‘Monetary Plurality’ and ‘Currencies for an Alternative Economy’: Two paradigms of complementary currency research
Rolf Schroeder
Independent Author. Email: rolfschroeder.h@t-online.de
Abstract
Many practitioners and researchers in this field consider money to be the centrepiece of complementary currencies. This paper identifies a second line of thinking, through which the discourse on an ‘alternative economy’ had a significant influence on the development of these social innovations during the 1980s and 1990s. This article discusses two questions: The first one concerns the influence of, and the relationship between these two lines of thought. A monetary focus gradually superseded earlier interpretations of these systems and eventually occupied a dominant position. Is there sufficient common ground between researchers of cryptocurrencies and traditional complementary currencies to share a single discourse network? The second question concerns the potential of local currencies with strictly limited convertibility. Against the background of an impending recession this article offers a perspective of how newly designed complementary currencies can become viable elements of an alternative economic structure beside the capitalism economy.
Keywords
Complementary Currencies, Monetary Diversity, Alternative Economy, Money, Boundaries.
To cite this article: Schroeder, R. (2020) ‘‘Monetary Plurality’ and ‘Currencies for an Alternative Economy’: Two paradigms of complementary currency research’ International Journal of Community Currency Research Volume 24 (Summer 2020) 101-115; http://www.ijccr.net; ISSN 1325-9547; DOI http://dx.doi.org/10.15133/j.ijccr.2020.015
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