Low-impact money

Price: £0.00 (one off payment)

A free (massive, open) online course at Masters-level will enable you to understand the past, present and future role of money in society.

Price: Free

NB: This course now has no sign-up or start date. All lessons are free for anyone to work through here.

See here for an introduction to ‘low-impact money’ (coming soon), and here for an introduction to mutual credit (see the right-hand column for more resources).

See here for our other online courses.

Are you concerned with the banking system? Bemused or fascinated by Bitcoin? Starting a local currency? Whereas most courses on money are intended for people with an economics background or banking future, this course is for people who are interested in understanding money from a social innovation perspective – it prepares the ground for answering how to create a better future by reshaping money and currency.

Tutor

Matthew Slater develops software for complementary currencies. He co-founded Community Forge, which free hosts software for collaborative credit schemes; he co-authored the Money & Society MOOC, a free masters level multidisciplinary online course. He co-drafted the Credit Commons white paper, a proposal for a global solidarity economy money system, based on mutual credit principles.

The course is highly interdisciplinary, drawing upon anthropology, sociology, history and heterodox economics. It is designed by Professor Jem Bendell PhD (IFLAS) and Matthew Slater BD (Community Forge), with additional tutoring by alumni of the course (some of whom have gone on to launch their own ICOs).

Contents

Lesson One: An introduction to money: functions, forms, and fallacies

Lesson Two: The history of money and its discontents

Lesson Three: The problems with mainstream monetary systems

Lesson Four: Alternatives

At the end of the course you will be able to:

• Critically assess views on the form and function of money and currency by drawing from monetary theories
• Explain theories on how social, economic and environmental problems arise from mainstream monetary systems
• Explain alternative forms of money and currency and the theories on how they can support better social, economic and environmental outcomes.

Price: Free

NB: This course now has no sign-up or start date. All lessons are free for anyone to work through here.

See here for our other online courses.