Reconsidering the Privileged Powers of Banks

Book excerpt: This book explores the privileged powers commercial banks hold, namely, their ability to create money out of nothing and then have that money grow in tune with a positive interest rate. Said powers defy, in an unnatural sense, 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 completely new foundations of money, wealth, and real capital for any society on a pathway of responsible development.