Ah, Brett, that hits the nail squarely on its head. the entire situation has me entirely overwhelmed and unable to cope. I am feeling caught in the whirlpool that is just sucking me under with no hope of escape.
You're not alone in feeling that Thomas. I think there are many millions of us who do feel that, and we need to find the language to articulate it so we can organise to resist
I feel you so deeply!! It is overwhelming. I wish we could just start over, declare “olly olly oxen free” forgive all debts, everyone gets a house before anyone gets two… but even a cursory thought experiment along these lines leads to conflict. It feels like there’s no way out.
Great explainer and exactly how I feel!! Whenever we get new tech at work - and we get new tech all the time in healthcare - it always seems to result in more work to be done, more trouble to troubleshoot, and less time with my patients. Sometimes it’s cool, but sometimes it’s obviously something sold to your boss (who has no idea what you do) by a salesperson (who also has no idea what you do) and it’s expensive enough that we need to cut back on staffing. Which is the only thing that actually helps!
At the end you say "...the only point at which new technology will be used to make our lives easier is a point where we have a steady-state economy where leisure is actually valued rather than a growth-based one. Until that happens, let's stop deluding ourselves."
As I'm sure you'd agree, we cannot have a steady-state economy while the default is widespread use of a debt-based monetary system. We're enslaved to the system itself, making it challenging to go for something like a "money-detox" as we do a "digital-detox."
Are you (or your audience) aware of any large-scale alt-currency experiments based loosely on demurrage (not idealistic crypto experiments)?
I'm aware of:
- Chiemgauer, Bavaria, Germany (2003–present)
- Circles UBI, Berlin, Germany (V1 from 2020; V2 launched May 21, 2025)
Hi Michael, glad you like it. I personally don't tend to explain the problems in our system as emerging *from* the debt-based money system - I'd be more likely to explain the debt-based money system as being an *outcome* of the problems of our system - i.e. the default processes of capitalism lend themselves towards such a debt-based money system - but obvious there is a complex co-evolving structure of which the money system is part, and yes, attempts to change the money system can be attempts to re-wire that structure.
In terms of demurrage, I haven't followed the latest incarnations of it (albeit Circles doesn't really exist anymore). I know Will Ruddick who runs Sarafu, and also check out systems like Sardex in Sardinia (thought that's not demurrage based). I'm not sure the status of WIR right now - I met some of them a few years back but it's been a while. My friend Julio Linares (who used to spearhead Circles) is connected into a lot of the Brazilian and other South American projects
I love this. I quote this all the time (technology doesn’t make our lives easier it makes them faster). I keep seeing these people saying “automation is going to give us so much more leisure time” and I just link to your pieces on this.
Like, no, when your job gets automated away our society does not immediately pass those extra hours to YOU. Exactly the opposite, YOU are now expected to do *more* by working no less than you did before. The gains are sucked up by investors in that automation, not those displaced it. How anyone could believe the opposite is just nuts.
Love this take! If we ask who is the beneficiary of this tech - and go down, down, down - we find the answer is *not us!* Helps explain why it usually does not lead to better, healthier, more fulfilling outcomes, because it is someone or something's mechanism of extraction *from us!*
Great reminder that our new normality with AI will be sold back to us one day in moments we feel the irritation of its absence, just like with cashlessness! How do we get out of this hellscape Brett??!
Ah, Brett, that hits the nail squarely on its head. the entire situation has me entirely overwhelmed and unable to cope. I am feeling caught in the whirlpool that is just sucking me under with no hope of escape.
You're not alone in feeling that Thomas. I think there are many millions of us who do feel that, and we need to find the language to articulate it so we can organise to resist
I feel you so deeply!! It is overwhelming. I wish we could just start over, declare “olly olly oxen free” forgive all debts, everyone gets a house before anyone gets two… but even a cursory thought experiment along these lines leads to conflict. It feels like there’s no way out.
Great explainer and exactly how I feel!! Whenever we get new tech at work - and we get new tech all the time in healthcare - it always seems to result in more work to be done, more trouble to troubleshoot, and less time with my patients. Sometimes it’s cool, but sometimes it’s obviously something sold to your boss (who has no idea what you do) by a salesperson (who also has no idea what you do) and it’s expensive enough that we need to cut back on staffing. Which is the only thing that actually helps!
Nicely explained, Brett, as usual.
At the end you say "...the only point at which new technology will be used to make our lives easier is a point where we have a steady-state economy where leisure is actually valued rather than a growth-based one. Until that happens, let's stop deluding ourselves."
As I'm sure you'd agree, we cannot have a steady-state economy while the default is widespread use of a debt-based monetary system. We're enslaved to the system itself, making it challenging to go for something like a "money-detox" as we do a "digital-detox."
Are you (or your audience) aware of any large-scale alt-currency experiments based loosely on demurrage (not idealistic crypto experiments)?
I'm aware of:
- Chiemgauer, Bavaria, Germany (2003–present)
- Circles UBI, Berlin, Germany (V1 from 2020; V2 launched May 21, 2025)
- Maricá's Mumbuca, Brazil (2013–present)
- Sarafu, Kenya (2010–present)
- WIR Bank, Switzerland (1934–present)
What have I missed?
Hi Michael, glad you like it. I personally don't tend to explain the problems in our system as emerging *from* the debt-based money system - I'd be more likely to explain the debt-based money system as being an *outcome* of the problems of our system - i.e. the default processes of capitalism lend themselves towards such a debt-based money system - but obvious there is a complex co-evolving structure of which the money system is part, and yes, attempts to change the money system can be attempts to re-wire that structure.
If you'd like to delve more into alt currency, I do have a whole section on it here https://www.asomo.co/s/unboxing-alternative-currency. You might check out my (somewhat long) piece called Designing the Moneyverse (https://www.asomo.co/p/designing-the-moneyverse), which probably needs to be split into two separate pieces, and also my piece Zero if the Future of Money (https://www.asomo.co/p/the-crypto-credit-alliance), which goes into some of the new-wave 'rippling credit' structures
In terms of demurrage, I haven't followed the latest incarnations of it (albeit Circles doesn't really exist anymore). I know Will Ruddick who runs Sarafu, and also check out systems like Sardex in Sardinia (thought that's not demurrage based). I'm not sure the status of WIR right now - I met some of them a few years back but it's been a while. My friend Julio Linares (who used to spearhead Circles) is connected into a lot of the Brazilian and other South American projects
Interesting distinction, thank you, Brett: debt is an outcome, rather than a cause.
Thanks for the reminders about your older essays, which I'm sure I read when they first came out. Will read them again as a timely reminder. 🙏
Thanks too for the pointers to other projects. Just wanted to make sure I hadn't missed anything obvious.
Appreciate your writing - onwards! 🙇♂️
I love this. I quote this all the time (technology doesn’t make our lives easier it makes them faster). I keep seeing these people saying “automation is going to give us so much more leisure time” and I just link to your pieces on this.
Like, no, when your job gets automated away our society does not immediately pass those extra hours to YOU. Exactly the opposite, YOU are now expected to do *more* by working no less than you did before. The gains are sucked up by investors in that automation, not those displaced it. How anyone could believe the opposite is just nuts.
You nailed it 1000%! Also, please come on my podcast (DM me?), I love your work!
Love this take! If we ask who is the beneficiary of this tech - and go down, down, down - we find the answer is *not us!* Helps explain why it usually does not lead to better, healthier, more fulfilling outcomes, because it is someone or something's mechanism of extraction *from us!*
Great reminder that our new normality with AI will be sold back to us one day in moments we feel the irritation of its absence, just like with cashlessness! How do we get out of this hellscape Brett??!