Century of Light, Document prepared under the supervision of the
> Universal House of Justice, Bahá'í World Centre, 2001. Page
> 136.
> 
> [46] "This is significant considering that
> economy is not an isolated collection of theories about money management, nor
> should it propose money or lack thereof as an exclusive indicator for
> well-being, which leads people to maximize their return on their money rather
> than using money to maximize their return on life. Its purpose, rather, is to
> understand and regulate the economic aspect of general welfare. This leads
> people to ask themselves "which among a number of financially viable options
> will yield the highest anticipated contribution to improving our lives and the
> health of the planet." (David Korten, The Post Corporate World, pg. 156)
> 
> 47 Holly Hansen, speech at the Conference for Development, Florida,
> USA, December 2001.
> 
> [48] `Abdu'l-Bahá: Paris Talks, Page:
> 143
> 
> [49] The Eleven Principles out of the
> Teaching of Bahá'u'lláh, Explained by Abdu'l-Bahá in
> Paris. The Search after Truth, The Unity of Mankind, Religion ought to be the
> Cause of Love and
> 
> Affection, The Unity of Religion and Science, Abolition of Prejudices,
> Equalization of Means of Existence, Equality of Men before the Law, Universal
> Peace, Non-Interference of Religion and Politics, Equality of Sex - Education
> of Women, The Power of the Holy Spirit. (`Abdu'l-Bahá: Paris Talks,
> Page: 127).
> 
> [50] Shoghi Effendi: World Order of
> Bahá'u'lláh, Page: 19
> 
> [51] Ibid, Pages: 23-24.
> 
> [52] Ibid, Page: 61.
> 
> [53] Ibid, Pages: 19-20.
> 
> [54] 19 mithqals in gold is equivalent
> to 2.22456 ounces or 69.19112 grams.
> 
> [55] Huqúq'u'lláh. A
> Compilation. Questions and Answers #8, 89, 90.
> 
> [56] `Abdu'l-Bahá, Foundations of World
> Unity, pg. 43
> 
> [57] `Abdu'l-Bahá, Selections from
> the Writings of `Abdu'l-Bahá, p. 115.
> 
> [58] Success stories from the Ithaca HOURs web
> site. www.ithacahours.com/successes.html
> 
> [59] Jonathan Rowe, Money with Care Built In,
> Yes! Magazine, Spring 1997.
> http://www.futurenet.org/2Money/Money%20with%20care%20built%20in.htm
> 
> [60] Bahá'u'lláh: Tablets of
> Bahá'u'lláh, Page: 155
> 
> [61] Shoghi Effendi: Directives of the
> Guardian, Page: 83
> 
> [62] Success stories from the Ithaca HOURs web
> site. www.ithacahours.com/successes.html
> 
> [63] Ibid.
> 
> [64] Towards an Economy in the Hands of the
> People: "Parallel Currencies in the Majority World" Study of the Tianguis
> Tlaloc Local Currency System in Mexico City. Prepared by Stephen DeMeulenaere
> (VIDEA) and Luis Lopezllera-Mendez (PdP), with the assistance of Thomas Greco
> (CIRC) and funding provided by the International Development Research Centre
> (IDRC). October 30, 1999.
> 
> [65] Paul Glover, Hometown Money, 1995.
> 
> [66] Paul Glover, INSTEAD OF WAR: Localizing
> while Globalizing with Community Paper Money, October, 2001 Ithaca Community
> News.
> 
> [67] Ibid.
> 
> [68] Towards an Economy in the Hands of the
> People: "Parallel Currencies in the Majority World" Study of the Tianguis
> Tlaloc Local Currency System in Mexico City. Prepared by Stephen DeMeulenaere
> (VIDEA) and Luis Lopezllera-Mendez (PdP), with the assistance of Thomas Greco
> (CIRC) and funding provided by the International Development Research Centre
> (IDRC). October 30, 1999.
> 
> [69] Ibid, Page 83.
> 
> [70] `Abdu'l-Bahá: Paris Talks, Page:
> 151
> 
> [71] Paul Glover, INSTEAD OF WAR: Localizing
> while Globalizing with Community Paper Money, October, 2001 Ithaca Community
> News.
> 
> [72] Ibid.
> 
> [73] `Abdu'l-Bahá: Some Answered
> Questions, Page: 274.
> 
> [74] Shoghi Effendi, Directives From the
> Guardian pages 20-21.
> 
> [75] `Abdu'l-Bahá, Foundations of World
> Unity, Page 43.
> 
> [76] `Abdu'l-Bahá, Star of the West,
> viii, No. 3, p. 4.
> 
> [77] `Abdu'l-Bahá: Foundations of
> World Unity, Page: 39.
> 
> [78] Ibid, Page: 40.
> 
> [79] Guiseppe Robiati "Faith & World
> Economy, A Joint Venture, A Bahá'í Perspective." Pg. 94 - 95.
> 
> [80] "Zakat is referred to in the Qur'an as a
> regular charity binding upon Muslims. In due course the concept evolved into a
> form of alms-tax which imposed the obligation to give a fixed portion of
> certain categories of income, beyond specified limits, for the relief of the
> poor, for various charitable purposes, and to aid the Faith of God... Since
> such issues as the limits for exemption, the categories of income concerned,
> the frequency of payments, and the scale of rates for the various categories of
> Zakat are not mentioned in the Qur'an, these matters will have to be set forth
> in the future by the Universal House of Justice." (The Kitáb-i-Aqdas:
> Notes, Page: 234 - 5)
> 
> [81] Towards an Economy in the Hands of the
> People: "Parallel Currencies in the Majority World" Study of the Tianguis
> Tlaloc Local Currency System in Mexico City. Prepared by Stephen DeMeulenaere
> (VIDEA) and Luis Lopezllera-Mendez (PdP), with the assistance of Thomas Greco
> (CIRC) and funding provided by the International Development Research Centre
> (IDRC). October 30, 1999.
> 
> [82] Success stories from the Ithaca HOURs web
> site. www.ithacahours.com/successes.html
> 
> [83] `Abdu'l-Bahá: Foundations of
> World Unity, Pages: 43-44.
> 
> [84] Success stories from the Ithaca HOURs web
> site. www.ithacahours.com/successes.html
> 
> [85] Ibid.
> 
> [86] Ibid.
> 
> [87] Bahá'u'lláh: Epistle to
> the Son of the Wolf, Page: 62.
> 
> [88] `Abdu'l-Bahá, The Secret of Divine
> Civilization, pg. 39.
> 
> [89] The Universal House of Justice, 23 May,
> 2001.
> 
> [90] The Universal House of Justice, Letter to
> the Bahá'ís of the World, 24 May, 2001.
> 
> [91] Reinventando el Mercado, La Experiencia
> de la Red Global de Trueque en Argentina, Heloisa Primavera, Horacio Covas y
> Carlos de Sanzo. Abril 1998. translation by the author.
> 
> [92] Ibid.
> 
> [93] Success stories from the Ithaca HOURs web
> site. www.ithacahours.com/successes.html
> 
> [94] Ibid.
> 
> [95]
> 
> The Bahá'í Faith and economics: a review and synthesis Bryan
> Graham. https://bahai-library.com/articles/#N_1_
> 
> [96]
> 
> Success stories from the Ithaca HOURs web site.
> www.ithacahours.com/successes.html
> 
> [97] Ibid.
> 
> [98
> 
> 99] Shoghi Effendi: World Order of Bahá'u'lláh, Page: 41
> 
> [100] Towards an Economy in the Hands of the
> People: "Parallel Currencies in the Majority World" Study of the Tianguis
> Tlaloc Local Currency System in Mexico City. Prepared by Stephen DeMeulenaere
> (VIDEA) and Luis Lopezllera-Mendez (PdP), with the assistance of Thomas Greco
> (CIRC) and funding provided by the International Development Research Centre
> (IDRC). October 30, 1999
> 
> [101] Bahá'u'lláh: Tablets of
> Bahá'u'lláh, Page: 89
> 
> [102] Ibid, Page: 90
> 
> [103] `Abdu'l-Bahá: Extract from a
> Tablet to an individual believer, October 4, 1912, translation corrected in the
> World Centre, December 1985. Multiple Authors: Lights of Guidance, Page:
> 548.
> 
> [104] `Abdu'l-Bahá: Tablets of the
> Divine Plan, Page: 63
> 
> [105] Towards an Economy in the Hands of the
> People: "Parallel Currencies in the Majority World" Study of the Tianguis
> Tlaloc Local Currency System in Mexico City. Prepared by Stephen DeMeulenaere
> (VIDEA) and Luis Lopezllera-Mendez (PdP), with the assistance of Thomas Greco
> (CIRC) and funding provided by the International Development Research Centre
> (IDRC). October 30, 1999.
> 
> [106] Ibid.
> 
> [107] Paul Glover, Hometown Money.
> 
> [108] Success stories from the Ithaca HOURs
> web site. www.ithacahours.com/successes.html
> 
> [109] Paul Glover, Hometown Money.
> 
> [110] Century of Light, Document prepared
> under the supervision of the Universal House of Justice, Bahá'í
> World Centre, 2001. Pages 134-135.
> 
> [111] Paul Glover, INSTEAD OF WAR:
> Localizing while Globalizing with Community Paper Money October, 2001 Ithaca
> Community News.
> 
> [112]
> http://www.dictionary.com/search?q=bioregion
> 
> [113] Universal House of Justice, Letter to
> the Continental Boards of Counselors, 9 January 2001.
> 
> [114] Success stories from the Ithaca HOURs
> web site. www.ithacahours.com/successes.html
> 
> [115] Local Currencies: Catalysts for
> Sustainable Regional Economies by Robert Swann and Susan Witt February 1995
> Shumacher Society Web Page.
> 
> [116] Ibid.
> 
> [117] Ibid.
> 
> [118] Ibid.
> 
> [119] Ibid.
> 
> [120] Paul Glover, INSTEAD OF WAR:
> Localizing while Globalizing with Community Paper Money October, 2001 Ithaca
> Community News.
> 
> [121] Turning Point For All Nations A
> Statement of the Bahá'í International Community on the Occasion
> of the 50th Anniversary of the United Nations", Point III A 5, New York, USA
> October 1995.
> 
> [122
> 
> 123] Towards an Economy in the Hands of the People: "Parallel Currencies in
> the Majority World" Study of the Tianguis Tlaloc Local Currency System in
> Mexico City. Prepared by Stephen DeMeulenaere (VIDEA) and Luis
> Lopezllera-Mendez (PdP), with the assistance of Thomas Greco (CIRC) and funding
> provided by the International Development Research Centre (IDRC). October 30,
> 1999.
> 
> [124] `Abdu'l-Bahá, Foundations of
> World Unity, pg. 43
> 
> [125] Shoghi Effendi, Lights of Guidance,
> #1862
> 
> [126] Local Currencies: Catalysts for
> Sustainable Regional Economies by Robert Swann and Susan Witt February 1995
> Shumacher Society Web Page.
> 
> [127] Ibid.
> 
> [128] Success stories from the Ithaca HOURs
> web site. www.ithacahours.com/successes.html
> 
> [129] Paul Glover, Hometown Money.
> 
> [130] Success stories from the Ithaca HOURs
> web site. www.ithacahours.com/successes.html
> 
> [131] Shoghi Effendi: World Order of
> Bahá'u'lláh, Page: 204.
> 
> [132] Ibid, Page: 203.
> 
> [133] Paul Glover, INSTEAD OF WAR:
> Localizing while Globalizing with Community Paper Money October, 2001 Ithaca
> Community News.
> 
> [134] Bahá'u'lláh, The Hidden
> Words, #22 Arabic.
> 
> [135] Holly Hansen, speech at the Conference
> for Development, Florida, USA, December 2001.
> 
> [136] Local Currencies: Catalysts for
> Sustainable Regional Economies by Robert Swann and Susan Witt February 1995
> Shumacher Society Web Page.
> 
> [137] Guiseppe Robiati "Faith & World
> Economy, A Joint Venture, A Bahá'í Perspective." pg. 95 - 96.
> 
> [138] `Abdu'l-Bahá: Secret of Divine
> Civilization, Page: 108
> 
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