Ok so lets take stock a bit.
Wub brought up exchange rates and some of the pitfalls.
Now i'm no economist, i'm also no protectionist. I can see the stranglehold that could be placed on a currency by external influence though so he's right.
If we assume that we aren't talking about the whole world waking up to our excellent plan (should we ever acheive one), our fledging method of currency will need to deal with that threat.
Would it be possible for a digitised currency to be constantly updating the whole 'valuing' of itself and adjusting for external influence?
What suggestions do people have for this 'threat'?

What is the threat you're describing exactly?

The potential threat from other currencies and specifically the use of exchange rates.

I don't see how other currencies are a threat nor what you mean by "use of exchange rates"?

I mean it would be possible for other currencies, which had perhaps not chosen to go for cleaning themselves up, to work together to apply pressure on our fledging theoretical currency through exchange rates. I gather you dont think thats a concern, is that right?

dubmeup wrote:
This is the very dilemma I pointed out to the nationalists who think just sorting their own currency out would work.
It won't unless you are 100% self sufficient.

That might have been the case a long time ago but not now. Not if you want to sustain the same lifestyle and population ofc...

dubmeup wrote: Ok I get that, I guess my question is more what is this alternative currency system, what's the basis of it, what's it's shape and foundation?
Afterall you'd probably get as much international support as you would conflict if it was a truly revolutionary economic policy, and probably as much internal opposition as external.
How does one go about "sorting the currency out"?
Through government intervention and regulation of corporations, taxing and salary capping?

Guevarista wrote:
I'll correct you a little there Gue...you'll get a lot MORE opposition than support for it

Why would the masses of people be opposed to your reforms if they would benefit directly?

Guevarista wrote:
Come on, lol
Do you really have to ask that question? You should know the answer by now.

A one world common currency will screw up the profit and for many countries.

And whilst elimenting money and having only one form of exchange seems like a good idea in principal , in reality it would never work.

We no longer exchange goods based on value of 'this is what have what do you have I can exchange it for'

Money is here , and it is here to stay and exchange rates make more profit for banks than anything else

dawnbreak wrote:
We've had a one world currency system since fractional reserve banking basically.
You can call the units of measure different names in different countries but it is the same identical system.

It'll be the same when it goes digital, we'll have digital dollars and digital pounds just like they are on ebay and paypal.

What we really need is a completely different outlook on value. Thats brainsmackingly outside the box though, so much so that most people will point blank refuse to see it. Despite it literally being the only way to solve our current dilemmas. The divide between rich and poor will get greater, the vast majority of the population will become dumber.
Spiritual and artistic aspects of life will decline, replaced by cold logic, cultural divides and eventually a genetic difference between rich and poor, the rich will become a new species of man while the poor will degrade in to sub-human slave species, perhaps abandoned or completely discarded at some future point by the new master race.

Guevarista wrote:
So far we do seem to have some agreement that the currency is solely a means of exchange, issued by government/state. I personally think it shouldn't be backed, we havent discussed that much.


Thats a subject we will need to discuss for sure. I'd like to see us nail down what we think the ins and outs of the currency could be first, then move on to ideas about how to bring it about. The thread was started as a bit of an experiment in that methodical approach if you get my drift.

well that sounds

a) a bit defeatist

or

b) you think your a smarter than the average bear

and c) to quote you 'even­tu­ally a genetic dif­fer­ence between rich and poor, the rich will become a new species'

So people are poor or rich due to genetics?

I'm gonna go with the previous thought on a digitised currency managed 'live' to maintain the purchasing power of the currency locally and internationally. Aint saying its the answer, tis just a train of thought.
In a currency like that, the concept of its value gets very blurred. Essentially it has no value as it could be swinging about wildly. The major obstacle to that would be our current notions of currency and value. We'd have to literally not care what the actual numbers were. There's problems with that ofc, everything would have to have its cost raised.and lowered at a uniform rate across the board....
Mmm this idea looks a bit too hard..
What other suggestions do we have?

when I was 19 and working in a bank a sent an international payment as US$ instead of CHF ............I knew I had made a misdke and was scared to go into work the next day..

It turned out I'd made £500.000 on the mistake .......this is why exchane rates are mad

dawnbreak wrote:
Can you explain this to me a bit please Dawn?

Are exchange rates the effect of different countries currency having higher or lower value than another?

Is the value of a currency based on the material wealth, gdp, export capability, assets the State holds?

Personally I don't see how any form of currency could not lead to greed due to, as dogsmilk(wb) pointed out, the need to change the mindset. If the will was there we have the means to build an infrastructure that could monitor the global populations needs then all the global population has to do is focus on these needs as a collective. We'd be 'working' 10 hour weeks before you know it.

No the exchange rate is based on market value and has nothing really to with GDP ...it's down to 'who is in' or out of favour.

The Uk pound/sterling is the strongest currency in the world.......for a while people(who had money) were encouraged to exchange sterling for CHF or JPN

the exchange rate system can make you/ or lose you a lot of money depending on whether or not you know how to play it

It's quite complicated you need to look at LIBOR rates