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Monetary reform Monetary reform is any movement or theory that proposes a system of supplying money and financing the economy that is different from the current system. Monetary reformers may advocate any of the following, among other proposals: * A return t ...
is the process of fundamentally changing policies regarding
money Money is any item or verifiable record that is generally accepted as payment for goods and services and repayment of debts, such as taxes, in a particular country or socio-economic context. The primary functions which distinguish money are as ...
. It can include changes to the money creation process,
fractional-reserve banking Fractional-reserve banking is the system of banking operating in almost all countries worldwide, under which banks that take deposits from the public are required to hold a proportion of their deposit liabilities in liquid assets as a reserve, ...
, financial institutions, financing of the economy and social credit among other things.


History


C. H. Douglas and the Social Credit-movement

In the years around 1920 the British engineer
C. H. Douglas Major Clifford Hugh "C. H." Douglas, MIMechE, MIEE (20 January 1879 – 29 September 1952), was a British engineer and pioneer of the social credit economic reform movement. Education and engineering career C.H. Douglas was born in either Edge ...
developed a theory on banking and welfare distribution, a theory which he called " Social Credit", and which soon became the cornerstone of an international movement with the same name. However, Douglas himself warned against viewing the Social Credit solely as a scheme for monetary reform. Personally he preferred to describe it as "the policy of a philosophy" or, to be exact, the policy of "practical Christianity". This policy, linked to this philosophy, is all about dispersing economic and political power to individuals. As he once wrote, "Systems were made for men, and not men for systems, and the interest of man which is
self-development Self-help or self-improvement is a self-guided improvement''APA Dictionary of Physicology'', 1st ed., Gary R. VandenBos, ed., Washington: American Psychological Association, 2007.—economically, intellectually, or emotionally—often with a subst ...
, is above all systems, whether theological, political or economic."


Recent development and debate

Michael Rowbotham's
The Grip of Death ''The'' () is a grammatical article in English, denoting persons or things that are already or about to be mentioned, under discussion, implied or otherwise presumed familiar to listeners, readers, or speakers. It is the definite article in En ...
, published 1998, was an attack on the banking system as well as the politics of globalization, free trade and growth-oriented strategies based on these lines. The book was widely spread and got reviews in magazines such as The Ecologist, Resurgence, New Internationalist, The Tribune, The Tablet, Sustainable Economics, Permaculture Magazine, Food Magazine and Social Credit. Some of the British monetary reformers, such as Michael Rowbotham, is influenced by the Social Credit-movement. The Money Reform Party was founded by Anne Belsey from Kent in 2005 and deregistered in 2014. Belsey stood for the MRP in the
2006 Bromley and Chislehurst by-election A by-election was held in the UK parliament constituency of Bromley and Chislehurst in London, following the death of Conservative Member of Parliament Eric Forth on 17 May 2006. The writ for the electing of a new member was issued on 6 June for ...
and came last with 33 votes. She stood in
Canterbury Canterbury (, ) is a City status in the United Kingdom, cathedral city and UNESCO World Heritage Site, situated in the heart of the City of Canterbury local government district of Kent, England. It lies on the River Stour, Kent, River Stour. ...
in 2010 and came last with 173 votes. Author Mark Braund recommended the MRP website "which includes a compelling explanation of the mechanics of money creation and its impact on society".


Papers

* 2010 – Towards a Twenty-First Century Banking and Monetary System, Joint Submission to the Independent Commission on Banking, UK (Chair: Professor Sir John Vickers), with Ben Dyson, Tony Greenham, Josh Ryan-Collins, by the Centre for Banking, Finance and Sustainable Development, the new economics foundation, and Positive Money, submitted 19 November 201
PDF


See also

* List of monetary reformers *
Universal basic income in the United Kingdom Universal basic income is a subject of much interest in the United Kingdom. There is a long history of discussion yet it has not been implemented to date. Interest in and support for universal basic income has increased substantially amongst the ...


References

{{Reflist Monetary reform Reform in the United Kingdom Economic history of the United Kingdom