Reconsidering the Privileged Powers of Banks

“This is a highly recommended read for anyone interested in understanding why achieving a more sustainable future will require radical changes in the way the financial sector is regulated.” —Roldan Muradian, International Society for Ecological Economics, Brazil “[…] Money is ‘wealth’ for individuals and ‘debt’ for the society, to which the individuals belong. […] This book, written by Mayumi and Renner, provides a detailed and well-informed, sobering analysis of these contradictions and the abuses associated with the current use of the coding provided by money in modern society.” —Mario Giampietro, Autonomous University of Barcelona, Spain “[…] the authors of this intriguing book embark on a profound exploration of the privileged role of money creation that commercial banks have and the related issue of interest and discount rates.” —Tommaso Luzzati, University of Pisa, Italy “This magnificent book, exhaustively written, points sharply to [the] problem, […] and presents and discusses openly and with radical bravery, an alternative sovereign money system for the common good of humanity and of the Earth.” —Jesús Ramos-Martín, Autonomous University of Barcelona, Spain “This insightful work delves into the intricate relationship between finance, economic growth, and environmental degradation […]. Mayumi and Renner’s thought-provoking analysis challenges readers to reconsider the privileged powers of banks and explore alternative paths toward a resilient and sustainable financial system.” —Silvio Funtowicz, University of Bergen, Norway This book reconsiders the privileged powers commercial banks hold, i.e., their ability to create money out of nothing and then have that money grow with a positive interest rate. Said powers defy the first and second laws of thermodynamics. The necessity of understanding the dual natures of money, wealth, and real capital, or, put differently, the reality that these three entities are simultaneously individual affluence and collective biophysical debt, is emphasized. The book culminates by proposing new foundations of money, wealth, and real capital for sustainability. Kozo Torasan Mayumi, the last student of Georgescu-Roegen, works at the Kyoto College of Graduate Studies for Informatics. Ansel Renner works at the Autonomous University of Barcelona and independently contracts on bioeconomics.