Abstract

If we take a look at any newspaper in any country, two major problems frequently are addressed: inequality and the increasing destruction of the natural environment, that is unsustainability in the stricto sensu. In 2015, more than 190 world leaders recognized that the world is on a “collision course” (Max-Neef, 2010) and committed to 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). Here, too, all but one goals are either linked to the unsustainability of our current lifestyle (goals 9, 11-15) or to inequality (goals 1-8, 10, 16). Many conferences and high-level meetings have been held since then, and one of the major topics is how to finance these goals. However, in this book we will argue that what is really needed is not more money, but a different kind of money, a more natural kind of money. In fact, both the overexploitation of the natural environment and income inequality are directly linked to the unnatural design of our money and reflect a misunderstanding of what money is and what it should be (Fuders et al., 2013; Fuders, 2016a; 2017; Fuders & Max-Neef, 2014a; Lietaer, et al., 2013). Furthermore, many other chronic economic problems, such as inflation and deflation, unemployment, speculation, are directly linked to the unnatural design of money. Since all but one of the goals are either linked to the unsustainability of the status quo or to inequality, a substantial part of the book will deal with how our monetary system gives rise to the economic growth imperative and income inequality. In addition, there will be a separate chapter on the relevance of the findings to each of the SDGs.