Happy Coach

The abolition of cash – or loosing our freedom

Slowly the main payment method for many years – cash – is disappearing. It is said to prevent fraud and guarantee more security. But to me it is a curtain of lies that covers some facts that are not meant to be told.

Cash gives the individual two things: freedom and independency. Surely, also criminals use it for dirty deals but the majority of people are not criminals. Getting rid of cash means: taking a step towards totalitarianism. It allows banks and corporations to track our consuming behavior. It also prevents people from buying things without official notice. Talking about totalitarianism in a world without cash means you depend completely on technology. Technology to pay your bills and your food. If your bank decides to freeze your account, you will be powerless and completely depend on them.

I think one of the main reasons why this change is happening is our completely out-of-control financial system. For years our financial markets have created sums of money that go beyond understanding. It is only based on one rule – growth. But money does not grow on trees. As a matter of fact all our money circulating today is based on debt. Debt that got so large it will probably never go down. Actually, it is not supposed to decrease because debt is the prerequisite for our monetary system. Since the new financial crisis in 2008 it has just gotten out of hand. I think we have not realized how much it will affect our world´s economy in the long run. So now banks realize that it was a big disaster and in fear of a so called bank run they just limit the amount of circulating cash to prevent it.

Another aspect – without the use of cash – is the loss of value realization and less inhibition towards buying things. It makes a difference if you pay a pair of shoes with a hundred dollar bill or if you just swipe your card through a machine. Some places do not need a swipe anymore you can just “tap” your card. It just detaches us from the original paying method which is cash. I find it harder to control my spending when I only pay with my card. It makes us lazy too. We do not go to the ATM anymore to withdraw the cash. When I withdraw 100€ I know how much I have in my pocket. Once I start paying with my card I start to lose control easily. This trend clearly shows me is, that our monetary system is becoming so absurd it will eventually crash. You have to realize that this scheme and our annual inflation cannot work forever. The debt will get bigger and bigger.

Money is already solely based on public trust. But cash gives us at least the feeling of “owning” something because you have a physical object in your hand. Without cash, money becomes electronic digits so called e-money. It can be created and deleted within seconds. Money becomes a total abstract. The next step is probably paying with your fingerprint.

In some countries the amount of cash flow has already decreased. When I was in New York City in 2012 I could only withdraw $200 per day. In Germany they want to minimize the amount of cash withdrawn from a bank to 5000€ per day. In Brazil people even buy chewing gum at the corner store with their credit card.

Everything is possible to be paid in monthly rates. This perversion of consumption attaches the customers to the companies like junkies to a drug. What can we do? To be honest: Not much by staying passive. We have to make people around us aware of what is happening. It is a deep cut into our personal rights and we should definitively be demonstrating against it. We should pay with cash as much as possible and withdraw money instead of using our debit or credit cards.

We have to face the fact that our financial system has failed and have to think of alternative ways to handle economical transactions. I found alternative systems: e.g. money that is not based on debt but which will be nullified every couple of years. Or something called recycling money where you get it for a certain amount of time and after a while you have to spend it otherwise it will recycle itself and loose its worth. In the UK is a movement called Positive Money© and it has already gotten some political support.

But also inside our current system we can make changes. It is not healthy that the top 10% own more than the other 90% of the world. With tax money we should create a basic income that guarantees everyone enough to pay their rent and their basic needs like food and energy. As a species we need to evolve and find a way to get out of this hole. I think it is time to change a system that is no longer acceptable. It depends on every single one of us to speak up and demand a change. We need to become active otherwise our personal rights will diminish and totalitarianism will be our future.